WSET LEVEL 4 UPDATED COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Why are large estates financially more viable than smaller ones? - ✔✔- Producer
greater volume of wine more cheaply - economy of scale
- Easier to mechanize
✔✔List some reasons why the average vineyard tend to be small in many traditional
wine-producing regions - ✔✔- Historical factors: French succession laws
- Geography: in hillier regions, vineyards are limited by the terrain
✔✔What kind of business is particularly attracted to the grower option? - ✔✔Owner of
small vineyards who cannot justify the cost of buying or hiring expensive winery
equipment and do not want to have to market and sell wine
✔✔Cite advantages of growers - ✔✔- Better cash flow: payment due when grapes are
sold
- Focus all efforts on producing best possible grapes
✔✔Cite disadvantages for growers - ✔✔- Vintage variation
- Fluctuation in supply and demand
✔✔What are two options for growers to sell grapes? Cite advantages and
disadvantages - ✔✔- Enter into contract with producer or merchant: certainty, security,
strong working relationship; need to meet certain standard, cannot obtain higher price
when demand increases
- Sell on the spot market: higher risks but greater rewards
✔✔What are grower-producers? - ✔✔Growers that produce wine from their grapes but
sell to a merchant to mature and bottle, common in Burgundy
✔✔Cite advantages and disadvantages of grower-producers - ✔✔- Advantages: no cost
of maturation or marketing
- Disadvantages: smaller profit; lose control over style of finished wine; may be blended
with wine from other producers
✔✔What is merchant? - ✔✔- Traditional: buy immature wine, mature and sell under
merchant's name, often blend different producers prior to bottling
- Now there are also grower-merchants who own vineyards alongside making wines
made from bought-in grapes, juice or wine
✔✔Cite advantages of merchants - ✔✔- No cost of buying and managing vineyards,
especially beneficial in Burgundy, Champagne etc
- Protection and flexibility in bad vintages
,- To have quantities large enough to supply private label wines, which means another
outlet
✔✔Cite disadvantages of merchants - ✔✔- Little control over grape growing or
winemaking process - mitigate by offering technical support to their suppliers
- Spot market price can be high - mitigate by long-term contracts with suppliers
✔✔Explain the rise of micro-négociant in Burgundy - ✔✔- Land is seldom sold and price
is very high
- Micro-négociant therefore specialise in small-production wines usually from individual
vineyards that often achieve super-premium prices
- Some work closely with particular growers, others buy on the spot market to be
assured of best-quality fruit
✔✔What is en primeur? - ✔✔- Wine futures, a method of selling wine before it has been
bottled
- Purchasers buy the wine whilst it is still in barrel and it remains in the producer's cellar
until ready for bottling
- Purchase receives the wine once bottled, usually a few years later
✔✔Cite advantages of en primeur - ✔✔- For producers: generate cash-flow earlier, get
a sense of the market for setting price
= For purchasers: cheaper and easier to buy wine
✔✔What kind of wines are sold en primeur? - ✔✔- Those that benefit from a period of
maturation in barrel (usually 18 months or more)
- Those prized by investors, such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône, Super Tuscans,
Vintage Port
✔✔What are co-operatives? - ✔✔Owned by a group of growers and produce and sell
wines made from grapes grown by their members
✔✔Cite benefits of cooperatives - ✔✔- Pool financial resources: afford more expensive
winemaking equipment and expertise; access to expert viticultural and winemaking
services and advice as well as marketing, packaging and sales services
- Marketing collectively can be more efficient and effective, e.g., Plaimont in south-west
France, Badischer Winzerkeller in southern Germany
- Can make own-label wines since they can make a large volume of entry-level wine,
e.g., La Chablisienne in Chablis, Mont Tauch in Fitou
✔✔Cite disadvantages of co-operatives - ✔✔- Democratic control means that
management must consult members before major decisions are made - slow and
cumbersome decision making process, not always to the liking of individual members
- Some are not quality focused if paid by weight
, ✔✔Discuss the models of cooperatives - ✔✔- Pool resources
- Democratic control
- Members are usually paid a share of the co-operative's annual profit but the method of
calculating that varies: traditional pay on weight (Spain and Italy) but may not be quality-
focused; some pay on the quality of fruit, save profits and invest in latest technology,
research and effective marketing and labeling
✔✔What is custom crush facility? - ✔✔- A variant of the co-operative model found
mainly in North America, particularly California
- Growers do not own facility but pay each time they require its services
✔✔Cite advantages and disadvantages of custom crush facilities - ✔✔- Advantages:
none of the downside of cooperatives; do not need to invest in expensive equipment,
can focus on grape growing and marketing; benefit from expertise of professional
winemakers
- Disadvantages: communication is vital. Otherwise grower will pay to have a wine style
not wanted
✔✔What are virtual winemakers/wineries? - ✔✔- Winemakers who do not own vineyard
land or winemaking facilities
- Buy grapes and juice and rent facilities in another winery or employ the service of a
custom crush facility
✔✔What are conglomerates? - ✔✔- Very large companies who own many smaller
businesses across various stages of the supply chain, from production to distribution
- Some of them have interest across all the alcoholic products
✔✔List top 10 wine-producing companies in 2016 - ✔✔- E&J Gallo, USA
- Constellation Brands, USA
- The Wine Group, USA
- Treasury Wine Estate, Australia
- Vina Concha y Toro, Chile
- Castel Frères, France
- Accolade Wines, Australia
- Pernod Ricard, France
- Grupo Penalor, Argentina
- FeCoVitA, Argentina
✔✔Cite major advantages of conglomerates - ✔✔- To have businesses across the
supply chain
- Can set up regional offices in markets important to them
- Greater control at all stages of the route to market
- Reduce need to pay intermediaries
- Significant negotiating power, can strike hard bargain
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Why are large estates financially more viable than smaller ones? - ✔✔- Producer
greater volume of wine more cheaply - economy of scale
- Easier to mechanize
✔✔List some reasons why the average vineyard tend to be small in many traditional
wine-producing regions - ✔✔- Historical factors: French succession laws
- Geography: in hillier regions, vineyards are limited by the terrain
✔✔What kind of business is particularly attracted to the grower option? - ✔✔Owner of
small vineyards who cannot justify the cost of buying or hiring expensive winery
equipment and do not want to have to market and sell wine
✔✔Cite advantages of growers - ✔✔- Better cash flow: payment due when grapes are
sold
- Focus all efforts on producing best possible grapes
✔✔Cite disadvantages for growers - ✔✔- Vintage variation
- Fluctuation in supply and demand
✔✔What are two options for growers to sell grapes? Cite advantages and
disadvantages - ✔✔- Enter into contract with producer or merchant: certainty, security,
strong working relationship; need to meet certain standard, cannot obtain higher price
when demand increases
- Sell on the spot market: higher risks but greater rewards
✔✔What are grower-producers? - ✔✔Growers that produce wine from their grapes but
sell to a merchant to mature and bottle, common in Burgundy
✔✔Cite advantages and disadvantages of grower-producers - ✔✔- Advantages: no cost
of maturation or marketing
- Disadvantages: smaller profit; lose control over style of finished wine; may be blended
with wine from other producers
✔✔What is merchant? - ✔✔- Traditional: buy immature wine, mature and sell under
merchant's name, often blend different producers prior to bottling
- Now there are also grower-merchants who own vineyards alongside making wines
made from bought-in grapes, juice or wine
✔✔Cite advantages of merchants - ✔✔- No cost of buying and managing vineyards,
especially beneficial in Burgundy, Champagne etc
- Protection and flexibility in bad vintages
,- To have quantities large enough to supply private label wines, which means another
outlet
✔✔Cite disadvantages of merchants - ✔✔- Little control over grape growing or
winemaking process - mitigate by offering technical support to their suppliers
- Spot market price can be high - mitigate by long-term contracts with suppliers
✔✔Explain the rise of micro-négociant in Burgundy - ✔✔- Land is seldom sold and price
is very high
- Micro-négociant therefore specialise in small-production wines usually from individual
vineyards that often achieve super-premium prices
- Some work closely with particular growers, others buy on the spot market to be
assured of best-quality fruit
✔✔What is en primeur? - ✔✔- Wine futures, a method of selling wine before it has been
bottled
- Purchasers buy the wine whilst it is still in barrel and it remains in the producer's cellar
until ready for bottling
- Purchase receives the wine once bottled, usually a few years later
✔✔Cite advantages of en primeur - ✔✔- For producers: generate cash-flow earlier, get
a sense of the market for setting price
= For purchasers: cheaper and easier to buy wine
✔✔What kind of wines are sold en primeur? - ✔✔- Those that benefit from a period of
maturation in barrel (usually 18 months or more)
- Those prized by investors, such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône, Super Tuscans,
Vintage Port
✔✔What are co-operatives? - ✔✔Owned by a group of growers and produce and sell
wines made from grapes grown by their members
✔✔Cite benefits of cooperatives - ✔✔- Pool financial resources: afford more expensive
winemaking equipment and expertise; access to expert viticultural and winemaking
services and advice as well as marketing, packaging and sales services
- Marketing collectively can be more efficient and effective, e.g., Plaimont in south-west
France, Badischer Winzerkeller in southern Germany
- Can make own-label wines since they can make a large volume of entry-level wine,
e.g., La Chablisienne in Chablis, Mont Tauch in Fitou
✔✔Cite disadvantages of co-operatives - ✔✔- Democratic control means that
management must consult members before major decisions are made - slow and
cumbersome decision making process, not always to the liking of individual members
- Some are not quality focused if paid by weight
, ✔✔Discuss the models of cooperatives - ✔✔- Pool resources
- Democratic control
- Members are usually paid a share of the co-operative's annual profit but the method of
calculating that varies: traditional pay on weight (Spain and Italy) but may not be quality-
focused; some pay on the quality of fruit, save profits and invest in latest technology,
research and effective marketing and labeling
✔✔What is custom crush facility? - ✔✔- A variant of the co-operative model found
mainly in North America, particularly California
- Growers do not own facility but pay each time they require its services
✔✔Cite advantages and disadvantages of custom crush facilities - ✔✔- Advantages:
none of the downside of cooperatives; do not need to invest in expensive equipment,
can focus on grape growing and marketing; benefit from expertise of professional
winemakers
- Disadvantages: communication is vital. Otherwise grower will pay to have a wine style
not wanted
✔✔What are virtual winemakers/wineries? - ✔✔- Winemakers who do not own vineyard
land or winemaking facilities
- Buy grapes and juice and rent facilities in another winery or employ the service of a
custom crush facility
✔✔What are conglomerates? - ✔✔- Very large companies who own many smaller
businesses across various stages of the supply chain, from production to distribution
- Some of them have interest across all the alcoholic products
✔✔List top 10 wine-producing companies in 2016 - ✔✔- E&J Gallo, USA
- Constellation Brands, USA
- The Wine Group, USA
- Treasury Wine Estate, Australia
- Vina Concha y Toro, Chile
- Castel Frères, France
- Accolade Wines, Australia
- Pernod Ricard, France
- Grupo Penalor, Argentina
- FeCoVitA, Argentina
✔✔Cite major advantages of conglomerates - ✔✔- To have businesses across the
supply chain
- Can set up regional offices in markets important to them
- Greater control at all stages of the route to market
- Reduce need to pay intermediaries
- Significant negotiating power, can strike hard bargain
