WSET LEVEL 1 EXAM SCRIPT VERIFIED
QUESTIONS WITH FULL SOLUTION 2026
• What is wine? -✓✓ A drink made from the fermented juice or freshly-picked grapes.
One of the most natural of all alcoholic drinks.
• What is fermentation? -✓✓ A natural process caused by yeast.
• What is yeast? -✓✓ Are microscopic organisms that live naturally alongside grapes int
he vineyard and winery.
• How does yeast live? -✓✓ They feed on sugar, as found in grape juice, converting it to
alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.
• What are the three types of wine? -✓✓ Light wine
Sparking wine
Fortified wine
• Light wines -✓✓ Majority of wines fall into this category.
Between 8-15% alcohol, but a majority containing 11.5-14% alcohol.
• Light wines are named from.. -✓✓ The region they are produced in.
Bordeaux and Burgundy from France.
Rioja from Spain.
Chianti from Italy.
• Light wines from the New World countries get their name from.. -✓✓ Labeled with the
name of the grape used.
Chardonnay or Shiraz from Australia.
• Sparking wines -✓✓ Bubbles of CO2 gas have been trapped in the wine.
Made all over the world.
• What are examples of sparking wines? -✓✓ Champagne from France.
Cava from Spain.
• Fortified wines -✓✓ Extra alcohol is added.
Alcohol levels of 15-22%.
• Examples of fortified wines.. -✓✓ Sherry from Spain.
Port from Portugal.
• Colour: Red -✓✓ Using black grapes to make the wine.
, Color comes from the grape skins.
Juice is fermented in contact with the grape skin, coloring the juice.
• Colour: White -✓✓ Usually made with white grapes, but can also use black grapes.
Often seen lighter, refreshing, alternative to red wines.
• Colour: Rosé -✓✓ Made from black grapes; less contact with the skins.
Not as full as reds but offer more body than whites.
Tends to be a seasonal drink, mostly summer time.
• Sweetness.. -✓✓ Dry
Medium
Sweet
• Explain the steps on how sweetness is "produced" -✓✓ 1.) Grape juice is naturally
sweet but yeast feeds not he grape sugars during fermentation, then the juice becomes
less sweet.
2.) The yeast will die once the alcohol reaches 15% or when all the sugars have been
used.
3.) Once the yeast is dead, any sugar remaining in the wine will determine how sweet
the wine is.
• Sweetness: Dry -✓✓ Process: The yeast will have turned all the sugar into alcohol and
CO2.
Most red wines and a majority of whites, some more than others.
• Examples of dry white wines.. -✓✓ Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
Fino Sherry from Spain.
Brut from Champagne.
• Examples of dry red wines.. -✓✓ Châteauneuf-du-Pape from France.
Chianti from Italy.
Cabernet Sauvignon from California.
• Sweetness: Medium -✓✓ Process: The winemaker either removed the yeast from the
juice before all the sugar has been consumed or adds unfermented, sweet grape juice
to dry wine.
Usually white and rosé.
Taste: Should have sweetness but not by cloying or sickly.
• Examples of medium wines.. -✓✓ Many popular wines from Germany.
Rosé wines such as White Zinfandel from California.
QUESTIONS WITH FULL SOLUTION 2026
• What is wine? -✓✓ A drink made from the fermented juice or freshly-picked grapes.
One of the most natural of all alcoholic drinks.
• What is fermentation? -✓✓ A natural process caused by yeast.
• What is yeast? -✓✓ Are microscopic organisms that live naturally alongside grapes int
he vineyard and winery.
• How does yeast live? -✓✓ They feed on sugar, as found in grape juice, converting it to
alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.
• What are the three types of wine? -✓✓ Light wine
Sparking wine
Fortified wine
• Light wines -✓✓ Majority of wines fall into this category.
Between 8-15% alcohol, but a majority containing 11.5-14% alcohol.
• Light wines are named from.. -✓✓ The region they are produced in.
Bordeaux and Burgundy from France.
Rioja from Spain.
Chianti from Italy.
• Light wines from the New World countries get their name from.. -✓✓ Labeled with the
name of the grape used.
Chardonnay or Shiraz from Australia.
• Sparking wines -✓✓ Bubbles of CO2 gas have been trapped in the wine.
Made all over the world.
• What are examples of sparking wines? -✓✓ Champagne from France.
Cava from Spain.
• Fortified wines -✓✓ Extra alcohol is added.
Alcohol levels of 15-22%.
• Examples of fortified wines.. -✓✓ Sherry from Spain.
Port from Portugal.
• Colour: Red -✓✓ Using black grapes to make the wine.
, Color comes from the grape skins.
Juice is fermented in contact with the grape skin, coloring the juice.
• Colour: White -✓✓ Usually made with white grapes, but can also use black grapes.
Often seen lighter, refreshing, alternative to red wines.
• Colour: Rosé -✓✓ Made from black grapes; less contact with the skins.
Not as full as reds but offer more body than whites.
Tends to be a seasonal drink, mostly summer time.
• Sweetness.. -✓✓ Dry
Medium
Sweet
• Explain the steps on how sweetness is "produced" -✓✓ 1.) Grape juice is naturally
sweet but yeast feeds not he grape sugars during fermentation, then the juice becomes
less sweet.
2.) The yeast will die once the alcohol reaches 15% or when all the sugars have been
used.
3.) Once the yeast is dead, any sugar remaining in the wine will determine how sweet
the wine is.
• Sweetness: Dry -✓✓ Process: The yeast will have turned all the sugar into alcohol and
CO2.
Most red wines and a majority of whites, some more than others.
• Examples of dry white wines.. -✓✓ Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
Fino Sherry from Spain.
Brut from Champagne.
• Examples of dry red wines.. -✓✓ Châteauneuf-du-Pape from France.
Chianti from Italy.
Cabernet Sauvignon from California.
• Sweetness: Medium -✓✓ Process: The winemaker either removed the yeast from the
juice before all the sugar has been consumed or adds unfermented, sweet grape juice
to dry wine.
Usually white and rosé.
Taste: Should have sweetness but not by cloying or sickly.
• Examples of medium wines.. -✓✓ Many popular wines from Germany.
Rosé wines such as White Zinfandel from California.
