WSET Level 2 Award in Wines is a go-to course for those who want to expand their wine knowledge and gain a professional certification that will help in advancing their career. Thousands of Indian hospitality and retail professionals clear their WSET Level 2 accreditation every year as wine education gives them a great workplace advantage and helps them improve their wine service skills.
The Wine & Spirits Education Trust offers multiple courses in wine, spirits and sake, that too for different levels. If you have set your eyes on the wine industry, or would like to learn about it out of interest, then you’ll benefit greatly from WSET Awards in Wine. But which course to choose, now that is the real question.
If you are wondering whether WSET Level 1 Award in Wines is the right course for you or not, click here to read more about it. But if you want to know more about WSET Level 2 Award, then read on:
WSET Level 2 Award In Wines: Is It For Me?
This beginner to intermediate-level qualification is for wine professionals and enthusiasts who want to learn about a wide range of wines and build on their basic knowledge. Here’s how you will benefit from this course:
This accreditation will help you gain eligibility for a bigger role at your existing employment as it will give your employer confidence in your wine knowledge and skills
If you are applying for jobs, a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines will help you stand out among fellow applicants and increase your chances of being shortlisted. A professional wine certification is not mandatory, but it is highly sought-after in the hospitality sector.
A WSET Level 2 certification will also help you perform better in your existing role- be it as a wine service professional, retailer, wine writer etc.
WSET Level 2 is also a great course for wine enthusiasts who want to learn more about the beverage and develop their tasting skills. It also helps consumers make better choices while purchasing wine for consumption or collection.
Also Read: Everything you need to know about Chardonnay
WSET Level 2 Award In Wines: What To Expect From The Curriculum
You’ll need to devout a minimum of 28 hours of study time for this qualification. This will include 16 hours of delivery time with a WSET course provider in a classroom or via online sessions, 11 hours of individual study and revision time and an hour-long examination.
Many people assume that you need to have a WSET Level 1 accreditation to be able to take WSET Level 2, however, that’s not true. If you have a good command on your basics and have work experience that has given your knowledge equivalent to Level 1, then you can directly sit for the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines.
Here’s a brief outline of what you’ll learn:
· Tasting and describing wine using the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine (SAT)
· Winemaking techniques, important factors, maturation options etc., for eight principal grape varieties
· Styles and quality of wines made with 22 regionally important grape varieties
· Key labelling terms that indicate origin, style and quality of wine
· Principles and processes of wine service and storage
· Principles of food pairing
While there is no specific requirement to be able to take WSET Level 2 Award in Wines, if you are planning to taste wines during the course, make sure that you are of the legal drinking age in your country.
Tips To Prepare For WSET Level 2 Award In Wines
Plan how you’ll tackle the syllabus: Instead of diving straight into learning, take out time to browse through the course material and get an overall sense of what it covers. This will help you understand how much study time you’ll need to put in. Going over the course material will also help you come up with a strategy- based on what topics do you consider as your strengths or weaknesses.
Prepare for your lectures: Many students leave the task of learning for the classes with their course provider; however, it is always better to study the course material beforehand. This will help you keep up with your educator and will also give you time to clear any doubts that you might have.
Take mock exams: If you haven’t taken WSET Level 1 or any kind of Multiple Choice Question exam before, then you might need some practice to figure out how to attempt your paper efficiently. Solving mock papers will help you optimise the 60 minutes that you’ll get to solve 50 MCQs.
Also Read: From Novice To Expert: How To Enter The Wine Industry
Get Flashcards: Sonal Holland Wine Academy’s flashcards will help you cover the course as comprehensively as possible. The flashcards have been written in a question-and-answer format, to expedite learning and revision. They are also a good way to assess how much you grasped and which topics need more attention from you. Click here to know more about the flashcards or write to us at [email protected].
Participate in wine tasting: Tasting is an integral part of learning about the beverage as wine education is all about applying what you have learned. You can either form a tasting group with fellow students and pool in resources to arrange different wines for tasting, or you can select a course provider whose educators will take you through the process.
At Sonal Holland Wine Academy, we conduct a tasting session for the WSET Level 2 Award in Wine for our classroom students. Our Mumbai-based academy has been designed to provide students with optimal learning conditions. Our seasoned educators guide students through a tasting of different styles of wine using WSET Level 2 SAT during classroom sessions so that they can apply what they are learning during the lectures. Click here to know more.