WSET Experience By Amanda Bruns

Recently, I had the honor and opportunity to take part in the WSET 1 Wine Course. While beer
has been my primary passion, I was interested in expanding my horizons and learning more
about another industry. I felt it would help me become more well-rounded. Plus, many taprooms
are offering many more beverages beyond just beer now, and I think it’s important to
understand each product.

The course itself was offered from Napa Wine Valley Academy, in partnership with the Wine
and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). It was completely virtual, which made it very accessible.
The course was a hybrid of instructor-led and self-guided and was a few months long. Each
time the class met, we sat in a Zoom-like virtual setting and the instructor went over the lessons.
We usually did a tasting exercise and then took a deep dive into a certain wine style. I felt this
was helpful in understanding how to truly taste and appreciate a wine style. While many of the
approaches are similar to that in tasting beer, it isn’t exact and there are a few nuances that
don’t apply for craft beer, so this was a true learning experience. It was especially interesting to
understand the difference that barrel-aging can make with a specific wine style, and what flavor
and aromas become notable.

As a side note to the tasting, the program does offer a wine tasting box for an additional fee. I
opted out, as it was not included in the scholarship. However, if I have some advice, it would be
to get the box. Or to email the instructor before the course begins to get recommendations for
similar wines to purchase yourself. I think it would have been highly valuable to be able to follow
along with the class as we tasted in real time, and ask questions and note the flavors and
aromas together. That said, I don’t think it was necessary and the cost is around $100 so if that
feels prohibitive, it should not scare you away from this course. The material was still enough
that I felt prepared for the exam without it.

In between the meetings, there was an online “textbook” and course outline with different
sections meant to be worked through at our own pace. Each section was fairly short and
approachable, with additional videos and resources, beyond just the instructor’s webinar. At the
end of each section, there was typically a worksheet or a quiz. This was helpful, as it helped me
understand how far along I was in grasping and retaining the knowledge. If I struggled with a
worksheet/quiz, I made a note so that I could go back and study that harder for the actual exam.
The course did have a few, small assignments to turn in by the end. These were reviewed
quickly and feedback was given, which was also nice, as it was another checkpoint of how
confident I could feel in the material. While much of the course is optional, these assignments
are required to pass the course and be eligible to take the exam. After these are turned in and
graded, the instructor considers the course ended. It is important to note that, at this point, even
though the resources are still available to you, the instructor is not. You can still email the
program if you have questions but the instructor will probably not be the one responding.

Once the course itself actually ended, we had several months to take the exam. This was very
considerate, as some people were ready to take it immediately but others, such as myself, felt
we needed more time. I spent the time preparing via flashcards, reviewing the quizzes, and
even watching additional resource videos. I also took the time to go to a couple in-person wine
tastings offered by other programs and venues, so that I could practice in person. I highly
recommend this because it is not only real world experience, but you get to be a bit fun and
creative with it. I also involved other people in the exercise- asking them what they tasted,
smelled, etc. I highly advise this if you can, as this helped me to get other perspectives and put
names to flavors I picked up on but couldn’t pin down. It also let me compare different brands
within a wine style, which helped me learn to better describe subtleties and, personally, show
me which wines I preferred.

The exam itself was online, but it was proctored so an app download and certain environment
requirements were necessary. The questions, I felt, were very fair, and were straightforward.
Some were a little tough but none were explicitly designed to trip anyone up. It truly seemed like
they just wanted to make sure we knew how to approach the subject.

It then took a couple weeks to get the results back, which came via email. This can be a bit of a
stressful time so I highly recommend not looking back at the flashcards or any other resources.
It helps prevent you from obsessing over which answers you put.

Overall, I feel this course prepared me for a basic understanding of the wine industry. I do
eventually want to proceed to Level 2 and I think this course is a major part of that. It supported
my interest and helped it evolve. It also has helped me have conversations cross-industry. The
wine industry is looking at a lot of the same issues beer is, and it’s nice to have at least a base
understanding on both sides and be able to have semi-intelligent and thoughtful conversations.