Although the WSET Diploma program is very structured, the process affords candidates a great deal of autonomy after D2 completion. The Diploma program takes about 2-3 years, and sometimes longer, to complete. Candidates are required to take D1 and D2 concurrently, however, we determine how and when to complete D3-D6. I have found that most candidates take several breaks throughout their journey, giving themselves time to regroup and recharge before beginning the next class.
The WSET also has a weight system for the program, which can inform your strategy for completion.
D1: Wine Production - 20%
D2: Wine Business - 10%
D3: Wines of the World - 50%
D4: Champagne/Sparkling Wine - 5%
D5: Fortified Wine - 5%
D6: Independent Study/Thesis - 10%
For better or for worse, I’m a HUGE planner. I’m an ENTJ, emphasis on the J and while most candidates choose which path to take based on their level of motivation and focus, I determined my pathway right when D1 began. Since D4 and D5 carry the smallest weight of the program, when I began my Diploma in January 2022, I was told that “most students take D4 & D5 at the same time.” It made perfect sense to me, after all, I successfully passed D1, which is worth twice as much as D4 and D5 combined. This should be no big deal, right? Famous last words…
Throughout this process, I have been lucky enough to have a counterpart in this journey and when you begin preparation for tasting exams, it makes all the difference. When I began studying for D4 & D5 in July 2022, I decided I would switch off days, studying Sparkling Wines one day and then Fortified the next. It only took me a couple weeks to figure out why this was problematic. Let’s say you make it through 20 pages of sparkling wine reading…instead of returning to the material the day after, you are having to retain knowledge about a completely different subject matter. I could tell I was not absorbing information as quickly as I had the first two courses. What little free time I had was quickly disintegrating as I began studying for both exams daily.
Candidates often struggle with D4 and D5. Even experienced wine professionals rarely blind a flight of sparkling and fortified wines exclusively. They are both challenging in their own ways. For those that know me, I could drink Champagne all day and night if I had the time and money to support the habit. Sparkling wine is my go to beverage! Literally, carbonate anything and I’ll drink it! My long term love affair with sparkling wine gave me the gift of familiarity I needed to breeze through the tasting portion of that course. The biggest skill to master for D4 is the ability to discern Traditional Method sparkling (secondary fermentation carried out in the same bottle the wine is sold to market in, for example, Champagne, Cremant, Franciacorta, etc) from Tank Method Sparkling (secondary fermentation carried out in steel tanks, for example, Prosecco, Sekt). Comparatively, are you tasting the presence of secondary notes (yeast, bread, oak) or pure primary fruit, indicative of tank method sparkling? (For more information on blind tasting, click here! If that's too much information for you, feel free to keep scrolling!)
The D5: Fortified course is another beast entirely. First of all, American’s familiarity with fortified
wines, ie Port, Sherry, Madeira, etc continues to decrease over time. The sales of these wines, with the small exception of Madeira, are falling worldwide, causing a decrease in production to keep the scales of supply and demand in balance. There are also many different styles of fortified wines that are either unattainable due to price and/or market availability, compounding the difficulty of this course for wine professionals. I tasted as many styles of fortified wine as I could before the exam, however, Vin Doux Naturels were not available in the Des Moines market. I literally never tasted one until it showed up in my flight on exam day. Definitely not ideal. Unlike sparkling wines, your ability to evaluate biological aging (wines aged under a layer of yeast, protecting wine from oxidation) and oxidative aging is key to a successful tasting exam. The other important evaluative factors include level of alcohol and appearance or color of the wine.
I was scheduled to take both these exams on the same day, back to back, on a Tuesday in late October. I woke up Sunday before exam day with an extremely sore throat. My stomach began to fill with dread as I contemplated my best course of action. “Maybe I should take Co-,” No. NO. The C Word was an unentertainable thought. I mean, WSET exams are not something you can just reschedule. Candidates everywhere in the world are required to take them on the same day, to prevent information sharing. On top of that, my non refundable plane ticket, hotel room…Nope. Illness was not an option.
I woke up Monday morning, feeling stable. I crushed my final flights before exam day, a much needed confidence booster. Tuesday morning, however, was another situation entirely. I woke up that morning, so congested I felt like someone had injected cement into my sinuses while I was sleeping. My body hurt from head to toe and shook with every cough. There was a half bottle of warm, cheap, California Chardonnay on top of the dresser drawer. I opened it and poured it into a wine glass. Nothing. I could feel the texture of the malo, but I couldn’t taste anything. It was official, the nightmare was upon me. How can I possibly pass TWO tasting exams in this condition?
It was at this moment I realized I had a decision to make. I could either walk in that room, having already failed both exams or I could suit the EFF up, runny nose and all and give them hell. I had put in the time, I knew these wines inside and out and I was not prepared to go down without a fight. I’m a very sore loser and even if I was David and these exams were Goliath, I was going to take this snowball’s chance in hell and go in there like I had already passed.
When you walk into the exam room, your wines are poured and your exam is in a packet in front of them. In those few minutes, I stared at the bubbles in front of me and began to strategize. Wines 1 and 3 had fine, continuous bubbles, a key indication of traditional method. Wine 2 didn’t appear to have many bubbles at all, but there were some larger bubbles near the rim of the glass. Wines made using the tank method have larger bubbles that dissipate faster. Before the clock even began, I knew I at least had a starting point. I wasn’t able to assess the aromatics of the wine well, since I was so congested. The concentration of every wine tasted the same to me, however, I was still able to evaluate the quality of the bubbles and the slight presence of secondary notes in Wines 1 and 3, leading me to believe my original assertion was probably correct. Now, fruit quality. This is where I decided I needed to make a guess and throw every bit of theory at the problem I could. If I wrote down Cremant de Bourgogne, I was going to describe everything I knew to be true of those wines, dry, medium + acidity, medium intensity, medium finish. So, even if I was way off base on my “call” of the wine and my assessment of flavor and aromatics were off, I was still describing something that was true about the wine.
After my Sparkling exam, I had about 30 minutes to collect my thoughts before my Fortified exam began. I was continuing to feel worse by the hour and I felt my mental strength beginning to wane. My fortified exam began and I used a similar methodology. If the appearance of the wine was a dark, inky ruby, we could be looking at a LBV or possibly a Vintage Port. I put the glass up to my nose and as I tilted my head forward, a huge glob of snot plopped into my wine. I closed my eyes in embarrassment as I could hear my friend snicker from across the room. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn as the panic crept up from the pit of my stomach into my throat. I looked down at my paper. “Just keep going,” I told myself as I began to feverishly write an aroma note. “This wine has medium intensity with aromas of candied cherry, raisins, dried blueberry, plum, cinnamon…” If nothing else…my months of pounding theory were paying off.
As I moved on to the theory portion of my exam, my brain felt like mush. My self-doubt was beginning to intensify and I just wanted the experience to be over. By the time I made it to my last question, I was all but scribbling as the motor in my brain sputtered out what little energy was left in my mental gas tank. Was I missing this 4th down conversion with inches to go before the endzone? As
the 90 minute clock came to 0, I put my head down on the table in exhaustion. As I left the room, I smiled to myself. I had made it through with my integrity intact. Even if I didn’t pass, I felt very proud of how I showed up in that exam room. I didn’t give in to the anxiety, panic and self doubt that had nearly taken me out of the game entirely just months before. Regardless of the outcome, I was going to gift myself a win that day.
The first thing I did when I got home late that Tuesday night was take that damn Covid test. For the next couple days, even though I continued to get sicker, the tests kept coming back negative. Friday night, after my thermometer reading revealed my first fever in decades, I decided I would take one more…this time, it came back positive. I laid in bed and curled in a ball…I knew it. I effing new it. How in the world does ANYONE pass blind tasting exams with Covid? So you can imagine my shock and disbelief, when I checked my email in mid January to the following results:
D4: Champagne/Sparkling Wine
Tasting: Pass
Theory: Fail
Final Result: PASS
D5: Fortified Wine
Tasting: Pass
Theory: Fail
Final Result: FAIL
How did I manage to use my theory so convincingly on my tasting, that I passed BOTH tasting exams and yet, I couldn’t manage to pass my actual theory? My Sparkling tasting exam was so great that it had given me enough points to PASS the exam, even though I failed my theory. Conversely, My Fortified theory was so bad that it actually caused me to fail the whole exam, even though it was good enough to give me a passing grade on my tasting exam.
Shocked. SHOCKED.
As it stood in January of this year, my only exam I would have to retake was D5: Fortified wines, which I considered a huge win! I did, just for good measure, contest my theory result for Fortified wine with the WSET in London, requiring them to regrade my exam. When the results came back in January of 2023, the WSET upheld their original assessment. I was going to have to resit Fortified. Fair enough.
Although I think there are several takeaways from my D4 & D5 experience, I think we should start with the most obvious one. Most people do NOT take them simultaneously. You should have seen the faces of my fellow candidates on exam day when I explained to them I was there for BOTH exams. Regardless of the weight they might carry for your Diploma, they are two very difficult courses with their own unique challenges that require not half of your attention, but ALL of it. You might think you’re knocking out two birds with one stone, but that's only if you Pass. Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up for double failure. 0 Stars. Would not recommend.
Lastly, this experience taught me the power of mental endurance. Even when the deck might be stacked against you, it’s no reason not to show up. You might be super shocked by the outcome…I most certainly was!
Alright, Wineologists! That wraps up D4 & D5! I’ve got a small update coming out mid-week, so keep your eyes peeled! As always, have a great week, keep up the good work and Happy Studying!
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