Mon Apr 25, 2011
I asked myself that question about a year ago. Did it make more sense to try for a Certified Specialist of Wine certification (CSW) from the Society of Wine Educators or should I attempt to go for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust's Advanced certification. (WSET-AC)
When I started this journey I hadn't heard of either of them but one day while searching www.winejobs.com I say a job posting from Trinchero Family Estates. One of the requirements for the position was to have a CSW or WSET Advanced certificate. I had just finished 2 years of courses at Napa Valley College and had received three AS degrees: one each in Viticulture, Winery Technology and Wine Marketing and Sales. But here was a well known company and they wanted something more !
I started looking around to see what CSW or WSET-AC were. Who were the sponsoring organizations ? What did the certification mean ? What would it cost ? How long would it take ? There weren't a lot of answers on this that I could find. Having now completed both of them, I can pass along some information to anybody else who was doing the same search as I.
I took the WSET Advanced Course before I took the CSW exam so I'll explain them in that order.
The objective of WSET-Advanced Course is ( in their own words ) "To provide a core knowledge of the wide range of wines and spirits around the world to equip those in a supervisory capacity with the authority and confidence to make informed decisions in a wide variety of trade situations". It is an advanced course and you really can't come into it cold. My time at NVC was a good preparation for this, but the AC has a totally different focus. You need to know about viticulture and the basics of winemaking ( and they teach you this ) but the focus is really on the "Wines of the World", the wines, the grapes, some of the terms, soils and particular characteristics of the major wine growing regions, and how they affect the wines produced in each region. You will also acquire basic knowledge about fortified wines and spirits and liqueurs.
You can self-study for WSET courses and save a fair amount of money, but fortunately I was urged to take the class offered in order to learn the WSET's "Systematic Approach to Tasting." I would recommend anyone to take the formal course as well just to learn how to create a formal description of a wine. "Bleah" and "Yumm" work among friends but really doesn't tell if the wine might be better with fish or steak.
The WSET has a very formal programme. It has 5 levels of classes from a beginner up to the final level which is the prerequisite for the Master of Wine candidacy. (Advanced is level 3). Each course has objectives, expectations, a formal syllabus, there is a great glossy text for the AC course that is laden ... dense with information. The program providers are all rigorously vetted by the WSET and try to make sure you have the best chance to pass the course. Some of the classes were taught by a Master of Wine, the rest by WSET Diploma holders. A note: ( and WSET will tell you this as well ) - you can NOT pass the course just by taking the classes. You have to read the manual, and do the work ). This is not a course you can slide through.
Although based in London, England, WSET has several program providers in some of the major US cities. Unless you live in one of these cities you will have to either travel for the courses or attempt them via self study.
Passing the exam allows you to apply to use the "WSET Certified" logo on your business card or letterhead.
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The Certified Specialist of Wine is offered by the Society of Wine Educators located in Washington DC. This is also an advanced course, and one that doesn't have an introductory course, but one might be able to pass this test starting with basic knowledge and a lot of study. The SWE offers several exams a year in a number of cities. The text book is a loose leaf binder with 27 chapters and about 250 pages - also of dense material. It covers the same topics as mentioned above for WSET. You will get a well-rounded education in all aspects of wine. The level of detail is about the same between CSW and AC. Taking the AC course (and actually studying for it) and studying the text for the CSW should enable you to pass that exam with maybe only an additional 20-30 hours of work. ( It doesn't work in reverse, because WSET has included sections on Spirits and liqueurs and also has the tasting test which CSW does not )
There may be providers who offer course preparation for the CSW exam. They do generally offer review classes just before the exam, but this is really a self-study course. Like the AC above, you can not pass the test by just taking the review and thinking that is enough. This is not an easy test.
The CSW certification offers the privilege to use the CSW post-nominal after their professional signature. It is also the prerequisite for the Certified Wine Educator exam which is similar in level to the WSET - Diploma course in that expect you to have a very broad and detailed knowledge of wine in all of its aspects. As I have progressed, I am seeing more and more people who have gotten both certifications.
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Some key differences between WSET-AC and CSW exam ... The WSET Advanced exam has 50 multiple choice questions, several short essay questions and a wine tasting exam that has you describe 2 wines, generally a white and a red. The CSW exam is just 100 multiple choice and no tasting.
The WSET exam will cost you more - even with self study. About $400 for CSW course materials and exam and about $800 for WSET AC. Part of the reason that AC is more is that there are essay questions that can not be graded by a scantron, and there is also the wine tasting part that adds some extra expense. Taking the full AC course will run 32 hours of instruction, you will taste and score about 60+ wines and it will cost about $1400.
For an additional fee, the CSW ( co-partnered with Gallo Wines ) offers an on-line tutorial to assist the students in their studies and offers some additional self study tests to gauge your learning progress.
Since the Society of Wine Educators us US based, USA students may find that there are more exams offered and that the Society itself offers a sense of community with an annual meeting and several events offered through the year. WSET offers more of an international cachet.
For more information go straight to the source:
Wine and Spirits Education Trust : http://www.wsetglobal.com/qualifications/23.asp
Society of Wine Educators : http://www.societyofwineeducators.org/csw.php
I have no problems recommending either of these courses for anyone who is serious about getting into the business.
john
Monday, April 25, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Unit 2 Test
Sat April 23, 2011
I sat for the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Unit 2 test last week. This is the mandatory first exam that any WSET Diploma student must take before they can take any other. It covers all the aspects of Viticulture, Vinification, and Maturation, Treatments, and Bottling of wine.
This actually makes a lot of sense because most of the concepts and terms that you will encounter in other Units have their fundamentals in these two areas. You couldn't understand Sherry production, for example, (despite the great website that I mentioned in my last post) without realizing the contributions made in the vineyard, the soils, the climate, and techniques, etc.
You get a study guide for Unit 2 - 188 pages of dense detailed reading. Dense in the sense of compact not in the sense of unreadable. There is just a lot to learn. Unlike other sections of the Diploma Certification in which Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine is the required text, in this case the study guide is the text. Two other texts are recommended : Viticulture by Stephen Skelton , and Understanding Wine Technology by David Bird. Both of these books are both readable and informative but the study guide is the only source of questions on the test. The downside is that they can (and do!) take one sentence out of the text and make a question out of it.
I felt comfortable coming into this Unit because of my 2 years at Napa Valley College and specifically the tutelage of Dr Steve Krebs and Bryan Avila, and I probably coiuld have passed the test based on that alone, but as always my goal is to do the best that I can in these exams, not to just skate by and to do that requires a lot of study.
The test is 100 multiple choice questions. The study guide has end of unit tests and a sample test at the end, and I don't think ANY of the sample questions actually end up on the test, so while they give you a very good idea of topics involved and the types of questions, they are no help in actually studying. Sometimes I think you could pass the test by studying everything that is NOT in the sample questions. There are no essay questions and no tasting involved in this Unit. You never get to find out what you missed or the correct answers but it allows WSET to maintain sets of questions that can't be pre-studied, and keeps the certification fair.
You get 90 minutes which is actually more than enough time to take the test. I think I took about 50-55 minutes so the time pressure isn't too bad. Other candidates took about the same amount of time. The passing grade is kept low ( I think ) at 55% so they can make the questions as hard as they need to create a bell shaped curve and eliminate those that don't actually take the time to study the material. Historically about 81% of students pass this test on their first try.
You can take WSET classes. I did the self study which seems to make sense for this Unit depending on how you learn (i.e. reading vs listening). You have to plan for 1-2 months of 2-3 hours a day, I think to prep for this test. Not to just read the material, but you also have to review it and give it time to settle in and make sense. WSET says to plan for 60 hours of self study and having a study plan is essential. I read the course guide at least 3 times. The first time I just read it. The 2nd time I underlined, and the 3rd time I refreshed and prepped for the test. All and all i am sure I did over 60 hours of study.
I think I did pretty well on the test. There were a couple of questions that I don't think were in the book. There were 6 or so where I guessed. 3 or 4 where I changed my answers after thinking about the question for a minute. And probably another 4-5 where i thought I knew the answer but didn't. I should get my resjults in another week or two. While other exams take 7-10 weeks (!) to get results, this one comes back in around 3.
john
I sat for the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Unit 2 test last week. This is the mandatory first exam that any WSET Diploma student must take before they can take any other. It covers all the aspects of Viticulture, Vinification, and Maturation, Treatments, and Bottling of wine.
This actually makes a lot of sense because most of the concepts and terms that you will encounter in other Units have their fundamentals in these two areas. You couldn't understand Sherry production, for example, (despite the great website that I mentioned in my last post) without realizing the contributions made in the vineyard, the soils, the climate, and techniques, etc.
You get a study guide for Unit 2 - 188 pages of dense detailed reading. Dense in the sense of compact not in the sense of unreadable. There is just a lot to learn. Unlike other sections of the Diploma Certification in which Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine is the required text, in this case the study guide is the text. Two other texts are recommended : Viticulture by Stephen Skelton , and Understanding Wine Technology by David Bird. Both of these books are both readable and informative but the study guide is the only source of questions on the test. The downside is that they can (and do!) take one sentence out of the text and make a question out of it.
I felt comfortable coming into this Unit because of my 2 years at Napa Valley College and specifically the tutelage of Dr Steve Krebs and Bryan Avila, and I probably coiuld have passed the test based on that alone, but as always my goal is to do the best that I can in these exams, not to just skate by and to do that requires a lot of study.
The test is 100 multiple choice questions. The study guide has end of unit tests and a sample test at the end, and I don't think ANY of the sample questions actually end up on the test, so while they give you a very good idea of topics involved and the types of questions, they are no help in actually studying. Sometimes I think you could pass the test by studying everything that is NOT in the sample questions. There are no essay questions and no tasting involved in this Unit. You never get to find out what you missed or the correct answers but it allows WSET to maintain sets of questions that can't be pre-studied, and keeps the certification fair.
You get 90 minutes which is actually more than enough time to take the test. I think I took about 50-55 minutes so the time pressure isn't too bad. Other candidates took about the same amount of time. The passing grade is kept low ( I think ) at 55% so they can make the questions as hard as they need to create a bell shaped curve and eliminate those that don't actually take the time to study the material. Historically about 81% of students pass this test on their first try.
You can take WSET classes. I did the self study which seems to make sense for this Unit depending on how you learn (i.e. reading vs listening). You have to plan for 1-2 months of 2-3 hours a day, I think to prep for this test. Not to just read the material, but you also have to review it and give it time to settle in and make sense. WSET says to plan for 60 hours of self study and having a study plan is essential. I read the course guide at least 3 times. The first time I just read it. The 2nd time I underlined, and the 3rd time I refreshed and prepped for the test. All and all i am sure I did over 60 hours of study.
I think I did pretty well on the test. There were a couple of questions that I don't think were in the book. There were 6 or so where I guessed. 3 or 4 where I changed my answers after thinking about the question for a minute. And probably another 4-5 where i thought I knew the answer but didn't. I should get my resjults in another week or two. While other exams take 7-10 weeks (!) to get results, this one comes back in around 3.
john
WWW.Sherry.Org
Sat April 23, 2011
I have spent a wonderful time this morning on the informational website www.sherry.org. This website is a must for students taking the Unit 6 Fortified Wines exam. It covers all the factors of history, viticulture, production, classification, ageing and bottling. It also goes into great detail about each of the wine styles produced.
I found the site to be very honest in its descriptions of wines and processes. Not loaded with a lot of marketing, but just delivering straight forward facts, detailed but with good summaries if you are not interested in the low level information. This web site fills out the topics in Robinson's Oxford Companion in a very readable way. it also is more up-to-date and includes topics that aren't mentioned in the text. For example - it classifies the wines as Generosos (Dry, ), Generosos Liqueur (Generosos sweetened with RCGM), Manzanillas, Naturally Sweets (PX and Moscatel), and Special Categories (VOS, VORS, etc). This brings an entirely different level of understanding to the topic of Sherries.
Another understanding that I got here that I must have glossed over in the text is that unlike most Sherries that are fortified after fermentation (isn't that sort of how we learn the definition of Sherry ?) both PX and Moscatel are sun-dried ("sunned") to raisin them and then fortified during fermentation like a port to retain some of the original sweetness.
They also have a great map showing the 9 (!) cities where Sherry can be produced and are specific about the 3 cities where it can be aged. There is even a great section describing the aging lodges/bogedas and how their form follows function, they were built to balance the aspects of the climate and the needs of the wines.
I love JR's Oxford Companion but if there were several more websites like this, studying for the Units 6 test would be a breeze. i highly recommend it.
john
I have spent a wonderful time this morning on the informational website www.sherry.org. This website is a must for students taking the Unit 6 Fortified Wines exam. It covers all the factors of history, viticulture, production, classification, ageing and bottling. It also goes into great detail about each of the wine styles produced.
I found the site to be very honest in its descriptions of wines and processes. Not loaded with a lot of marketing, but just delivering straight forward facts, detailed but with good summaries if you are not interested in the low level information. This web site fills out the topics in Robinson's Oxford Companion in a very readable way. it also is more up-to-date and includes topics that aren't mentioned in the text. For example - it classifies the wines as Generosos (Dry, ), Generosos Liqueur (Generosos sweetened with RCGM), Manzanillas, Naturally Sweets (PX and Moscatel), and Special Categories (VOS, VORS, etc). This brings an entirely different level of understanding to the topic of Sherries.
Another understanding that I got here that I must have glossed over in the text is that unlike most Sherries that are fortified after fermentation (isn't that sort of how we learn the definition of Sherry ?) both PX and Moscatel are sun-dried ("sunned") to raisin them and then fortified during fermentation like a port to retain some of the original sweetness.
They also have a great map showing the 9 (!) cities where Sherry can be produced and are specific about the 3 cities where it can be aged. There is even a great section describing the aging lodges/bogedas and how their form follows function, they were built to balance the aspects of the climate and the needs of the wines.
I love JR's Oxford Companion but if there were several more websites like this, studying for the Units 6 test would be a breeze. i highly recommend it.
john
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Aprl 20 - On the Patio
It has been difficult trying to start my blog. Where to begin ?
So having had enough wine, I feel empowered to just write about my day.
Apologies if it is boring, but it is the day of a wine student .....
First I started looking at Cover Cropping for Vineyards. This is for a friend who has a small backyard
vineyard with great soil and 200 vines. How to control vigor ? The vines are close spaced and may not be able to handle the fertility of the soil. Cover crops may be the answer. A perennial grass that will take up some of the water and some of the nitrogen and leave the vine wanting for just a little more. Stressed. Hopefully that may be an answer. We will have to experiment to be able to tell. Find what works for that vineyard.
Then, I spent a couple of hours writing up topics on Fortified Wines. I am taking the WSET Unit 6 exam in a little over 6 weeks ( July 6 ). There are around 113 important topics, around 27 "less important" topics and another 27 "beyond the syllabus" topics that they expect us to understand and be able to write a few intelligent paragraphs about for the test. The text is Jancis Rovbinson's wonderful "Oxford Companion to Wine" a (small print) encyclopedia of around 800 pages and thousands of topics. Fortunately the realm of Fortified Wines is relatively small, and fortunately it is also quite interesting. I am writing each topic from Jancis, in my own voice and in a more consolidated document to make it easier to study without thumbing through the book. ( as me nice and I will send you a copy )
Tonight i tried my tasting exam. Dismal failure, but I still have hope. I poured the following wines.
1) An amontillado sherry. 2) A 1986 Colheita Port. 3) A Sweet Sherry 4) A 20 year old Tawny Port and 5) Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry. However a failure that includes sitting in the patio on a comfortable spring evening watching the sun go down on Mt. Diablo and drinking really nice Ports and Sherries is not one to kill yourself over. I will recover.
I sat on the patio, closed my eyes and was fortunate enough to have Susan hand me glasses in various orders, sometimes repeating a glass, some times introducing a new one. I knew what wines were in the tasting but had to guess the order i which she was serving them. This was really not an easy task, as those who are honest will tell you.
My goal was to tell the 5 wines apart without looking at them. By taste alone. ( Looking wouldn't have helped much because they are all a similar shade of amber / reddish brown although of different intensities. ). I would have thought that it would be easy to tell a Sherry from a Port, but in reality it takes work. I could identify the amontillado because it has the flor sherry character. And I could identify the Harvey's because I knew it was there and it is so dark, rich, almost molasses tasting.
However recognizing and locking in the flavors / aromas of the Cream sherry, the Colheita Port and the 20 y/o tawny are harder. I was finally able to distinguish between the slightly higher alcohol ( 20% abv for the Ports instead of 17% for the Sherry ) as being the distinguishing factor. i just hope I can remember all of this tomorrow, because it took a number of tastes (swallow not spit ... I am at home, these are slightly expensive wines, and I am not driving anywhere soon ).
So, anyhow, I have more work to do and fortunately it is an enjoyable task even when you are devastatingly wrong.
I'll et you know how tomorrow turns out.
john
So having had enough wine, I feel empowered to just write about my day.
Apologies if it is boring, but it is the day of a wine student .....
First I started looking at Cover Cropping for Vineyards. This is for a friend who has a small backyard
vineyard with great soil and 200 vines. How to control vigor ? The vines are close spaced and may not be able to handle the fertility of the soil. Cover crops may be the answer. A perennial grass that will take up some of the water and some of the nitrogen and leave the vine wanting for just a little more. Stressed. Hopefully that may be an answer. We will have to experiment to be able to tell. Find what works for that vineyard.
Then, I spent a couple of hours writing up topics on Fortified Wines. I am taking the WSET Unit 6 exam in a little over 6 weeks ( July 6 ). There are around 113 important topics, around 27 "less important" topics and another 27 "beyond the syllabus" topics that they expect us to understand and be able to write a few intelligent paragraphs about for the test. The text is Jancis Rovbinson's wonderful "Oxford Companion to Wine" a (small print) encyclopedia of around 800 pages and thousands of topics. Fortunately the realm of Fortified Wines is relatively small, and fortunately it is also quite interesting. I am writing each topic from Jancis, in my own voice and in a more consolidated document to make it easier to study without thumbing through the book. ( as me nice and I will send you a copy )
Tonight i tried my tasting exam. Dismal failure, but I still have hope. I poured the following wines.
1) An amontillado sherry. 2) A 1986 Colheita Port. 3) A Sweet Sherry 4) A 20 year old Tawny Port and 5) Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry. However a failure that includes sitting in the patio on a comfortable spring evening watching the sun go down on Mt. Diablo and drinking really nice Ports and Sherries is not one to kill yourself over. I will recover.
I sat on the patio, closed my eyes and was fortunate enough to have Susan hand me glasses in various orders, sometimes repeating a glass, some times introducing a new one. I knew what wines were in the tasting but had to guess the order i which she was serving them. This was really not an easy task, as those who are honest will tell you.
My goal was to tell the 5 wines apart without looking at them. By taste alone. ( Looking wouldn't have helped much because they are all a similar shade of amber / reddish brown although of different intensities. ). I would have thought that it would be easy to tell a Sherry from a Port, but in reality it takes work. I could identify the amontillado because it has the flor sherry character. And I could identify the Harvey's because I knew it was there and it is so dark, rich, almost molasses tasting.
However recognizing and locking in the flavors / aromas of the Cream sherry, the Colheita Port and the 20 y/o tawny are harder. I was finally able to distinguish between the slightly higher alcohol ( 20% abv for the Ports instead of 17% for the Sherry ) as being the distinguishing factor. i just hope I can remember all of this tomorrow, because it took a number of tastes (swallow not spit ... I am at home, these are slightly expensive wines, and I am not driving anywhere soon ).
So, anyhow, I have more work to do and fortunately it is an enjoyable task even when you are devastatingly wrong.
I'll et you know how tomorrow turns out.
john
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