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DiplomaWSET® Level 4Diplomain Wines and Spirits

CandidateAssessmentGuidewww.wset.co.ukwww.wsetinternational.com

ISSUE FIVE • MAY 2007

The WSET® Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits

Candidate Assessment Guide

Contents

1 Introduction to the Candidate Guide

2 Preparation

3 - 5 Unit Study Guides

6 Assessment

7 - 16 Course Work Assignments

17 - 31 Closed Book Examinations

32 - 38 Sample Tasting Question Papers

39 - 40 Notes

Introduction to the Candidate Guide 1

The WSET® Level 4 Diploma usesa variety of assessment methods.Each unit will have its own assess-ment schedule. These are set out inthe Examination Regulations sectionof the Specification. Before you startstudying it is well worth reading theSpecification for the Diploma. Thissets out what you need to knowand do, to achieve the Diplomaqualification; the Specification iscontained within this CandidatePortfolio.

The key to success when studyingfor the Diploma qualification is notso much how much you can betaught, but how much you want tolearn. We will expect you to takea professional approach to yourstudies, a great deal of responsibilityfor your success lies with you. In particular your ability to plan andprepare for your assessments. Thisdocument is designed to give youguidelines for each of the assessmentmethods to help you prepare forthese.

Once again we wish you well on whatwill be, in many ways, a challengingbut rewarding course of study.

The Wine & Spirit EducationTrust would like to welcomeyou and wish you well on yourforthcoming Diploma Course.We hope you enjoy the course andare prepared to work hard.

It is important that you read this guidecarefully. It will make your life, whilestudying for the Diploma, easier andmore enjoyable.

The WSET® Level 4 Diploma, whilstacademically challenging, is a voca-tionally oriented qualification and weaim to prepare you for responsiblejobs within the wine and spiritsbusiness. As a result we place agreat emphasis on all round skills.The Diploma course will not onlydevelop your product knowledge to aspecialist level, but will also enableyou to acquire skills, for examplein research and writing, that willcontinue to be of use beyond yourDiploma course.

2 Preparation

Prior Knowledge

Everything on the Diploma course -lectures, (where appropriate) notesand examination - presupposes youhave a sound grasp of the up-to-date,Advanced Certificate Syllabus content. It may be worthwhile, inpreparation for the course, to re-readthe course book for the AdvancedCertificate (Exploring the World ofWines and Spirits) to refresh yourknowledge.

This kind of preparation will help youpinpoint areas of weakness in yourknowledge prior to lectures and focusyour preparation, this in turn will helpyou make the most of your lecturesand allow the speaker to focus on theDiploma syllabus requirements ratherthan going over ‘old ground’.

Specification

It is very important that you read theSpecification. Any assessment will berestricted to the Learning Outcomes( what you will need to prove youare able to do ) and the Syllabus ( thecontext in which those learning out-comes will be assessed ) containedwithin the Specification.

By reading the Specification you willbe able to differentiate between whatyou need to know and what is nice toknow. For example you will not haveto study every AC within a particularregion - only the ones listed in theSpecification. The Specification alsocontains the following:

• The Diploma structure

• The aims and objectivesof the qualification

• The examination regulations

• The Unit assessment schedule

• Sample questions

3

Information

In some instances information oncertain subjects may not be availablefrom other sources, or may be out ofdate. In these cases the notes will actas the main information resource.

The Oxford Companion to Wine

There are many valuable sources ofinformation on wines and spirits,and we would always recommendexploring these as widely as possible.

However, in order to ensure consis-tency across the programme, wehave chosen The Oxford Companionto Wine, (Third Edition) edited byJancis Robinson, as the requiredreading for the Diploma.

For the vast majority of subjectareas, this volume contains all theinformation you need to complete theDiploma programme. In the fewinstances where the book does notdeal with a subject – such as whisky,for example – or is not up to date, thenotes themselves will supply theinformation.

The entries contain many cross-references to related subjects, and itis important that you follow these upwhere relevant in order to obtain amore rounded picture ( although it ishard not to be sidetracked by somefascinating trails of facts! )

For the specialist, technical Unit onWine Production (Unit 2), the requiredreading is Understanding WineTechnology by David Bird MW.For Unit 4 (Spirits) the requiredreading is Distilling Knowledge: AProfessional Guide to Spirits andLiqueurs by Dave Broom and theWSET®. These are obtainable by postfrom the WSET.

How to use theDiploma Study Guides

Breakdown of Syllabus

Elsewhere in this file you will find acopy of the Diploma Specificationwhich contains the syllabus for eachunit. The Study Guides are dividedup into the Syllabus Units andElements. You should read the guidesin association with both the requiredreading and the syllabus. Rememberthe examination and assessments willbe based on the syllabus.

The Diploma

This Diploma programme is a combi-nation of self-study and lectures, andwe have now introduced a moredirected approach to the self-studyaspect.

The Diploma notes now play a dualrole:

• as a study guide

• as an information resource

Study Guide

The notes will help you gather andinterpret information from your mainreference resource. They do this by:

• asking questions that will helpyou cover the key areas

• setting activities to enable you toanalyse information and apply itin a business setting

• completing each subject sectionwith self-assessment questionsand answers that will help youcheck what you have learned andmonitor your progress

Unit Study Guides

4

Recommended Reading

In addition to the required resource,we will recommend further reading orother information sources from timeto time. Often these will be bookswritten by subject matter experts, butsometimes we may direct you to awebsite or other source.

Don’t feel you have to buy or exploreall these resources. They are there toprovide extra detail if you wish topursue it; if you choose not to, thiswill not damage your chances ofpassing the closed book examina-tions. You will however need todemonstrate evidence of moreextensive reading in order to gain apass grade for the courseworkassessment.

Study advice

Planning

Although the notes will provide plentyof guidance for your studies, werecommend that you take a little timeto draw up your own plan of howand when you will work through theprogramme, and what otherresources you can put together toassist you.

Working through the Diploma Notes

These booklets form the basic frame-work for your study and you shouldwork through them in conjunctionwith your reference resource. In mostcases we have not left space foranswers to study guide activities, soyou will need a good supply of paperfor these. However, there is room inthe margins of the booklets for anyideas or comments.

Study Guide Activities

These are important pointers to thekey facts and issues you need toaddress in your studies, so try not toskip any. You may not always needto write down full answers, but youshould ensure you make comprehen-sive notes

Objectives

Read through the learning objectivesfor each section before you start andwhen you have finished. They willshow you where you are going andallow you to check what you haveachieved.

Self-checks

These appear at the back of eachmain section. Once again, you shouldtackle them all, as they are a goodway of checking your knowledge.

If you have difficulty with anyanswers, check back through therelevant part of the booklet to refreshyour memory.

Unit Study Guides continued

Unit Study Guides continued 5

Other Sources of Knowledge

It is important to explore as manyavenues of wider knowledge aspossible. These might include:

• The Institute of Winesand Spirits

• work colleagues withspecialised knowledge of aparticular field

• visits to local vineyards, wineries, specialist museumsand exhibitions, either at homeor overseas

• tasting experience both onand off the course

• informal tasting groups thatyou can organise with fellowstudents

• magazines and newspapers

• websites

• questions – there is no shameattached to ignorance, so askquestions!

Other Study Advice

All the above needs scheduling, ifonly to ensure that you can fit it allin! Students often ask how muchtime should be devoted to study.

It is difficult to be specific, but asa guide, you should aim to spend,in private study for each unit, aminimum of four times the lecturetime devoted to it on the course.

Break your learning up into man-ageable chunks, particularly if it issome time since you were in formaleducation.

Ask for help as soon as you thinkyou need it; don’t struggle on.

Business Application

A number of the activities refer toresearching information or applyinglearning ‘in your business’. If you donot work in the wine and spirittrade, try to obtain this informationfrom someone who does.Otherwise, make some educatedguesses!

Lectures

If you are attending a formal courseof study your speakers will be ableto answer questions, so read thenotes, and relevant sections ofThe Oxford Companion to Winebefore the session so you can gowith a clear understanding of thesubject, or at least a list of relevantquestions.

Revision

You will obviously need to collateand review all the information youhave gathered and identify and plugany gaps.

These tips may help:

• It’s never too early to startrevising. Don’t leave it all untilthe end of the course.

• If it helps, make a structuredplan of what to revise and when

• Try not to revise in chunkslonger than about 30 or 40minutes without a break (evenif it is just for a cup of coffee)

• Build in some variety:don’t revise the same subjectfor hours on end

• Many students have their owntried and tested revisiontechniques.

These might include:

• using a short note system withkey points or header words thatwill jog your memory to supplythe rest

• developing mnemonics -rhymes, acronyms, stories usingkey words - to remember listsof names or perhaps headingsto larger bodies of information

• setting up revision groups offellow students and devisinggames, quizzes or otheractivities to stimulate recall offacts (accompanied perhapsby some wine from the regionyou’re revising)

• recording key information toplay back on a personal stereoor in your car

• remember that revision is nota passive process of reading -you need to do things such aswriting questions, drawing diagrams.

6

A variety of assessment methods areemployed in the Diploma examina-tions. This variety is to assess thebreadth of the learning outcomesand syllabus, the assessments willtest both your knowledge and under-standing and your practical applica-tion of that knowledge.

The assessments aim to prepare youfor advancement in employment oronto further studies.

The methods of assessmentemployed are:

1. Course work assignments

2. Closed book examinationsincluding:

• Multiple choice questionexaminations

• Written theory examinations

• Practical tastingexaminations

Assessment

1 Course Work Assignments

Course work assignments (CWAs)are required for unit 1:

Unit 1 - The Global Businessof Alcoholic Beverages

The assignments will either take theform of reports or essays of between1500 - 2000 words. The assignmenttitles (the questions to be answered)will be posted on the Wine andSpirit Education Trust web sitewww.wset.co.uk at the start of theacademic year for which they arevalid. The academic year runs fromthe 1st August to the 31st July,therefore the assignment posted onthe 1st August will be valid forassessment until the 31st July of thefollowing year.

There are four assignments tochoose from.

Submission dates for CWA’s arethe second Tuesday of any of thefollowing months: November andApril.

Candidates must register with theirAPP two weeks prior to submission.

An assignment submitted for markingmust be valid for the academic year inwhich it is submitted. Candidatesmay only submit a given CWA titleonce in any academic year.

An assignment submitted for markingmust be written in English.

You may start your assignment at anytime, but it can only be marked afterthe submission date. You must notsend your assignments directly toWSET® Awards. For an assignmentto be valid for assessment purposes,it must be sent to WSET® Awards bythe Approved Programme Providerwith whom you are registered. Thesubmission dates for assignmentsare the second Tuesday in Novemberand April. The penalties for missingyour submission date are discussedlater in this document.

Each assignment will have a partic-ular ‘business’ issue as part of thebrief. Once you have successfullycompleted four assignments youwill be awarded Unit 1 - The GlobalBusiness of Alcoholic Beverages.

Course Work Assignments 7

2. Strategy and required sections

a) Introduction:

Discussion of the opening state-ment and personal views.

Current trends in consumerpreference in the candidate’s localmarket.

b) Report on Production:

This should include analysis ofwhere these varieties are grown anddiscussion of current trends in thevineyard and the winery.

c) Consumer demand:

The candidate should considerwhat effect consumer demand ishaving on these varieties. Thisshould include discussion ofwhether the consumer is tired ofthese varieties and is thereforeseeking greater diversity andchoice of other varieties. Researchwill also be required to establishcurrent trends in the local and/orglobal market.

d) Reaction of wine trade:

The candidate should considerwhat initiatives the wine trade, in allits many guises, is doing to meetconsumer demand or capitalise onthe popularity of these varieties.This section should include analysisof both production (vineyard andwinery), distribution, sales andmarketing.

e) Conclusion and personalcommentary:

The candidate should aim to drawtogether their ideas and indicateany additional factors or actionsthat have a bearing on the topicunder discussion.

MARKING

Structure:

The report should be of between1500 and 2000 words in length(not including appendices, tablesor diagrams) with a declaredwordcount and bibliography whichis correctly referenced throughoutthe body of the assignment.Allocation of marks will be asfollows:

Structure and style (coherence,flair, fluency, use of examples),bibliography showing diversity ofevidence of research which isused appropriately and correctlyreferenced, presentation (spelling,grammar, legibility) - 20%

Section a) - 5%

Section b) - 45%

Section c) - 10%

Section d) - 15%

Section e) - 5%

Examiners will be looking for:

• Evidence to justify all allegationsmade to support the outcomeof the report and analysis

• Explicit evidence within thebody of the assignment ofcareful and thoughtful studyof the elective materials plusadditional evidence of diverseand relevant research.

• Good presentation and clearthinking. This includes goodlayout, contents lists, summaryand references.

• Evidence of original andreflective thought and an abilityto analyse and question data.

Sample Candidate AssignmentBrief

Assignment title:

Has the bubble burst for CabernetSauvignon and Chardonnay?

CONTENT, SUGGESTED APPROACHAND SECTIONS IN THE REPORT:

1. Context

Based on evidence of what iscurrently taking place in wineproducing regions throughout theworld, the candidate shouldcompile a report to illustratewhether the bubble for thesevarieties has indeed burst or not.This report should be backed upby statistical evidence of what istaking place and should analysethe effect consumer demand ishaving on the situation, as well asconsider the various ways in whichthe wine trade and wine industryare reacting.

8 Course Work Assignments continued

Computer and printer failure arenever acceptable excuses forlate submission of work. If youare going to WP, ensure that youallow time for the machinery to goawry in some way - it almost alwayswill!

Only hard copies of assignmentswill be marked. You should alsomake a hard copy for your ownrecord, as originals will not bereturned after marking.

1.2 Assignment Presentation

Assignments submitted for markingmust be in written English.

The main text should be in a single12 point font, e.g. Times NewRoman or similar. An alternativefont such as Arial in a smaller pointsize may be more appropriate indiagrams and tables. Use boldingfor emphasis within the text and forsection headings.

Any material copied directly fromanother author must be enclosedin quotation marks, followed imme-diately by a reference to the source.Individual quotations should notnormally exceed one paragraph,and quotations should not exceed5% of the length of the report.Text which has been ‘lifted’ withoutthe correct acknowledgement willhave a negative impact on the finalgrade awarded for your work.

Colour printing may be used forcharts, screen-shots etc. Clarity ismore important than fancy graphics.Avoid clip-art except where requiredfor drawing diagrams.

You are responsible for the accuracyof the finished work, so after it hasbeen completed you should usethe spell-checker to catch anytypographical and spelling errors.You should also proof-read ityourself (or have it read by some-one else), as the spell-checker isnot likely to catch every error.Sloppy proof reading will certainlydetract from the content of yourwork.

Your assignment must be of theappropriate length. Assignments submitted with less than 1,500words will be graded a fail.Assignments over 2,000 words willonly be marked up to 2000 words.Any work over 2,000 will not beconsidered towards the overallmark.

The word count should not include:

• Index

• Bibliography

• Annotations on diagrams,pictures etc.

A word count MUST be included.

1.1 Word-processing versus writing

Do I have to word-process myessays, or is it okay to write themby hand? The answer is, the choiceis yours. Word-processed (WP) hasmany advantages; it is easier on theeye of the Examiner and gives aprofessional finish to your work.

However, you will not lose marks ifyour assignment is hand written,provided your hand writing is neatand legible. An assignment that islittered with crossing out (and/orworse, the vestiges of last night’spizza), is too much to expect eventhe best intentioned examiner tostruggle with. Poorly presentedwritten work may result in a lowergrade been given to the assign-ment.

WP has some clear advantages.Most notably, it is very easy foryou to make minor or majoramendments to your work withouthaving to re-write the wholeassignment; you can also use aformatting system which enablesyou to produce a very professionalprinted lay-out.

There are disadvantages to WP too,which you should not ignore. WP isreliant on machinery. As you knowmachinery can go wrong.

9Course Work Assignments continued

1.3 Covering Information

You will need to complete an Assignment Report Form (ARF) and attach it to your hard copy of the assignment. An assign-ment missing the ARF will not be marked but returned to the Approved Programme Provider. It can be resubmitted,however at best this may result in a delay in you receiving your results, at worst it could result in a fail grade.

DIPLOMA ASSIGNMENT REPORT FORM

CandidateNumber

Title Number 1 / 2 / 3 / 4(circle as appropriate)

Resit Yes / No(circle as appropriate)

AssignmentTitle

SubmissionDate

I declare that the attached work is entirely my own, other than in the sections where all sources of reference are clearlyand properly indicated and acknowledged. I understand that the WSET® has a policy relating to all forms of cheating asset out in the Candidate Assessment Guide. In the event that the work I am attributing to myself is found NOT to beentirely my own, I acknowledge that I may be subject to penalties and/or disciplinary procedures.

SIGNED (candidate signature required)

EXAMINER FEEDBACK

GradeAchieved

Strengths

Areas forImprovement

Approved ProgrammeProvider (APP)

AssignmentWord Count


Middle

Main Text

The main body of the assignment:

• Your key points are clearlypresented

• The points you make aresystematically backed up byfacts / evidence / examples /arguments

• Quotations and references toother works are accurately cited

• Any diagrams, figures or tablesare labelled properly

End

Conclusions

The conclusion:

• Brings together the main points

• Links back to the question

• States clearly your conclusion(s)

The Introduction

- tell the examiner what youare going to tell them

The Main Body

- tell them in detail

The three parts fit the useful maxim about communications usually abbreviated to:

‘tell ‘em, tell ‘em and tell ‘em.

The Conclusion

- tell them what you havetold them - in other words -summarise

Beginning

Introduction

The introduction:

• Sets the question topic againsta wider background

• Clarifies your understandingof the question

• Defines key or problematicterms

• Outlines the approach you willbe taking to the question

1.4 Assignment Structure

The simplest structure you canimagine is a beginning, middle andan end. Below is a graphic illustra-tion of how this simple structurecan be applied to an assignment.

Assignment Structure

Course Work Assignments continued 11

1.5 Report and Essay Writing

This section is written to providebasic information regarding ourgeneral expectations for reportand essay writing. An assignmentmight still speak of an essay - butin business you write reports.

However, regardless of the formatadopted, it is vital you recognisethat writing skills are essentialthroughout your course and proba-bly essential if you are to develop aworthwhile career. Effective com-munication is at the heart of goodmanagement. Consequently, it isworth taking some time to thinkabout the nature of the task and thebest ways of tackling it.

Understanding what you should beaiming to achieve when writingreports and essays, and the bestways of going about it, will helpensure that you derive maximumbenefit as well as achieving goodmarks.

You should also note that theapproach adopted for this mini-report could usefully be adopted inyour theory exam for Unit 3.

1.5.1 Understanding the Question

It is essential to start by reading thequestion carefully. What exactly areyou asked to do? Is it a broadsurvey or is a narrow focuseddiscussion appropriate?

What are the assumptions behindthe question? What are the limits tothe topic?

Does it require you to consider oneissue or more than one?

In focusing on the assignment task,it is often useful to underline the keywords in the question - those thatspecify the kind of report or essayrequired. Here are some examples:

Analyse: minutely examine thestructure or component parts.

Compare: Look for similarities anddifferences and perhaps reach aconclusion as to which is prefer-able.

Contrast: Set in position, in order tobring out differences.

Criticise: Give a reasoned judgementabout the merits of theories, oropinions about the truth of facts.Back your judgement by a discus-sion of evidence or reasoninginvolved.

Define: Set down the precisemeaning of a word or phrase. Insome cases it may be necessary ordesirable to examine different,possible or often used definitions.

Describe: Give a detailed or graphicaccount.

Differentiate or Distinguish: Explainthe difference.

Discuss: Investigate or examine byargument; sift and debate; givereasons for and against. Alsoexamine the implications.

Evaluate: Make an appraisal of theworth of something, in the light ofits truth or usefulness. Include, to alesser degree, an opinion.

Explain: Make plain; interpret andaccount for; give reasons for.

Illustrate: Use a figure or diagram toexplain or clarify; or make clear bythe use of concrete examples.

Interpret: Expound the meaning of;make clear and explicit, usuallygiving your own judgements also.

Justify: Show adequate grounds fordecisions or conclusions; andanswer the main objections likely tobe made to them.

Main Text ConclusionsIntroduction

Situation

• Setting outthe situation

Implications

• Describing theimplications

Possibilities

• Reviewing thepossibilities

Recommendation

• Making arecommendation

Assignment Structure - Report

A report may require you to present a case study or argument, which may be more complex than a straightforwardessay style assignment, below is a graphic illustration of how the three part structure can be adapted.


Outline : Give the main features, orgeneral principles of a subject,omitting minor details and empha-sising structure and arrangements.

Relate : Show how things areconnected to each other, and towhat extent they are alike, or affecteach other.

Review : Make a survey of; examinethe subject carefully.

State : Present in brief, clear form.

Summarise : Give a concise accountof the chief points of a matter,omitting details and examples.

Trace : Follow the development orhistory of a topic from some pointof origin.

Sometimes an assignment or topicwill include more than one ofthese key words. In this case it isimportant to take account of all andnot just some of them. For example,if you were asked to describe anddiscuss a theory or event, youwould need to give a detailedaccount of the theory/event andthen give a response for andagainst, examining implication, etc.If you only focus on one of thekey words, you will only havecompleted half the task.

If you have any doubts as to whatis required, ask the lecturer - prefer-ably in class so that it is clear toeveryone and there is no ambiguity.

1.5.2 Gathering Material

Try to start your research early. Thisgives your thinking time to mature,and enables you to revise your firstattempts.

It is rarely necessary to read a wholebook from cover to cover in order towrite an essay or report. You mustread selectively, picking out thatwhich is directly relevant to the ques-tion. To do this you need to knowwhat you are looking for and the fol-lowing procedure is useful:

a) Start by jotting down what youknow about the topic in a briefitemised list. This will get yourmind thinking about the questionand provide a guide to areas youneed to study further.

b) List those questions/topics thatyou think may be relevant to thequestions, even if you know noth-ing about them. These also givea guide to your reading. As youread you will inevitably discovernew topics and questions. Makea list of these as you go, and follow them up later.

c) Try to use a variety of sources.If the topic area is new to you,start with brief surveys, e.g.encyclopaedia articles andintroductory texts. Use these todiscover the essential topicsand then move on to morespecialised books, researchpapers, journals, etc. asappropriate.

d) Your Unit Study Guides andlecture notes may be relevant,but never merely regurgitatethem. Assignments are notdesigned to test factual knowl-edge in isolation. Look forsources that give opposingviews. Discuss the question withyour fellow students. Never follow one source too closely,especially if this is an introductory text or summary.

Most important of all, NEVERPLAGIARISE.

e) Keep a notebook or file cards foryour notes. When taking notesdon’t rewrite the book - just jotdown the vital points. ALWAYSRECORD THE SOURCE, includ-ing the page numbers because:

• you may need to expand on yournotes when you come to writeyour report, and it is often usefulto look at your source details;and

• you must give references to thesources of information and ideasused.

1.5.3 Planning your Assignment

Planning is vital for good writtenwork. It provides a structure, whichhelps you to write the report. It showsthe reader that you are in commandof the topic and that you understandwhat the question requires of you. Itgives fluency and helps you to avoidirrelevance. Your plan should consistof a series of brief headings or notes.Never let your source books and journals dictate your plan – they areunlikely to be written in answer toyour specific question. Following tooclosely the approach taken in sourcematerial may amount to plagiarism,but in any case makes it very difficultfor you to demonstrate that you haveunderstood the material and candevelop your own ideas.

The structure should be divided intothe following main sections:

Introduction

Keep to less than 10% of the totallength. Comment on the topic andexplain your interpretation of thequestion. Say what areas or aspectsyou intend to cover and those you arenot going to discuss, and why.It is often appropriate to outline theorder of the discussion so as to helpthe reader through your report. It maybe necessary to define some keyterms.


Main Body

( this is, of course, an inappropriate titlein a report )

When planning the main body of thereport, put down your main points ina sensible order – one that willenable your discussion to flow andwhich avoids repetition.

Where appropriate expand on thepoints with examples or illustrations.Check that your discussion answersthe question.

If the question has two or moreparts, make sure you keep thesedistinct, and allow the properamount of space for each.

The main part of your report mayusefully be sub-divided into sub-sections.

Conclusion

Keep this to just over 10% of thetotal length. Summarise your mainideas and/or arguments. Ensure thatyour conclusion corresponds to thequestion asked, and that itfollows from the discussion in themain body. It is not always possibleto give a firm answer to a question;instead you may need to explainyour uncertainties.

It may be appropriate to suggestthe wider implications of yourdiscussion, or point to futuretrends, or areas that are worthy offurther research.

1.5.4 Writing the Assignment

General Approach

Your plan is your guide to thefinished report, but you need notset about writing it in the order inwhich it will finally appear. Manypeople find the introduction is themost difficult part to write. So longas you have made the essentialdecision about what will go into theintroduction (see above) you canleave it unwritten until aftercompleting the main body.

Whenever possible, write a firstrough draft and leave it for a shortwhile before reading it throughagain. You will find it far easier to beobjective and critical about yourown work.

Deal with each point in turn,discussing them fully before passingto the next.

Avoid repetition and irrelevance.Insert any tables and figures thatare necessary in the appropriateplace giving a clear heading,number and source. Avoid usingthem where they have no relevanceto the question set.

Sub-headings should be usedwhere appropriate, but make surethey do not break up the flow of thereport.

Arrange your material into para-graphs. Each paragraph shoulddeal with one topic or idea. Thisis generally stated in the firstsentence; then developed or elabo-rated. Try to avoid one-sentenceparagraphs. Closely related materi-al should be in the same paragraph,but avoid wandering from one topicto another.

Flow and Coherence

The flow and coherence of youdiscussion will depend on the flowof your topics, and hence yourparagraphs and the way you thinkabout them. There should be acontinuous thread of argument ordiscussion throughout, with eachpoint leading on to the next. It is agood idea to put contrasting pointsin adjacent paragraphs, e.g. for andagainst; cause and effect; positiveand negative; merits and detriments,etc.

Link paragraphs by using ‘transition’words or phrases, e.g. ‘however’,‘it follows that’, ‘consequently’,

‘furthermore’, ‘on the other hand’,etc. But be careful to use theseproperly, eg don’t use ‘therefore’unless what follows is implied by(follows from) the previous point.Do not over-use the same fewtransition words.

Starting each paragraph or newpoint the same way does not makefor a report that reads well.

Style

Your style is unique to you, butit is not fixed and not beyondimprovement.

Always aim first at clarity andbrevity. A good, varied, freshvocabulary is attractive, but try touse simple straightforward languagewhere possible and only usetechnical terms that are essentialfor precision. Avoid slang, colloqui-alisms, clichés and hackneyedwords. Use short sentences,especially where you want to makea clear powerful point. Longersentences can give a pleasantcontrast to these, but avoid a jungleof subordinate clauses.

The style must be appropriate tothe subject matter and discipline.That which is suitable for literarycreation will not be suitable forbusiness and commerce.

These demand evidence and rational argument, coherently andconcisely stated.

Avoid using the first person singular.Phrases such as “I think” usuallylead onto unsubstantiated conjec-ture. What is required is reasonedwell-supported argument leading tophrases such as “research hasshown” or “it can be seen that” -properly referencing your sources,of course!

14

Examples and Quotations

It is often useful to illustrate a pointor argument with an example butthis also involves dangers. Avoidexcessively long, elaborate exam-ples, which might unbalance yourreport and detract from the mainthread of discussion. Ensure that theexample does make the point youintend to make. You can drawexamples from your own experiencebut avoid numerous anecdotes.Always use examples to illustrate apoint, never to establish a generality.

Short quotations can be usedsparingly, so long as full referencesare given.

Never copy sections out of yoursource books and journals.

English, Spelling and Punctuation

Report making is, to some extent,influenced by factors other thancontent and structure. Poor English,spelling mistakes or scruffy presen-tation will all detract from theimpression given by your report.

At the very least your writtenEnglish must be good enough notto detract from the clarity andprecision of your discussion, and,preferably, enhance it.

1.5.6 Checking your Report

As mentioned earlier, it is alwaysadvisable to read through the firstdraft or your report very critically. Itis also essential to double-check thefinal draft. In both cases a checklistis useful.

Report and Essay Writing Check List

• Have I answered the particularquestion that was set?

• Have I divided all the questionsinto separate, smaller questionsand answered these?

• Have I covered all of themain aspects?

• Have I covered these inenough depth?

• Is the content accurate?

• Have I arranged the materiallogically?

• Does the report move smoothlyfrom one section to the next,from paragraph to paragraph?

• Do examples and argumentssupport each main point?

• Have I acknowledged allsources and references?

• Have I distinguished clearlybetween my own ideas andthose of others?

• Is the report the right length -both according to the word limitset and for its own purpose?

• Have I written plainly andsimply?

• Have I read it aloud to sort outclumsy and muddled phrasing?

• Are the grammar, punctuationand spelling accurate?

• Have I presented a convincingcase, which I could justify indiscussion?

1.6 Submitting your Assignment

Standards of Presentation/Literacy

A good standard of literacy, writtenstyle and presentation is expectedfor all assessed work. Workdisplaying poor standards of literacyor presentation will be penalised.Students with special learningdifficulties should speak to theirAPP who will make every effort toassist in line with WSET® AwardsSpecial Needs Policy.

Plagiarism, Collusionand Cheating on Assessment

Don’t! If you attempt to gain agrade by fraudulent means, youcan be severely punished byWSET® Awards.

Copying material from a text-book, article, electronic file, theInternet, or another student,even if you paraphrase, maybe considered plagiarism.Plagiarism is claiming anotherperson’s thoughts, writing,inventions, etc as your own.

Quoting directly withoutquotation marks is plagiarism.

Copying the work of a fellowstudent is treated very serious-ly, as it is unlikely to happeninadvertently. Don’t lend yournotes, computer disks orassignments to other people ifyou suspect they may copythem. You may find it difficultto prove that you were theoriginator of the work.

If the assignment is anindividual piece of work, makesure that it is your own workand not that of a group.Presenting a piece of work asyours when it is, in fact, thework of a group is collusionand is a form of fraud.

Penalties for plagiarism includebeing marked failed on the assignment or failed on the unit.This penalty may also have tobe applied to the original aswell as the copied piece ofwork if it cannot be establishedwhich was the copy and whichthe original.

Course Work Assignments continued


Referencing

The best way to avoid any risk ofplagiarism is to reference all theimportant ideas and facts in yourwork.

Referencing is important in its ownright. A business report or an acad-emic essay needs to demonstrateits validity by giving the sources ofthe ideas, concepts and data usedin the work. A precise reference,that enables the reader to locate thematerial referred to exactly, is thehallmark of good quality work.References within your report shouldbe made using the author’s surname,followed by the date of publication,eg Douglas (1999) or (Greaves andRawlings, 1998b). The positioning ofthe brackets depends on thewording in the text. The suffixes a, b,c, etc. are added to differentiatebetween publications by the sameauthor(s) in the same year.

Bibliography

A bibliography provided at the endof your work should include books(and pamphlets and journals, etc)that you have consulted, as well asthose directly referenced.

All assignments must include a bibliography, omission of this couldresult in a fail/fail refer grade.

The following is an example of apossible format. The bibliographymay be a single list in alphabeticalorder by author. The format of eachentry will vary depending onwhether it is a book or journalpublication.

Book :

Other, A.N. (1984)A Book Title, London: Methuen

Journal :

Other, A.N. and Good, B. (1983)Title of Journal Article

Verbal communications :

Other, A.N. date and industry sector

Material published on the WorldWide Web will often be available inprint, in which case the normalreference format can be adapted.The full URL (Uniform ResourceLocator) should also be providedwith the date that the informationwas obtained, for example :

www.wset.co.uk September 2003

Assignments must be accompaniedby a bibliography, which we expectto be both extensive and diverse.

Meeting Deadlines

It is your responsibility to ensure thatyou hand in all pieces of courseworkby the required dates you haveregistered for. Any work that is nothanded in or presented on the dateregistered for, will not be marked. Theexamination fee will be forfeited andcandidates must re-register for analternative submission date.

Note that the maximum gradethat may be awarded on a re-sitassessment is a Pass.

Please remember, do not count onword processing your assignmentthe day it is due to be submitted,or even the day before. Inability togain access to a computer orprinter is not deemed a satisfactoryreason for late submission.

Disk loss or corruption will not beaccepted as an excuse for anything- it is up to you to make back-ups.

Submission deadlines are sacro-sanct and late work will not beaccepted. You will not get away withcompleting work late in businessand it is our policy to establishmeeting deadlines as a good habit.

In exceptional circumstances youmay apply for an extension to thesubmission date.

You should complete anAssignment Extension Form,attaching any Medical Certificate orother written evidence, and return itto the APP Course Administrator.Students must normally apply assoon as possible but no later thanone week before the submissiondate. All such applications will bedealt with by the WSET® AwardsExaminations Co-ordinator who willreply in writing, setting a newsubmission date where appropriate.Unless there are genuine andunavoidable reasons for delayedsubmission, such requests will notbe granted.

Note that whilst cases of genuinedifficulty will be treated sympatheti-cally, extensions are not grantedautomatically, and you are expectedto organise your workload toensure that deadlines can becomfortably met.

Job workloads and holidays are notsufficient to gain an extension.


1.7 Feedback

When your assignment is marked,your APP will keep it and return theARF to you with examiner comments about the assignmentsstrengths and the areas that youcould profitably target for improve-ment next time round. Do read thecomments the examiner makes,when you receive the ARF back andwhen you begin to write the nextone. These comments will also bevaluable in preparation for the closedbook examinations. However, youshould bear in mind that thevolume of marking that examinershave to deal with can be veryconsiderable and that it may notalways be possible to give lengthycomments on individual pieces ofwork.

You will need to take a balancedview of what the examiner said; notewhat went well in your assignment,in addition to points where yourargument or style were challenged.Congratulate yourself on anythingthat was an improvement over lasttime, before noting what you will trydifferently in your next assignment.Don’t dwell on negative feelingsassociated with lack of success insome areas; this will do nothing foryour morale or for your writing.Instead, use feedback to makeplans for new behaviours you cantry out. If and when those work, itwill be a morale booster.

You may think of feedback assomething that happens only afteran assignment is completed, but itmay sometimes be more helpful toconsult someone else during theprocess of assignment production.Do not underestimate how usefulcolleagues and other students maybe as a resource to support yourlearning. Ask other students to lookat your work, and offer to read andcomment on theirs. This will help

you build a realistic picture of whatother people’s work is like, and youcan gain useful comments about theclarity and organisation of your ownwork. If someone else’s work seemsto be more successful than yourown in some respects, don’t putyourself down. Try and pinpointwhat they did that made it moresuccessful, and try it out for your-self next time. Don’t be temptedto plagiarise others work, theconsequences can be severe, notonly for you, but also for the personwho may be the innocent party.

1.8 Assignment Grades

In order to achieve a Distinction thestudent must:

• use a diversity of researchmethods to collect, analyseand process complexinformation / data

• display in-depth detailedspecialist knowledge andunderstanding of the subject

• evaluate and synthesiserelevant information andjustify valid conclusions

• show an individual approach inpresenting and communicatingwork coherently, using languagefluently.

In order to achieve a Merit thestudent must:

• use a diversity of informationsources

• display a clear understanding ofthe subject with greater depthof factual coverage, accuracy ofinformation and examples

• coherently present andcommunicate work usinglanguage accurately.

A Pass grade is achieved bymeeting all the requirementsdefined in the assessment criteriafor each assignment. This is thehighest grade awarded for a re-sitsubmission.

A Fail grade is given when:

• candidates have not coveredall points listed in theassignment brief

• there is very little or nounderstanding of the subject

• the objectives have beenpoorly defined or omitted

• the criteria for assessmenthave not been achieved

• a poor quality, seriouslydeficient attempt has beenmade at the activity.

No assignments can be resubmittedwith the aim of achieving a highergrade.

Resits for fail grades can only besubmitted using titles not alreadyattempted. No higher than a passgrade can be achieved for theassignment and pass with merit forthe unit.

1.9 Enquiries

Any queries concerning the resultswill be dealt with in line with WSET®

Awards enquiries procedures.These are available from your APP.

Closed Book Examinations 17

3 Closed Book Examinations

You are required to pass closedbook examinations for the followingunits:

Unit 2 - Wine ProductionA multiple choice examination of100 questions.

Unit 3 - Light Wines of the WorldA practical tasting examination oftwo tasting papers of six wineseach.

A written theory examination of 5questions.

Unit 4 - Spirits of the World

A practical tasting examination of3 spirits and one theory question.

Unit 5 - Sparkling Wines of the WorldA practical tasting examination of3 wines and one theory question.

Unit 6 - Liqueur Wines of the WorldA practical tasting examination of3 wines and one theory question.

3.1 Multiple Choice Examination Papers

Details of the Multiple ChoiceExamination are to be found in theExamination Regulations section ofthe Specification.

3.2 Unit 3 Theory ExaminationPapers

The examination dates for Unit 3are set for each academic year byWSET® Awards. Your ApprovedProgramme Provider will inform youof the date you will be taking yourUnit 3 examination.

Please note that some ApprovedProgramme Providers will only offerone Unit 3 examination date eachyear or may offer this examinationonly in alternative years.

Once candidates are registeredonto an examination, fees are non-refundable.

Unit 3 must be sat in its entirety(tasting paper and closed-booktheory paper). Only re-sits andtransitional candidates are permit-ted to sit parts of this unit, butmust then attempt ALL remainingparts of the unit in one sitting.

Nature of Questions

A variety of types and styles ofquestions will be used to test yourbreadth of knowledge across thewhole of the Unit 3 Syllabus. It isthe examiners aim to produceexaminations that meet the needsof the diverse student body takingthe Diploma examination and onethat reflects current best educa-tional practice.

All the questions are set so they arecapable of being answered fully in30 minutes. All questions also,therefore, carry an equal weightingof 100 marks.

Additional time is added to thetotal for written papers to allowcandidates to read the examinationpaper and select whichquestions they will answer.

The questions may relate to anysection of the Unit 3 Syllabus. Theexaminers will not be restricted toindividual sections or elements.Examiners can ask questions thatbridge the different elements withinthe Unit 3 Syllabus. Thus forexample, a question may be onBordeaux exclusively, or require acandidate to compare CabernetSauvignon based wines fromBordeaux, Chile and Bulgaria.

The paper will require the candidateto answer:

• ONE compulsory question,which may be any type ofquestion.

• FOUR questions from a choiceof SIX, which may be any typeof question, but will certainlyinclude the paragraph-typequestion (see pages 19/20).

18 Closed Book Examinations continued

Answering Written Questions

Time is limited. As a guide youshould spend no more than 30minutes preparing and completingan answer to each question ofwhich only 25 should be spentactually writing. It is a good idea tofind out how much you can write in25 minutes in legible handwriting,and limit your answers to thatlength. The uses to which you canput your 30 minutes to answer aselected question are as follows:

Planning ( 5 minutes )

• What information is required?Re-read the question. This mustbe answered as set, so makesure you understand its meaning.For instance, if you are askedabout AC red wines of the RhôneValley, mention of Tavel orCondrieu is of no value.

• What form of answer is required?This is also important; are youbeing asked to list something,to describe it, or to write briefnotes about it? If the questionmentions two items (dry whiteBordeaux and Sauternes, forinstance) are you asked todescribe the differences betweenthem, to compare and contrastthem, or to outline their similari-ties? Always make sure that yougive the answer the examinerwants, not necessarily what youwant to tell the examiner.

• Would maps/diagrams be useful?While these can convey a greatdeal of information, they cannever be the total answer to aquestion; they supplement thewritten answer, and should bereferred to in the text. Explain whythe drawing is there, and what itshows. But be careful; there is avery real danger of the drawingtaking up too much time.

Make a Plan

• Jot down words, phrases, etc.as headings. Do this as you arethinking about the things above.Arrange these headings into alogical sequence.

• In many cases, the ‘Six Factors’that affect wine style and quality(see below) can provide a usefullogical framework for answeringa question. By ensuring youcover every factor that is relevantto an answer, you might avoidmissing out something important.These six factors can also be amemory trigger – very useful inthe pressures of the exam room.For other questions, a logicalstructure can be provided by

• geography (discussing regionsone by one)

• time, eg for processes, dis-cussing what happens in theorder in which it takes place.

• Compare and contrast. Firstdiscuss the common factors,then discuss the differences.

Writing ( 25 minutes )

• Easy to say, but don’t hurry,be legible, logical, concise andrelevant. Form sentences in yourmind before putting pen to paper.

• Make sure that you have coveredthe obvious – the examinercannot assume you know some-thing unless they can deduce itfrom what you have written.This is especially important for4-part questions. Eg, if thequestion asks you aboutMourvèdre, say, you should startby saying that it is a black grapevariety, before discussing whereit is grown and the styles of winethat are made from it. Also,when asked to discuss a wineregion or a grape variety, it isoften useful to include adescription of the wines, using abrief systematic-approach styletasting note.

Checking

• If you look at the total timeallowed for each paper, you willsee that allowing 30 minutes perquestion will still leave time foryour initial choices and also,importantly, for checking whatyou have written.

• Checking is very important,given the heat of the moment.You should check spelling andpunctuation, especially of propernouns. Does the answer makesense?

• Are any words left out, or wrongwords used, reversing the sense?

Part of the key to success is beingfamiliar with answering examinationquestions before the day itself. Youmay wish to practice for the exami-nation by using previous examina-tion papers. These are availablefrom your Approved ProgrammeProvider (an additional charge maybe made for these papers).

The Six Factors

These are the factors that affectthe style and quality-level of anywine. They are

• Grape variety

• Climate and weather (both theregional climate, any localeffects, and the impact of thespecific weather conditions in asingle year)

• Soils and Topography (physicaland chemical effects of soil onwater supply and vine nutrition,and the effects of slopes)

(note that there is considerableinterplay between climate,weather, soils and topographyeg some soils can affect tem-perature and water supply)

• Viticulture

• Winemaking, including barrelmaturation.

• Post-packaging storage,including bottle-age.

Closed Book Examinations continued 19

Unit 3 Theory Questions

Please note these are not the onlytypes of questions to be used inthe Diploma examination.

Sample Paragraph Question

The essence of a good paragraphanswer is plenty of relevant facts inclear, simple English, rather thanopinion or argument. Leave thesefor the more discursive style essayquestions. To do well in a para-graph question you need to get asmany facts down as possible in ashort space of time, making surethat you can provide sufficientfacts for all sections of the ques-tion. It is a good idea to start bysaying what the item in the para-graph is. For example, a detailedpage of text describing the sixmost important producers ofCarmenère, and how the stylesand prices of the wines differed,might gain many marks, but thecandidate would lose marks if theyfailed to show the examiner thatthey knew Carmenère was a blackgrape variety, grown primarily inChile, with some further notes onthe typical characteristics ofCarmenère (colour, flavours,structure…). Those basic marksare the easiest ones to get quickly.You should then aim for 5 or 6supplementary points, though thiswill depend on the total number ofparagraphs you are expected towrite. What you include there willusually be up to you, and themarking key will be quite flexible.

Note however, that there are someinstances where a more narrowfocus is required (eg write a para-graph about the production of… orWith reference to the Americas,write a paragraph about...). Yourdiscussion must always be limitedto the unit you are sitting so, forexample, if you are asked to writeabout Muscat in Unit 3, you will notgain marks for discussing its use inVins Doux Naturels or Asti DOCG.

The following are suggestions ofinformation you might include:

Grape Variety:

• Style, characteristics

• Regions where it is grown

• Typical quality level

• Typical vinification techniques

• Examples of producers orwines

Region:

• Location

• Wine styles and quality

• Grape varieties

• Climate, soils, topography

• Major producers, productiontechniques.

We recommend you compilesimilar lists for legal terms (egCrianza), organisations (eg VDP),events (eg VinExpo), people (egRobert Parker) and processes (egmalting), so you have a templatefor the most common types ofparagraph questions. Note thatthis is not an exhaustive list!

While some candidates struggle tofind 3-4 things to say on a particu-lar topic, others struggle to limittheir answer. Perhaps you grew upin the Yakima Valley, wrote yourDoctoral Thesis on Torrontés,currently work as a winemakingconsultant for Canadian Ice Wineproducers, and you’ve just finishedreading a book about Pierce’sdisease. Or you may be a very

conscientious student. In such asituation, the examiner is not askingfor everything you know about thesubject: they are looking for aclear, concise discussion thatcovers the most important thingsto know.

As a general guide, if you areasked to write six paragraphs in 30minutes, your paragraphs shouldequate to roughly one third to halfa page (120-150 words) of averagehandwriting. If you are asked towrite three, each ‘paragraph’should be nearly a page (240-300words). If you find it helpful todivide your text into blocks, orinclude diagrams or maps, then doso. Sometimes that can be thequickest way to present informa-tion to the examiner.

Finally, do not assume that youcan gain enough marks by writinga great deal about a few subjectsonly. Each section of a paragraphquestion carries equal marks andby failing to answer one sectiononly, you forfeit one sixth of themarks available in this instance. Itis easy to see how missing outsections or providing weakanswers will affect the candidate’soverall chance of success.

It cannot be over emphasised -these questions do not offer theeasy option!

With reference to the Americas,write a paragraph of EACH of thefollowing:

a ) Torrontes

b ) Central Valley, California

c ) Ice Wine

d ) Carmenère

e ) Yakima Valley

f ) Pierce’s disease

The sections on Ice Wine and theCentral Valley caused the leastproblems, although several


candidates confused the latter withthe Central Coast. Most candidatesdid not know where the YakimaValley was, commonly confusing itwith Willamette. Three candidateseven put it in Australia, NewZealand and Uruguay – the first twoclearly not reading the questionproperly as this clearly states “withreference to the Americas”.Knowledge on Pierce’s diseasewas extremely poor with mostgaining less than a third of themarks available. There was generalconfusion over whether it was avirus or a fungus (it is a bacterialdisease for which there is no cure).A large number of candidatesconfused this with the effects ofphylloxera resulting in lots of irrelevant information. Torrontes (agrape variety) was sometimesconfused with Torres (a wineproducer) and some thought it wasa wine region. The following is anexample of how not to succeed atparagraph style questions:

e) Yakima Valley

In Australia in Victoria region (southof New South Wales). In South EastAustralia, Yakima Valley by thePyrenee region, is cool and has asufficient amount of rain and hashigh altitudes for the growing ofChardonnay and Pinot Noir for stilland sparkling wines.

This candidate is seriously confusedin terms of world geography. Theonly comment of any value hererelates to the growing ofChardonnay. By comparison, thefollowing candidate did not neces-sarily write much more, but whathe/she did write, was far morerelevant:

“Yakima Valley is a part of thelarger Columbia region in inlandWashington state. The entire regionis sheltered from the cooling

influence of the ocean by theCascade Mountain range and theclimate is hugely continental. As aresult, summers are hot, arid anddry and winters are freezing cold.Riesling does well here as doesChardonnay. Some SauvignonBlanc is also grown.”

This candidate could have pickedup more marks by commenting onthe increasing use of red grapes(best known for Merlot), comment-ing on the style of wines producedand quality levels (mostly highquality varietal wines but somecheaper table wines also pro-duced).

Once again, examples of a badand good response in relation toIce Wine:

“Ice Wine – Canada – Niagara Fallsarea is known for its quality icewines made in the style of thefamous German ice wines. This isa new development in NorthAmerican wines.”

This is seriously inadequate. Thisshould have been a very easyparagraph to cover. This candi-date gives no indication of how thewines are produced, which grapevarieties are used or what thewines actually taste like, whereasthe following one did exactly this.

“Ice Wine is made from freshlycrushed frozen grapes. The grapesare left on the vine late into theautumn and winter where theyfreeze at temperatures around-8°C. The grapes are picked whilestill frozen and pressed. The sugarshave been concentrated by thefreeze and the resulting wines aresweet, rare and much sought after.Some regions are more reliable atproducing ice wine than others,and prices reflect this. Notableproducing countries includeCanada (biggest producer),

Germany (called Eiswein), Austriaand Switzerland. The Swiss versionis made from Réze grapes, storedin casks at high altitudes andrefilled annually via a solerasystem. These wines are called Vindu Glacier and are a speciality ofthe Valais. Canada's climate inOntario is particularly suitable andreliable making it the leadingproducer in the world.”

There is one other reason forselecting this script as an example.Whilst the information on CanadianIce Wine is detailed and relevant,this candidate also wasted timeand effort including lots of irrele-vant information that attracted nomarks at all. As the questionspecifically says “with reference tothe Americas”, the three linesrelating to production in Germany,Austria and particularly Switzerlandare totally superfluous. It wouldhave been far more useful to haveincluded reference to grapevarieties used (Riesling and Vidal),and the areas most successful atproducing this style of wine(Niagara Peninsula and OkanagenValley). It is very tempting to tell theexaminer “everything you know”,but if it has not been specificallyasked for, it will not gain you anymarks.


Sample Essay Question

For paragraph and multi-partquestion, most of the structure ofan answer is provided by thequestion, and marks are gained byfactual recall. In an essay question,you need to provide the structurefor your answer, and you willusually be asked to express anopinion. For example, you may beasked to

• Identify/account for/extrapolatefrom a trend

• Explain why something hashappened

• Say whether something shouldor shouldn’t be done.

• Discuss whether you agreeor disagree with a givenstatement.

In your answer, you will need to dotwo things:

1) Create a structure that demon-strates to the examiner that youhave a good perspective of thetopic you are discussing, sothat whatever conclusion youdraw is persuasive.

2) Use the essay as a vehicle todemonstrate your knowledge ofthe subject, so your conclusionis authoritative.

Correspondingly, poor essayanswers almost always fall into atleast one of two traps.

1) The facts that are included arenot analysed or linked to thecase that is being argued. In themost extreme cases, they arenot even relevant to the ques-tion, and the answer becomes‘everything I know about X’.

2) There is very little factualcontent. Any argument oropinion that is included is notsupported by examples.

It is essential that a candidatedecides how they are going toargue their case before they startto write. Your opening paragraphshould ideally

• Briefly outline the context ofyour answer, defining anyterms that you believe mightbe open to interpretation

• Signpost how you will answerthe question over the followingparagraphs.

You will then have time to write 3-5paragraphs giving the detail ofyour answer. It is good practice tobe clear in your mind aboutexactly what point you are trying tomake in each paragraph. Startingthe paragraph with that key point,stated as clearly as possible, andthen following this with some factsand examples that support yourpoint is a good way to structureparagraphs.

In the time available, it is unlikelyyou will be able to cover more than3-5 main points. It is up to you todecide what they should be. Partof the skill of writing a good essayis knowing what to leave out.Some facts will be left out becausethey are not relevant to youranswer. Some points may berelevant, but you will have to leavethem out because you are unableto include them in the time andspace available. Knowing what themost important points are beforeyou start will help keep your essayfocussed.

Finally, your conclusion will drawtogether the arguments you havepresented. You might briefly reca-pitulate the main points made inthe preceding paragraphs. If youare asked to discuss a statement,this is the bit where you balancethe ‘for’ and the ‘against’, and

decide whether or not you agree.If you are asked to explain a trend,the conclusion is the bit where youshow what you think is the mostimportant of the reasons you havediscussed over the precedingparagraphs.

It is a very good idea to practiceessay plans before the exam. Infive-ten minutes, you can writeyour introduction, key paragraphsentences, and conclusion. Themore times you do this, the cleareryour thoughts will be, and theclearer your essays will be.

Explain why retail prices for NewZealand wines are high. Despite this,how has the New Zealand wineindustry expanded its markets?

(An essay format is required for thisquestion.)

Despite the warning that thisquestion specifically required anessay format answer, some candi-dates still chose to ignore thisinstruction. They were penalised inthe marking process as a result.

Many scripts were simply tooshort. In the time available for eachquestion (1/2 hour), the examinerexpects about two sides of A4paper, yet many scripts were bare-ly one side or even less, resultingin an inadequate answer.

Whilst the actual content betweenthe introduction and conclusionforms almost all of the marks forthis style of question, candidatesshould not underestimate theimportance of the introductoryand concluding sections whenadopting an essay format. In someinstances, the examiner is able toallocate bonus marks for style andclarity, particularly if the candidateis able to show that they have a


good understanding of the focusof this question. In this case, it wasimportant to establish some keypoints at the outset, such as thatthe current average price of NewZealand wine in its major exportmarket (the UK) is around £6 perbottle, compared to a UK averageof £3.50. Similar patterns occur inthe USA and (to a lesser extent)Australia, as well as other marketswhere New Zealand wines havemade a smaller impact(Scandinavia, Germany). With NewZealand only accounting foraround 0.3% of the world’s wineproduction, and with only around420 wineries in operation, howhave they managed to achieve thisimpressive statistic in terms ofbottle price?

Far too many candidatesapproached this question in verygeneral terms. Viticulture andvinification were often dealt with inone sentence, without any detailof what is involved. Only onecandidate seemed to understandthe correlation between the highprice of the wine and the smallamounts often produced, and theamounts of money spent in termsof viti/vini. Some candidatesconcentrated too much on individ-ual wines (and Cloudy Bay inparticular) and only a couple

appreciated the significance of theeffect of pests and diseases to theequation. In addition, several hadsevere misconceptions about theclimate, with one believing it to be“the best in the world for winemaking.” There was also acommon misconception that allNew Zealand had to do to solveit’s problems was to plant morevines and increase it’s output,without any thought for the conse-quences. The following candidatewas the highest grade for thisquestion, and even this had plentyof room for improvement.

“This small country, at least a threehour flight from it’s nearest neigh-bour, ranks very near the bottom(about no 15) in terms of volume ofproduction as a country, yet itcommands the highest averageper bottle sale price and comesvery near the top (around no 7) interms of value of sales, certainly inthe UK. Before the Kiwis reallylaunched into international marketswith great success, they ironed outmany quality issues such as whichgrape variety to plant where andhow to get the best from the vine.In the 1950’s and 60’s (and eversince the Dalmatians first emigrat-ed to the “green and pleasantland”) the vineyards were mainlyfull of the German, cool climate

crossing Müller-Thurgau. This wasbecause, given New Zealand’scool climate, wine producerslooked to other cool climate coun-tries for advice. Müller-Thurgaunever produced exciting, longlasting wine in New Zealand,added to which, the rich soils ofthe country made the vine particu-larly vigorous and the taste of thewine even more neutral. During the70’s, other varieties were experi-mented with and canopy manage-ment expertise was very muchdeveloped and researched.Consequently the great marriagebetween New Zealand andSauvignon Blanc was born, as itwas discovered that vigorouspruning and the right exposure ofthe grapes to sunlight, (to loweryields and help physiologicalripeness), produced an exciting,fresh, clean and pungent wine.Cloudy Bay was the first interna-tionally successful brand. Thissame approach was applied toPinot Noir, Chardonnay, CabernetSauvignon, Merlot and Riesling.The two highest selling varieties,Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir,show distinct varietal character butin a way that is fairly unique. Thepungency of fresh, grassy andgooseberry Sauvignon and therich concentration of Pinot, whilststill showing cool climate

23Closed Book Examinations continued

characteristics, have enabledproducers to command high retailprices. In conjunction with this,New Zealand is only able toproduce relatively small quantitiesof wine as a country, so the(approx.) 900,000 hl are much indemand each year. The simplereason for the high retail prices forNew Zealand wine is that demandfar exceeds supply. Wither Hills inMarlborough has run out ofSauvignon Blanc for the last twovintages and has had to release thenew vintage in June followingharvest. They are planting moreSauvignon Blanc in an effort tomeet demand.

Producers in New Zealand arerepresented by a very efficient,pro-active and business likeorganisation; the New ZealandWine Growers Guild. This tradebody has helped increase theprofile of New Zealand winesimmensely. Further, the country asa whole has a very positive imageacross the world and this can onlybe a benefit when it comes tosecuring shelf space in a Europeansupermarket. Tourists to thecountry will be welcomed at thecellar door of most wineries in NewZealand. Guided vineyard tours areavailable as well as the opportunityto taste and buy.

New Zealand has several largebrands such as Montana and VillaMaria. Although they may buymany of their grapes in, they stillhave control in the vineyard toensure continued quality. Theboutique wines such as Neudorfof Nelson can ride on the back ofthe good image of larger brandswhilst offering a “nice” alternative.

The sheer good quality of the winethat comes out of New Zealandmeans that, as a country, produc-ers are able to successfully enternew markets and continue toexpand and up-sell existing ones.As long as the focus stays onquality, even at high quantity, thissuccess should continue.”

This makes a number of validpoints, but tends to be rather longwinded and lacks the edge of areally outstanding answer. It couldhave focussed a little more onestablishing why retail prices areso high. Although it makes thepoint that this is driven by supplyand demand, it does not really getto the bottom of why supply islimited (climate and weather,diseases, pests, low yieldsbecause of the effect of all ofthese). Other issues to be explored,relate to production costs and howthese influence retail price such asmanpower, which is expensiveand in short supply, high costs ofvinification (state of the art stain-less steel and imported French oakbarriques). In terms of examininghow the New Zealand wine tradehas managed to expand itsmarkets, this essay again makessome important points – thequality of the wines, the reliabilityof the key brands, the focussed,united export strategy withgovernment support, but some ofthese could have been expandedon. For example, the fact that

they make very little in the way of“cheap, bulk wines”. In fact, thedomestic market tends to drinkAustralian wine to fill this gap.Some statistics would havesupported the argument relating tothe success of the New ZealandWine Growers Guild and othermarketing strategies. For example,in the 10 years from 1992, produc-tion doubled and exports tripled,from 2001 to 2002 exports toAustralia expanded by 50%. Theinnovation of the New Zealandmarket was also worthy of mention– they have raised the (quality)profile of stelvin closures in a waythat no other country has managedto do. Finally, they seem to employexcellent and sensitive marketingstrategies that encompass boththe on and off trade – somethingmany other wine countries finddifficult to balance.


Sample Label Question

Using your knowledge of the styleof the TWO wines depicted, com-pare and contrast them based onthe following:

a) Climate

b) Viticulture

c) Vinification

d) Resulting style of wine

e) Target market

The purpose of this question is totest the candidates’ commercialawareness of the wines depicted inaddition to their factual knowledgeregarding production. The twowines were selected to provide aclear contrast under all the head-ings. The Riesling Auslese – aclassic cool climate wine, labourintensive in terms of viticulture andstrictly regulated with regard topicking (timing and condition ofgrapes), with a very small targetmarket, (lovers of fine Germanwines who understand andappreciate this expensive style ofwine). In terms of the style of thiswine, few noticed that this wasalready 16 years old. Those whodid, wrote a description to match,those who did not, scored lessmarks where their descriptionfailed to address the issue ofmaturity. In the case of the Jacob’sCreek, this was clearly a verydifferent wine – warmer climate,bordering on hot, with little in theway of vintage variation, largescale production (blending ofgrapes from different regions),highly mechanised with largeyields, very high tech, modernvinification with a very differenttarget market (wine purchased bybrand name rather than grapevariety). In terms of wine style,

again very different to the GermanRiesling – commercial, dry, nodistinct regional character, simplefresh citrus fruit for drinking youngrather than long term ageing.

Unfortunately, although a largenumber of candidates felt this wasa question they could answer, fewof them did so in the level of detailrequired. Very few candidatesactually compared or contrastedthe wines – simply describing eachin turn. These two wines wereselected because they had certainsimilarities, but within the scope ofthese, were very different indeed.

Far too few grasped that thisshould have dictated the structureof their answer.

Finally, we had one candidatewho, presumably knowing nothingabout the wines depicted, decidedto substitute their own choice of(red) wines instead. Not surprising-ly, this candidate wasted their time(and the examiner’s) and gained“null points”.

Label 1

Label 2


3.3 Practical Tasting Examination

Unit 3 Tasting Examination

The practical tasting examinationdeliberately avoids exclusivereliance on the “blind-tasting-todetermine-origin” routine. This isbecause at its worst it degeneratesinto a party game ( “I only got tworight today” ). At its best, however,this more academic approach stillhas an important role in the assess-ment of your tasting ability andtechnique.

The fact is that few commercialtastings today are conductedtotally blind. Emphasis is increasing-ly placed on your ability toaccurately assess quality in particu-lar, as well as maturity and commer-cial value, for a set of wines whoseorigins are known in advance. TheUnit 3 Syllabus, and therefore theexamination, aims to strike a bal-ance between the two approaches.

The tasting examination may relateto any section of the Unit 3Syllabus. The examiners will not berestricted to individual sections orelements. Examiners can selectwines from any wine producingarea identified in the Syllabus; theyare not restricted to the wineslisted in the Specification for thesubmission of tasting portfolios.

The tasting paper will require thecandidate to taste 12 wines. Thepaper will be divided into two partseach of 1 hour’s duration. Each partconsists of 6 wines.

The paper has been divided to giveyou time to have a short break,wash your glasses, and prepare forthe next 6 wines.

The part papers are not separateexaminations, and must be sat intheir entirety (with the exception oftransitional candidates holdingeither Part A or Part B of the former

Diploma Syllabus). You mustachieve an aggregate pass markacross both papers to be awardeda pass in the Unit 3 tastingexamination.

Tasting Note Presentation - Wine

The WSET® Level 4 SystematicApproach to Tasting is designedto be thorough, systematic andlogical in its approach to a skillwhere competence comes throughdiscipline.

The points below will amplify itscontent:

General Points

• The examples of tasting termsincluded alongside eachsub-heading are not intendedto be exhaustive, rather to fixpoints along each scale inbroad terms.

• The sub-headings themselves(in the left-hand column) are lessflexible and form the frameworkof the systematic approach.These should be assessed,but only those that are relevantshould be noted.

• Some tasting terms cannot beused alone without qualification.These include medium, light, full.

• Balance is not included as asub-heading, because it tooneeds qualifying. It is includedin the tasting terms for acidityand tannin on the palate, butnote that it can also apply in anoverall sense, eg balance /imbalance between nose andpalate.

• Concise tasting notes can beachieved by combiningelements, eg “pale ruby”,“pronounced mature nose” andby eliminating items that are

not relevant, eg “ripe fruit” maynot be important every time,whereas “noble rot” needs tobe mentioned.

Appearance

• Again, some basic colour termsshould not be used withoutqualification, e.g. “lemon yellow”not “yellow”, “ruby red” not “red”

• Deposits, under otherobservations, would includecrystals as well as sediment.

Nose

• Condition is the automatic refleximpression of the wine’s health.

• Development charts the evolutionof the nose of a wine over timeand makes the importantdistinction between primaryaroma, which is derived fromthe grape, and bouquet, derivedfrom anaerobic maturation.

Note that some wines, forexample Oloroso Sherry, aredeliberately oxidised, so ifoxidation is detected it shouldbe noted whether or not this isdeliberate.

• The tasting terms listedalongside “fruit aromacharacteristics” are groupheadings only, allowing scopefor further description. It oftenhelps, when trying to define anodour, to think first in generalterms (eg fruit, spice) and thenmore specifically: (which fruit?blackberry? blackcurrant?which spice? etc ).

• Complexity, a term to be usedwith caution, would be indicatedby the identification of severalaroma characteristic groups.


Palate

• Be aware of the differencebetween body – sometimescalled “mouth-feel”, and whichis allied to extract – and actualalcoholic content. A wine canbe high in alcohol and still feelthin in the mouth.

• It is a fact when tasting thatthe components of a wine arenot consistent in the mouth.Sweetness is an early sensationwhich then fades, acidity andtannin only emerge later and aremore noticeable towards thefinish.

• Avoid terms like ‘medium-high’.This could be read as ‘some-where in between medium andhigh’ or ‘either medium or high,I’m hedging my bets’. Themarking key will, whereappropriate, accept a rangeof acceptable descriptions forlevels of acidity, tannin etc.Be as precise as you can.Terms such as ‘just abovemedium’ or ‘medium plus’are fine.

• Remember that the exam isasking for you to write adescription of the wine usingprose, not an assessment ofthe palate components. If youare in a hurry, you will gainsome points for lists or bulletpoints. However, adding a fewlinking words does not takemuch time, and will make youranswer flow.

Conclusions

• Evidently, the headings you usehere will vary depending onwhich you are given in advance,and which you are left to assess.

• Quality is usually asked beforea comment on origin or grapevariety. The most importantthing to discuss here is theabsolute quality level of thewine. A good answer willinclude a reference to aspectssuch as Balance (eg ofstructural components,flavours), Length (of the finish,and also length on the palateie do the flavours fill themouth), Intensity (concentrationof flavour and extract) andComplexity.

• If you have an idea of what thewine is, you should use qualitydesignations where they exist(eg, if you think the wine is aBurgundy, then say whetherit is basic Bourgogne, acommune-level wine (greateror lesser commune), a PremierCru or a Grand Cru quality.Spanish ageing categories(Reserva etc), GermanPrädikats and Bordeauxclassifications should also bementioned. Note the ‘AC level’is not a precise quality levelsince it covers everything fromlarge-volume entry-level winesto super-luxury rarities.

• Age in years is exactly that.Simply state how old you thinkthe wine is, in years. A vintageis not asked for. The markingkey will allow a margin of errorso that for a wine that is oneyear old, a mark might be givenfor any of ‘less than one year’,‘one year’, or ‘two years’. Olderwines will have larger margins.

• Readiness to drink: The level ofdetail required will depend onthe marks available. For twomarks, you will need to statewhether the wine is ready todrink, and give a timescale forhow long it needs, or how longit will be drinkable (using theterms in the SystematicApproach). If 3-4 marks arerequired, you will need to addsome reasons. For example,‘At peak, drink over the next6-12 months because the fruitwill fade and there is insufficientconcentration for the wine toimprove’, or ‘ready to drink now,but the high level of tanninbalanced by concentrated fruit,suggests the wine can continueto improve over 3-5 years’

• In the case of immature wines,an indication of how long it willtake to mature, ie its ageingpotential, would make theconclusion that much morespecific.

Note the difference between age( “how old is it?” ) and maturity( “do I keep it or drink it?” ).

List of questions that may be asked to make up the 10/13 marks (unit 3) or 5 marks (unit 4, 5 & 6)

• Country and Region of Origin: (1-2 marks)

• Specific Identity of wine/spirit within the region: (1-2 marks)

• Grape Variety(ies): (1-2 marks)

• Readiness to drink/Potential for future ageing: (1-4 marks)

• Approximate retail price, including all taxes: (1-2 marks)

• Assessment of Quality: (2-7 marks)

• Method of Production: (1-2 marks)

• Age of wine in years: (1-2 marks)

• Base material: (1-2 marks)


Sample Completed Tasting Notes

Wine

Appearance

Nose

Palate

Conclusion

Dr Thanisch Bernkasteler Badstube RieslingAuslese QmP 1995 £14.75

Clear and bright, medium intensity with a medium straw coreand a narrow pale watery lemon rim.

Clean, showing maturity with a pronounced intensity of honeyed apple fruitwith a balance of grapefruit and lemon, kerosene, petrol aromas also present.It also has a firm steely slate edge.

Medium sweet. High acidity (mouth-watering) though balanced by fruitintensity, which is pronounced. Tangy green apples, honeyed, grapefruit, lemonswith a steely slate backbone. Good complexity with a slight prickle on thetongue. Medium body and a long finish and medium alcohol.

Assessment of Quality: This is a good quality wine from a good producerand single vineyard site as is typified by the good fruit intensity and mineralcomplexity resulting in a wine of great balance.Readiness to Drink/Potential for Future Ageing: Showing some signs ofmaturity with kerosene, petrol aromas. Drinking well now, but has fruit andmouth-watering acidity to last another 7 –10 years.

Spirit

Appearance

Nose

Palate

Conclusion

Havana Club Blanco (Cuban White Rum), £13.99

Clear and bright, water white with legs.

Clean. Medium intensity, youthful.Creamy, caramel, sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg).

Off-dry with balanced alcohol and medium body. Medium+ flavour intensityof orange peel and dried fruits with sweet spice and a citrus element.Creamy mouthfeel. Balanced, but simple finish and medium length.

Raw material: MolassesStyle of Spirit: Cuban white rumEstimated off-premise retail price including all taxes: £15


Sample Unit 3 Tasting Questions

Single white variety, not specified

The three wines were a classic,Premier Cru White Burgundy fromthe Côte de Beaune, a commercial,heavily oaked AustralianChardonnay, and a premiumCalifornia Chardonnay - a trio thatshould have posed few problems forSection III candidates. In the main,this was certainly the case, but therewere a few common pitfalls.

The easiest way to lose marks inthis paper is by failing to identify thegrape variety. A number of candi-dates insist on giving a differentvariety for each wine despite beingtold in advance that one varietyapplies to all three wines. Anotherclassic mistake is assuming theidentity of the grape variety on thebasis of the first wine tasted. It iseasy to become distracted andattempt to make the remainingdescriptions fit the variety chosenrather than use the information theycontain to arrive at the correct identity.

The sample scripts reproducedbelow give clear examples of thelevel of response that will guaranteea top grade in this paper and theshortfall in an answer that leads tofailure.

Wine no 1

Appearance: Clear, intense lemon /pale gold with greenish hue - verylittle variation between rim and core- overall more youthful in appear-ance than mature; fairly viscous.

Nose: Clean, pronounced, intensearomas of baked apples, lemonpulp, creamy, toasty notes, nutsand spice, mineral hints - overall,nose is developing and intensewith concentrated fruits and refinedoak aromas.

Palate: dry, crisp lemony acid,lemon pulp and green apple fruitcharacter, oak treatment evidentin creamy mouthfeel and caramelflavours, alcohol is high butbalanced with concentrated fruitand mineral character. Length isconsiderable with lemony fruit andspicy warmth of alcohol. Fullbodied and gaining complexity.

Country of origin: France

Region of origin, if applicable:Burgundy, Côte d’Or

Assessment of quality: A very goodquality Chardonnay from Burgundy– premium fruit, tremendousmineral character, judicious use ofoak – could be Premier Cru level.

Approximate age of wine: youthful forBurgundy - 3-4 years

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: Wine deserves to bottle agefurther for optimal harmony of oakand fruit – probably could handle8-10 years.

Wine no 2

Appearance: Clear, fairly intensebrassy gold, moderately focusedcore and a defined watery rim.

Nose: Clean, moderately pro-nounced youthful aromas of yellowapple fruit, citrus and tropical notesand a whiff of tinned asparagus.Vanilla aromas suggesting oaktreatment. Wine is overall youthfuland not as complex as wine no 1.

Palate: Dry, tart acid supports appleand pineapple fruit character.Creamy notes from oak as well asthe astringency of plenty of oakcontact. Alcohol is balanced withfruit, wine is medium bodied andlength is decent, but less finessethan wine no 1, and more oakastringency and spice than fruit.

Country of origin: Australia

Region of origin, if applicable:NSW, Hunter Valley perhaps

Assessment of quality: Average qualityChardonnay. International andapproachable in style – lots of oakand the tinned asparagus suggestsa simply made wine.

Approximate age of wine: still youthful –1-2 years old

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: Ready to drink – oak couldintegrate more successfully with ayear of bottle age, but this wine isnot made for cellaring.


Wine no 3

Appearance: Clear, fairly intensebrassy gold with green tints, dis-cernable watery rim - viscous andmore youthful in appearance thandeveloped.

Nose: Clean, pronounced develop-ing aromas of apple/pear fruit -very intense and concentrated withtoasty, vanilla notes suggesting oakcontact.

Palate: Dry, moderate lemonyacidity supports ripe apple / pear,melon fruit. Intense and creamy, fullbodied and rich with zing of oak.Alcohol is high but balanced, lengthis generous with both ripe applyfruit, citrus zest and toasted spice.

Country of origin: USA

Region of origin, if applicable :California, Sonoma

Assessment of quality: Good qualityChardonnay, ripe fruit, a pleasingbalance of oak and fruit, wellstructured.

Approximate age of wine: 2-3 years

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: Certainly drinking well now,balanced, could hold for a year ortwo.

Grape variety: Chardonnay

There is very little to add to thenotes on wine no 1, except perhapsfor the slight spritz that could beobserved on the edge of the glassand a slight smoky character on thenose and melon fruit character.Wine no 2 is also well described.The examiner picked up herbalnotes on the nose, which thiscandidate has identified as “tinnedasparagus”. They could also havementioned the slightly confected,sweet smelling fruit. The body onthis wine was a little higher than the“medium” in this note but thiscandidate has done well to identifythe simple, youthfulness of thiswine. The note for wine no 3 is alsovery accurate.

Conclusions for all 3 wines areextremely accurate and qualityassessment shows logic and goodanalysis of tasting notes.

Compare these very full notes withthe rather brief but very inaccuratenote for wine no 1 below:

Appearance: Clear and bright, palelemon with slight green tinge; someviscosity and pale watery rim

Nose: Clean, medium intensity ofwhite fruits, youthful.

Palate: Dry, light to medium bodied,crisp acidity, medium plus intensityof unripe green apples, citrus,mineral, petrol, medium alcohol,medium long length.

Country of origin: Old world - Germany

Region of origin: Mosel

Assessment of quality: Well made,commercial wine with balance ofgood fruit and acid, fruits bothprimary and some secondaryaromas and palate of mineral petrol.

Approximate age of wine: 2-3 years old.

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: Drinking now, very fresh, willlast 2-3 years.

This is a classic case of deciding ona grape variety and writing thenotes to fit rather than writing a notebased on what is actually in theglass and using this information toidentify the grape variety. At thisstage in the Diploma cycle, candi-dates should not be confusing aclassic, rich, full bodied oakedChardonnay with a light bodied,German Riesling. The assessmentof quality is also largely irrelevant,and merely repeats the ( inaccurate )observations already made underthe nose and palate. Having com-mitted himself or herself to Riesling,this candidate then went on toidentify wine no 2 as an AustralianRiesling (correct in terms of countrybut inaccurate as far as thedescription was concerned), andidentified wine no 3 as a PfalzRiesling despite the obvious oakand alcohol of 13.5%.

Not surprisingly, this candidate didnot achieve a pass in this paper.

Partly-Specified Wines

Traditionally, tasting papers achievehigher pass rates than theoryquestions.

However, in this instance, theexaminer was faced with anextremely poor standard ofresponses that left them, the exam-ination panel and the appeals panelat a loss as to why candidates hadonly put in a mediocre performancewhen assessing what should havebeen 3 extremely easy wines.

The wines selected were all fromthe same producer (Dr Thanisch) –well respected for the quality andtypicity of his wines. They rangedin age from the 2000 vintage to1997 and 1995 and covered 3quality levels with one QbA and 2Prädikat wines, a Spätlese and anAuslese.


There was an alarming ignoranceof the German wine classificationsystem, which is after all taught atIntermediate Certificate level. Theexaminer noted all the possiblevariations, from QbP, QAP, GMP.Other major errors were down tonot reading the given informationaccurately. Instructions on theexamination paper clearly said“wines 1-3 are all Rieslings from theMosel-Saar-Ruwer”, so why did somany candidates describe them asfrom the Rheingau, Pfalz, Australiaand New Zealand?

There is still confusion over what isrequired under “detailed assess-ment of quality”, especially amongstoverseas candidates. This also spillsover into the “state of maturity” section.

The extract below is a goodexample of this:

Detailed assessment of quality: Nosematches palate, yet youthfulprimary fruit, with hints ofsecondary fruit – 3 or so years old.Well-made wine. Will age well for5 or so years.

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: 3-4 years old. 1998/9 vintage.

Some of the comments under theassessment of quality are just arepeat of the notes on the palate ofthis wine, and in some instances,are even better. In any event, it isNOT an assessment of quality andis certainly not “detailed”. State ofmaturity does not mean, “How oldis the wine?” It is asking about thedevelopment of the wine. Is it readyto drink? Does it require furtherkeeping, or is it past its best?It also requires an indication of theestimated lifespan of the wine.

Some of the comments madeunder “assessment of quality”would have been more appropriatehere.

In view of the bad performance ofmany candidates sitting this exami-nation, it would seem appropriateto give an example from one candidate who clearly knew whatthey were doing.

The 3 wines in this instance were:

Wine no 1 – Dr ThanischBernkasteler Badstube RieslingAuslese QmP 1995, £14.75

Wine no 2 – Dr ThanischBernkasteler Lay Riesling SpätleseQmP 1997, £12.00

Wine no 3 – Dr Thanisch RieslingQbA 2000, £7.25

Wine no 1

Appearance: clear and bright, mediumintensity with a medium straw coreand a narrow pale watery lemonrim.

Nose: clean, showing maturity witha pronounced intensity of honeyedapple fruit with a balance of grape-fruit and lemon, kerosene, petrolaromas also present. It also has afirm steely slate edge.

Palate: medium sweet. High acidity(mouth-watering) though balancedby fruit intensity, which ispronounced. Tangy green apples,honeyed, grapefruit, lemons with asteely slate backbone. Goodcomplexity with a slight prickle onthe tongue. This wine is the weight-iest of the 3 with medium body anda long finish and medium alcohol.

Detailed assessment of quality: this isa wine of QmP level - Auslese orSpätlese, from a good producerand probably single vineyard site astypified by the good fruit intensityand mineral complexity resulting ina wine with great balance.

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: some signs of maturity withkerosene, petrol aromas. Drinkingwell now but has fruit and mouth-watering acidity to last another7-10 years.

Estimated off-trade retail price per bottleincluding all taxes: £13-15


Wine no 2

Appearance: Clear and bright,medium intensity, watery lemoncore with water white rim and slightgreen hue.

Nose: Clean, mature bouquetindicated by kerosene aromas.Medium+ intensity of fruit, initiallykerosene is very dominant, howeverapply and grapefruit aromas comethrough and floral intensity ofhoneysuckle as well, plus steelyslateyness. Very good complexity.

Palate: Off dry. Balanced acidity,medium++ fruit intensity, ripe, crispgreen apples with a honey finish.Mouth-watering grapefruit andlemon fruit, floral honeysuckletones also apparent and amarmalade tang. This is a wine ofgood complexity, long length andreasonably low alcohol.

Detailed assessment of quality: this is avery good, well made wine of QmPlevel. Probably a Spätlese from agood producer and single vineyard.This is indicated by the excellentbalance of fruit and acidity, andintensity of fruit and structure.

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: drinking well now but stillmaturing. Will last another 3-5years.


Wine no 3

Appearance: clear and bright, paleintensity, lemon/straw core withgreen lights and a slight spritz.

Nose: Clean, youthful nose ofmedium intensity. Grapefruit andlemon with slight apple blossombouquet.

Palate: medium sweet with crispacidity. Medium fruit intensity,which is fairly simple – stewedapples, lemons and limes. Lightbody with medium alcohol and afinish of medium length.

Detailed assessment of quality: this is awell-made simple style of wine ofQbA level. It lacks the complexityand length to be QmP, howeverdoes have a nice balancedstructure, complemented by plentyof fresh fruit intensity.

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: a youthful style of wine,which is ready for drinking now –not for keeping.


Although there is a generaltendency in these notes to show aslight lack of imagination when itcomes to fruit character (with all 3wines very similar), the key points inthe systematic approach have beenaddressed. Assessment of qualityshows some reasoned thoughtprocess and state of maturity givesa good level of detail. Pricing isspot on - perhaps this candidateworks in the retail trade?

Compare this with the sparcityof the following extract fromanother candidate’s submission.Not surprisingly, this was markedas a low Fail grade.

Wine no 3

Appearance: clear, pale lemon yellow

Nose: clean, moderately intense fruit,floral, youthful.

Palate: clean, off dry, light bodied,medium to high acidity, short finish.

Detailed assessment of quality: QbA

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing: 2-3 years

Estimated off-trade retail price per bottleincluding all taxes: $10

(this paper submitted by a UScandidate therefore prices given indollars).

32 Sample Tasting Question Papers

WINE Number 1 (and 2 and 3)

Appearance(3 marks)

Nose(7 marks)

Palate(10 marks)

Assessmentof Quality(4 marks)

Approximateage of wine(1 mark)

Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing (2 marks)

Country oforigin (1 mark)

Region oforigin,if applicable(2 marks)

GRAPE VARIETY(5 marks)

Reasons forthis choice?(5 marks)

Wines 1 - 3 are all made from the SAME white grape variety.

Describe each wine under the headings below, then IDENTIFY the grape variety.

33Sample Tasting Question Papers continued

Country oforigin (5 marks)

Whichcharacteristicsin the 3 wineslead to thisconclusion?(5 marks)


Appearance(3 marks)

Nose(7 marks)

Palate(10 marks)



Grapevariety(ies)(2 marks)

Region oforigin (2 marks)

Wines 4 - 6 all come from the SAME country.

Describe each wine under the headings below, then IDENTIFY the common link indicated at the end of this paper.

34 Sample Tasting Question Papers continued


Appearance(3 marks)

Nose(7 marks)

Palate(10 marks)

Detailedassessmentof Quality(7 marks)


Estimatedoff-premiseretail price perbottle, includingall taxes (2 marks)

Wines 7 - 9 are all produced in the Rioja DOC.

Describe each wine under the headings below.



Appearance(3 marks)

Nose(7 marks)

Palate(10 marks)


Readiness to Drink/Potential for FutureAgeing (3marks)

Approximateage of wine(1 mark)

Predominantgrape variety(ies)(1 mark)

Country oforigin (1 mark)

Region oforigin,if applicable(2 marks)

Wines 10 - 12 have all been selected from areas of the world as studied in Unit 3.

Describe each wine under the headings below.


SPIRIT Number 1 (and 2 and 3)

Appearance(3 marks)

Nose(7 marks)

Palate(10 marks)

Estimatedoff-premiseretail price perbottle, includingall taxes (2 marks)

Distilled from(raw material)(1 mark)

Identity oftype and styleof spirit(2 marks)

Spirits 1 - 3 all relate to Unit 4 of the WSET® Diploma Qualification.

Describe them all under the headings below.



Appearance(4 marks)

Nose(6 marks)

Palate(10 marks)

Country andregion of origin(2 marks)

Grape variety(ies)(2 marks)

Method ofproduction(1 mark)

Wines 1 - 3 all relate to Unit 5 of the WSET® Diploma Qualification.




Appearance(3 marks)

Nose(7 marks)

Palate(10 marks)

Country andregion of origin(2 marks)

Specific identityof wine withinthe region(2 marks)

Age of wine(1 mark)

Wines 1 - 3 are fortified wines made by the same method.


39Notes

40 Notes continued

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