WSET Level 3- South Africa Exam Questions and Answers With Verified Solutions
2025
Climate - ✔✔Should be hot but coastal areas are cooled
4 cooling influences - ✔✔- Benguela Current from Antarctica. Runs past tip and up the west coast
- Cape Doctor: regular SE summer winds
- prominent mountain ranges running throughout the wine growing area, offering a variance of altitudes
and aspects, and thusly different climates
- mountains/hills cast shadows over nearby vineyards
Geographic defining feature - ✔✔Prominent mountain ranges running throughout the wine regions
offering multitude of altitudes, aspects, and soils, and thusly different climates
Major red grapes - ✔✔CS(most widely planted; varietal and bordeaux blend wine), merlot, syrah, pinot
noir, pinotage
Pinotage heritage - ✔✔Pinot noir + cinsault
Most planted grape (red or white) - ✔✔Chenin blanc
styles of chenin blanc made - ✔✔dry and sweet
simple, easy drinking to more complex and concentrated wines from old bush vines
White grapes - ✔✔Chenin, colombard, SB, chardonnay, muscat of Alexandria, viognier
Grape grown for brandy production - ✔✔Colombard
Hanepoot - ✔✔Muscat of Alexandria
, Muscat of Alexandria made in what style - ✔✔Late harvest dessert wine, vine shriveled grapes. Noble
rot common.
High quality white blends now common in - ✔✔Swartland. Mostly CB blended with Rhône varieties
(marsanne, rousanne, grenache blanc, viognier)
90+% of SA wine from what region - ✔✔The Western Cape
Wine not made in the Western Cape is grown primarily: - ✔✔The hot and irrigated Orange River in the
Northern Cape. Mostly inexpensive whites, rarely exported
W.O. - ✔✔Wine of Origin. SA's GI system
The 4 levels of SA's Wine of Origin system - ✔✔- GI catchall allowing multiple regional and district
blends. Only important one is Western Cape. Used even for high quality wine
- Region
- District
- Ward
3 most important regions of Western Cape - ✔✔Coastal Region
Breede River Valley
Cape South Coast
Estate wines - ✔✔all estate fruit from vineyards within a single geographical area. must be processed on
site.
winegrowing longitude - ✔✔27-34deg South of the Equator
the "Cape blend" - ✔✔Pinotage blended with international varieties
2025
Climate - ✔✔Should be hot but coastal areas are cooled
4 cooling influences - ✔✔- Benguela Current from Antarctica. Runs past tip and up the west coast
- Cape Doctor: regular SE summer winds
- prominent mountain ranges running throughout the wine growing area, offering a variance of altitudes
and aspects, and thusly different climates
- mountains/hills cast shadows over nearby vineyards
Geographic defining feature - ✔✔Prominent mountain ranges running throughout the wine regions
offering multitude of altitudes, aspects, and soils, and thusly different climates
Major red grapes - ✔✔CS(most widely planted; varietal and bordeaux blend wine), merlot, syrah, pinot
noir, pinotage
Pinotage heritage - ✔✔Pinot noir + cinsault
Most planted grape (red or white) - ✔✔Chenin blanc
styles of chenin blanc made - ✔✔dry and sweet
simple, easy drinking to more complex and concentrated wines from old bush vines
White grapes - ✔✔Chenin, colombard, SB, chardonnay, muscat of Alexandria, viognier
Grape grown for brandy production - ✔✔Colombard
Hanepoot - ✔✔Muscat of Alexandria
, Muscat of Alexandria made in what style - ✔✔Late harvest dessert wine, vine shriveled grapes. Noble
rot common.
High quality white blends now common in - ✔✔Swartland. Mostly CB blended with Rhône varieties
(marsanne, rousanne, grenache blanc, viognier)
90+% of SA wine from what region - ✔✔The Western Cape
Wine not made in the Western Cape is grown primarily: - ✔✔The hot and irrigated Orange River in the
Northern Cape. Mostly inexpensive whites, rarely exported
W.O. - ✔✔Wine of Origin. SA's GI system
The 4 levels of SA's Wine of Origin system - ✔✔- GI catchall allowing multiple regional and district
blends. Only important one is Western Cape. Used even for high quality wine
- Region
- District
- Ward
3 most important regions of Western Cape - ✔✔Coastal Region
Breede River Valley
Cape South Coast
Estate wines - ✔✔all estate fruit from vineyards within a single geographical area. must be processed on
site.
winegrowing longitude - ✔✔27-34deg South of the Equator
the "Cape blend" - ✔✔Pinotage blended with international varieties
