WSET LEVEL 2 PRACTICAL COMPREHENSIVE
TEST PREPARATION GUIDE DETAILED ANSWER
EXPLANATIONS
• What is the structural component in red wines that can sometimes have a bitter
taste that lingers at the back of your mouth? -✓✓ Tannin
• ___ flavored food can overwhelm a dry wine. -✓✓ Highly
• True of False -- With dishes containing sugar a good general rule is to select a
wine that has a lower level of sweetness than the dish. -✓✓ False. With dishes
containing sugar, a good general rule is to select a wine that has HIGHER level of
sweetness than the dish.
• Which could be useful when pairing a wine with fatty or oily foods?
A. very little or no sweetness in the wine
B. high acidity in the wine
C. light body in the wine
D. high tannin in the wine -✓✓ B. high acidity in the wine
• Recommended service temperatures for sweet wines: -✓✓ Well chilled, 43-46 F
• Recommended service temperatures for sparkling wines: -✓✓ Well chilled, 43-50
F
• Recommended service temperatures for full-bodied white wines: -✓✓ Lightly
chilled, 50-55 F
,• Recommended service temperatures for Medium, full-bodied red wines: -✓✓
Room temp, 59-64 F
• ____ systems remove the air from inside the bottle with a pump. -✓✓ Vacuum
• ___ systems pump gas into a bottle and push out the air inside it as a result. This
gas is not harmful for the wine. -✓✓ Blanket
• Cork Taint is caused by:
A. sunlight
B. a chemical called TCA
C. heat
D. cold conditions -✓✓ B. a chemical called TCA
• Failure of a ____ is a wine fault that happens when unwanted oxygen interacts
with the wine and oxidizes it. -✓✓ closure
• True or False -- A wine stored in cold conditions (-2-O C) will maintain its
freshness and fruitiness. -✓✓ False. Wines should be kept at a cool and constant
temperature. Extremes of cold and heat, as well as significant changes in
temperature, can damage a wine.
• Which latitudes north and south of the equator mark the temperature zone where
most vineyards are found? -✓✓ 30 and 50 degrees
• Why are there very few vineyards lying closer to the equator than 30 degrees?
A. there is not enough sunlight
, B. it is too windy
C. it is generally too hot
D. it is generally too cold -✓✓ C. it is generally too hot. Grapes grown close to the
equator my become overripe and lose some of the finesse and characteristics of
that grape variety.
• Order the timing of events in red wine making using the following:
-alcoholic fermentation
-draining
-packaging
-storage and maturation
-pressing
-crushing -✓✓ 1. crushing
2. alcoholic fermentation
3. draining
4. pressing
5. storage and maturation
6. packaging
• True or False -- with high rainfall, vines shut down to protect themselves and the
grapes do not develop or ripen -✓✓ False.
• True or False -- Clouds can block sunlight to a vineyard, and as a result, grapes
take longer to ripen. -✓✓ True. Clouds can block the sunlight to a vineyard. The
lack of sunlight slows down photosynthesis so grapes take longer to ripen.
TEST PREPARATION GUIDE DETAILED ANSWER
EXPLANATIONS
• What is the structural component in red wines that can sometimes have a bitter
taste that lingers at the back of your mouth? -✓✓ Tannin
• ___ flavored food can overwhelm a dry wine. -✓✓ Highly
• True of False -- With dishes containing sugar a good general rule is to select a
wine that has a lower level of sweetness than the dish. -✓✓ False. With dishes
containing sugar, a good general rule is to select a wine that has HIGHER level of
sweetness than the dish.
• Which could be useful when pairing a wine with fatty or oily foods?
A. very little or no sweetness in the wine
B. high acidity in the wine
C. light body in the wine
D. high tannin in the wine -✓✓ B. high acidity in the wine
• Recommended service temperatures for sweet wines: -✓✓ Well chilled, 43-46 F
• Recommended service temperatures for sparkling wines: -✓✓ Well chilled, 43-50
F
• Recommended service temperatures for full-bodied white wines: -✓✓ Lightly
chilled, 50-55 F
,• Recommended service temperatures for Medium, full-bodied red wines: -✓✓
Room temp, 59-64 F
• ____ systems remove the air from inside the bottle with a pump. -✓✓ Vacuum
• ___ systems pump gas into a bottle and push out the air inside it as a result. This
gas is not harmful for the wine. -✓✓ Blanket
• Cork Taint is caused by:
A. sunlight
B. a chemical called TCA
C. heat
D. cold conditions -✓✓ B. a chemical called TCA
• Failure of a ____ is a wine fault that happens when unwanted oxygen interacts
with the wine and oxidizes it. -✓✓ closure
• True or False -- A wine stored in cold conditions (-2-O C) will maintain its
freshness and fruitiness. -✓✓ False. Wines should be kept at a cool and constant
temperature. Extremes of cold and heat, as well as significant changes in
temperature, can damage a wine.
• Which latitudes north and south of the equator mark the temperature zone where
most vineyards are found? -✓✓ 30 and 50 degrees
• Why are there very few vineyards lying closer to the equator than 30 degrees?
A. there is not enough sunlight
, B. it is too windy
C. it is generally too hot
D. it is generally too cold -✓✓ C. it is generally too hot. Grapes grown close to the
equator my become overripe and lose some of the finesse and characteristics of
that grape variety.
• Order the timing of events in red wine making using the following:
-alcoholic fermentation
-draining
-packaging
-storage and maturation
-pressing
-crushing -✓✓ 1. crushing
2. alcoholic fermentation
3. draining
4. pressing
5. storage and maturation
6. packaging
• True or False -- with high rainfall, vines shut down to protect themselves and the
grapes do not develop or ripen -✓✓ False.
• True or False -- Clouds can block sunlight to a vineyard, and as a result, grapes
take longer to ripen. -✓✓ True. Clouds can block the sunlight to a vineyard. The
lack of sunlight slows down photosynthesis so grapes take longer to ripen.
