Level 1 WNSET Masters in Wine
It sounds grand, but Level 1 is the first easy step towards the rather impressive sounding Master of Wine.
This is the perfect thing to do if you have a week in Tuscany at one of our beautiful villas.
You can meet our wine expert near Siena or have her come to your villa.
We start with the basics, what does it mean to be ‘light’ bodied? How can you tell the difference between ‘medium’ and ‘full’ bodied? What does ‘dry’ mean?
How can wines taste of other things apart from grapes? What are the common wine faults? Are corks better than screwcaps? How do I navigate a wine list in a restaurant or in a shop?
The WSET Level 1 is a one-day course.
We will need 5 to 6 hours. So starting around 10/10:30 breaking for lunch around 13:30 until 15:00 and then beginning again 15/15:30 until 18:30.
The course is intensive….but great fun and not at all like work.
We will begin with a HOW TO TASTE WINE – so that you can take from the wine (and every glass of wine you ever taste moving forward) all the information it has to offer you (there are clues in the colour/smell/taste and even after taste).
Then we will look at 8 different wines from 8 different grape varieties. There are 4 very famous white grape varieties – or “Noble” grapes that we will focus on – CHARDONNAY, PINOT GRIGIO, RIESLING, SAUVIGNON BLANC.
We will talk about and taste these wines – and most valuably COMPARE the wines.
It is not easy to learn about wine with just one glass of wine to hand – you need to compare and contrast so as to appreciate ‘ah, that one has very high acidity, this one is really fruity and pungent”, this seems a bit sweet, this one has a creamy texture – these things, I feel, can only be understood with a lineup of wines.
We then enjoy tasting 4 Red Grape Varieties, PINOT NOIR, SHIRAZ, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, MERLOT.
Four Red ‘Noble’ varieties. We will compare and contrast so that after this tasting, in your head you will have a clear idea of what to expect when ordering these wines in a restaurant, or buying in a shop.
FOOD and WINE WORKSHOP
After tasting the 8 wines, or before, we will see how the day shapes up, we will look at how food affects wine – how elements such as sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and also chilli heat and spice, can either play TOTAL HAVOC, or IMPROVE the wine in your glass.
It is a fun session we will taste sweet foods, bitter foods, sour and salty and then taste the wines and the interaction is sometimes a shock. NEVER ORDER EXPENSIVE WINE just before dessert! Sugar absolutely kills wine
We will have a chat about glassware, and how to open and how to store wine correctly.
No need if a fine wine has a screwcap to store lying down, if it has a cork ALWAYS keep the wine on the side so the cork stays moist and doesn’t dry and shrink, and let wine out or oxygen in.
WSET likes students to understand how to open and serve a wine correctly – especially sparkling wine – so you will open a Prosecco and a Champagne. It isn’t part of the syllabus to taste fizz, but if we have the wines open then why not? We will look at and drink the differences between these two famous wines.
And after this you will sit the exam (if you prefer we can save the bubbles for AFTER!)
We promise no one has ever failed!
It is a 30 question, multiple choice paper. It should take you around 45 mins if not less. If you would prefer not to sit the exam at the end of the day you do not have to.
It is a lovely course, beautifully designed by this brilliant, old school, British Institution, they have been evolving wine study for over 5 decades.
So, here you will have achieved your first level in a Wine Master.
