I have been a bit absent from the blog the past few weeks, mainly due to the torment of studying for my latest WSET Diploma exams. Any spare moment I had was spent looking at the process of distillation of spirits and anything on organic/biodynamic wine. So, for the next few posts, I have decided to write a little about my experience being a WSET DIP (Diploma) student for a few reasons:
- Some of my friends and all of family have no idea what it is I am studying or why, and I feel like I need to shed some light on what the Diploma is.
- It has been taking up all my free time (and some of my sanity), and this can have an effect on relationships
- In case any readers are playing with the idea of also getting their DIP (or MW for that matter), it’s important to know what you are signing up for.
I will be writing about my own personal experience, but also brining in some feedback from my fellow WSET colleagues who are also embarked on the DIP quest with me.
The WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Level 4 Diploma course is considered the body’s flagship qualification, designed to prepare people for senior positions in the wine and spirits business. It is also the stepping stone for the gruelling Master of Wine qualification - of which there are only 343 people in the world . Roughly 300 students a year start the WSET Diploma programme worldwide, and myself along with four other friends hope to have that Diploma in our hands in the next couple years. In retrospect, I think I must have had a few glasses of wine gone after deciding to register, because I had NO idea what I was getting myself into……
Ideally, one can finish the Diploma in the two-year time frame. I say ideally because the tasting, theory, and case study exams are fierce, and sometimes students find themselves re-writing. There are 6 units in total:
- Unit 1: The Global Business of Alcoholic Beverages
- Unit 2: Wine Production
- Unit 3: Light Wines of the World
- Unit 4: Spirits of the World
- Unit 5 : Sparkling Wines of the World
- Unit 6: Fortified Wines of the World
Units 3,4,5,6 are evaluated using a two-part exam, comprising of a tasting of three samples and one theory question covering three topics. So, far I have completed Unit 2 and Unit 6 successfully and no one knows the relief that takes over me knowing I have passed. Obviously, the exams are tough, but the amount of infinite detail that needs to be written as responses is insane and has to be accurate, up-to-date and done in a specific format. It goes something like this:
STUDENT: Palomino grape variety has an acidity level of roughly 3.4.
WSET: No you silly bugger…how foolish - it has an acidity level of 3.6.
(Ok, so that was a slight exaggeration but taking a look at older examiner reports - your answers in exams have to be SPOT ON.)
Some of the terms prepared for the Unit 4 Spirits Exam
Within each Unit there is an enormous amount of information that needs to be covered and we never know what the WSET team will throw at us for an exam. Out of hundreds of possible terms, we are given 3 and we expected to write as much as we can about that term in roughly 10 minutes. We are also given 3 samples to taste blind (Unit 3 there are 12, although this is set to change to 24 in 2018), and are advised to spend 10 minutes writing tasting notes in a very specific format. (In previous years, students have failed tasting exams for not using clusters for flavours, or for taking notes in point form instead of complete sentences). Their examination methods can be criticized. As one of my WSET colleagues says, “As an educator by trade, I am not comfortable with the method chosen to assess students. Having us study hundreds of notions and concepts, and only ask for three in an evaluation is counter pedagogical. It creates an artificial difficulty to the diploma and, quite frankly, I am not convinced that it produces sound wine scholars in the end. There is a bit of “luck of the draw” involved with evaluations. If you sit an exam and you get the right terms, great, but if you don’t…”
Anyone taking the Diploma has to be ready to dedicate an enormous amount of time to their studies and sometimes this time gets taken away from family and friends. The average Diploma student has a full time job, a partner, and sometimes a young family. It is difficult to juggle all these things on a normal day, never mind studying about a topic that most people who do not work in the wine industry have little understanding of.
To end on a encouraging note - no one should ever feel inadequate for failing an exam. It is not a reflection on one’s intelligence. These exams are set to create some of best wine scholars in the world, and they are challenging for a reason. From failing, we learn from mistakes and gain the drive to work harder. Don’t ever give up - ride that crazy wave.
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