WSET Level 2 Award in Wines
Chapter 1 Tasting and Evaluating Wine
Systematic Approach to Tasting = SAT
• Common language to describe a wine
• Calibrate palate
• Evaluate: appearance, nose, palate, quality (BLIC)
Ideal tasting environment/preparation:
• Good lightning
• Free of odours (parfum/aftershaves)
• Clean palate (mouth free of flavours)
• Space for glasses to take notes
• Spittoons
• Clean, suitable glassware; odourless, colourless, transparent
o Rounded bowl → release aromas while swirling
o Inward sloping walls → capture aromas at top of the glass
• Correct filled samples → 5 CL
Approach to tasting
Appearance
1. Intensity: pale – medium – deep (how much colour)
2. Colour (what colour)
a. White lemon – gold – amber
b. Rosé pink – ping-orange – orange
c. Red purple – ruby – garnet – tawny
Red red-brown brown-red
Nose
1. Aroma intensity light – medium – pronounced
2. Aroma characteristics
a. Primary blossom / fruity / vegetables
b. Secondary bread / buttery / vanilla
c. Tertiary dried fruits / mushrooms / honey
Palate
1. Sweetness dry – off dry – medium – sweet
2. Acidity (sour) low – medium – high
3. Tannin (only red) low – medium – high
4. Alcohol low – medium – high
<11 11-13.9 >14
5. Body (mouth) light – medium – full
6. Flavour characteristics
a. Primary blossom / fruity / vegetables
b. Secondary bread / buttery / vanilla
c. Tertiary dried fruits / mushrooms / honey
7. Finish short – medium – long
,Quality level
BLIC
• Balance: sugar / acidity, alcohol / fruitiness
• Length/finish: how long the pleasant sensations linger after the wine has been
swallowed.
• Identifiable characteristics of flavours: if the flavours are well defined or not in
a wine. Good strong / weak flavours influence the quality of a wine
• Complexity: complexity can come from the primary aromas and flavours, or it
may come from the combination of there with secondary and tertiary
characteristics
Assessing quality
Faulty: when a wine has problems; closure failures, cork, lack of hygiene, heat
damage
Poor : poor balance, minor faults, lack of flavour
Acceptable: little out of balance, dilute, generic character
Good: well balanced, free of faults, some complexity, shows variety and
maybe region
Very good: some elements of concentration, complexity, shows variety and region
Outstanding: wine free of criticism, perfectly BLIC
,Chapter 2: Pairing wine and Food
Food that is consumed with wine has an effect on the way you perceive a wine, and
wine can also have a similar effect on food. The purpose of food and wine pairing is
to take advantage of these effects, so that the food and wine consumed together
ideally provide more pleasure than either would if consumed separately. Knowledge
of the ways in which food and wine interact with each other also helps to avoid
negative unpleasant combinations.
People have different sensitives and react differently on certain flavours.
Personal preferences matter
Food and wine interactions
• 2 components in food that tend to make wines taste ‘harder’.
o Sweetness
o Umami
• 2 components in food that tend to make wines taste ‘softer’
o Salt
o Acid
, Chapter 3 Storage and Service of wine
When the wine is stored incorrectly, it can affect the quality of the wine
• Long term storage; cold and constant temperature
• Keep away from strong sunshine
• Sealed with cork? Store on the side. The cork will not dry out when there is
contact with the cork
Serving wine:
• Appearance: any haziness is faulty
• No bits floating in the wine
• Aromas: no stale, wet cardboard, vinegar
Keeping wine fresh→ keeping away from air / fridge with cork
• Vacuum systems: remove air inside bottle
• Blanket systems: pumping gas in the bottle
Style of Wine Example Recommended Service
Temperature
Sweet wines Sauternes Well chilled
6-8 °C
Sparkling wines Champagne Well chilled
6-8 °C
Light-, medium-bodied Pinot Grigio Chilled
white and rose 7-10 °C
Full-bodied white Oaked chardonnay Lightly chilled
10 – 13 °C
Light-bodied red Beaujolais Room temperature or
lightly chilled
13 – 18 °C
Medium-, full-bodied red Shiraz Room temperature
15 – 18 °C
Cork taint
• Caused by TCA (Trichloroanisole)
• Less fresh
• Fruit aromas muted
Failure of closure
• If closure allows unwanted oxygen to interact with a wine, the wine will oxidise
o Deeper-coloured and browner
o Lack of freshness
Heat damage
• Stored in too hot conditions
• Direct sunlight
• Bright artificial lights
• Lose freshness
• Taste dull and stale
Chapter 1 Tasting and Evaluating Wine
Systematic Approach to Tasting = SAT
• Common language to describe a wine
• Calibrate palate
• Evaluate: appearance, nose, palate, quality (BLIC)
Ideal tasting environment/preparation:
• Good lightning
• Free of odours (parfum/aftershaves)
• Clean palate (mouth free of flavours)
• Space for glasses to take notes
• Spittoons
• Clean, suitable glassware; odourless, colourless, transparent
o Rounded bowl → release aromas while swirling
o Inward sloping walls → capture aromas at top of the glass
• Correct filled samples → 5 CL
Approach to tasting
Appearance
1. Intensity: pale – medium – deep (how much colour)
2. Colour (what colour)
a. White lemon – gold – amber
b. Rosé pink – ping-orange – orange
c. Red purple – ruby – garnet – tawny
Red red-brown brown-red
Nose
1. Aroma intensity light – medium – pronounced
2. Aroma characteristics
a. Primary blossom / fruity / vegetables
b. Secondary bread / buttery / vanilla
c. Tertiary dried fruits / mushrooms / honey
Palate
1. Sweetness dry – off dry – medium – sweet
2. Acidity (sour) low – medium – high
3. Tannin (only red) low – medium – high
4. Alcohol low – medium – high
<11 11-13.9 >14
5. Body (mouth) light – medium – full
6. Flavour characteristics
a. Primary blossom / fruity / vegetables
b. Secondary bread / buttery / vanilla
c. Tertiary dried fruits / mushrooms / honey
7. Finish short – medium – long
,Quality level
BLIC
• Balance: sugar / acidity, alcohol / fruitiness
• Length/finish: how long the pleasant sensations linger after the wine has been
swallowed.
• Identifiable characteristics of flavours: if the flavours are well defined or not in
a wine. Good strong / weak flavours influence the quality of a wine
• Complexity: complexity can come from the primary aromas and flavours, or it
may come from the combination of there with secondary and tertiary
characteristics
Assessing quality
Faulty: when a wine has problems; closure failures, cork, lack of hygiene, heat
damage
Poor : poor balance, minor faults, lack of flavour
Acceptable: little out of balance, dilute, generic character
Good: well balanced, free of faults, some complexity, shows variety and
maybe region
Very good: some elements of concentration, complexity, shows variety and region
Outstanding: wine free of criticism, perfectly BLIC
,Chapter 2: Pairing wine and Food
Food that is consumed with wine has an effect on the way you perceive a wine, and
wine can also have a similar effect on food. The purpose of food and wine pairing is
to take advantage of these effects, so that the food and wine consumed together
ideally provide more pleasure than either would if consumed separately. Knowledge
of the ways in which food and wine interact with each other also helps to avoid
negative unpleasant combinations.
People have different sensitives and react differently on certain flavours.
Personal preferences matter
Food and wine interactions
• 2 components in food that tend to make wines taste ‘harder’.
o Sweetness
o Umami
• 2 components in food that tend to make wines taste ‘softer’
o Salt
o Acid
, Chapter 3 Storage and Service of wine
When the wine is stored incorrectly, it can affect the quality of the wine
• Long term storage; cold and constant temperature
• Keep away from strong sunshine
• Sealed with cork? Store on the side. The cork will not dry out when there is
contact with the cork
Serving wine:
• Appearance: any haziness is faulty
• No bits floating in the wine
• Aromas: no stale, wet cardboard, vinegar
Keeping wine fresh→ keeping away from air / fridge with cork
• Vacuum systems: remove air inside bottle
• Blanket systems: pumping gas in the bottle
Style of Wine Example Recommended Service
Temperature
Sweet wines Sauternes Well chilled
6-8 °C
Sparkling wines Champagne Well chilled
6-8 °C
Light-, medium-bodied Pinot Grigio Chilled
white and rose 7-10 °C
Full-bodied white Oaked chardonnay Lightly chilled
10 – 13 °C
Light-bodied red Beaujolais Room temperature or
lightly chilled
13 – 18 °C
Medium-, full-bodied red Shiraz Room temperature
15 – 18 °C
Cork taint
• Caused by TCA (Trichloroanisole)
• Less fresh
• Fruit aromas muted
Failure of closure
• If closure allows unwanted oxygen to interact with a wine, the wine will oxidise
o Deeper-coloured and browner
o Lack of freshness
Heat damage
• Stored in too hot conditions
• Direct sunlight
• Bright artificial lights
• Lose freshness
• Taste dull and stale
