WSET LEVEL 2 EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Light-medium bodied white and rose service temp - answer-chilled, 7-10ºc
Full bodied white service temp - answer-lightly chilled, 10-13ºc
Light-bodied red service temp - answer-room temp or lightly chilled, 13-18ºc
Medium-full bodied red service temp - answer-room temp, 15-18ºc
Glass size - answer-reds: large glasses
Whites: medium glasses
Sparkling: flutes
Vacuum systems - answer-method to keep wine fresh once opened, relies on a pump to
remove air from inside a bottle
Blanket systems - answer-method to keep wine fresh once opened, pumps gas in to the
bottle, which pushes air out
Cork taint is caused by... - answer-tca (tricholoroanisole)
What scent will a corked wine have - answer-wet cardboard
How does oxidization affect wine - answer-honey, caramel, coffee flavors, darker colors
How does heat damage affect wine - answer-dull and stale flavors
How long can grape vines live - answer-60+ years
Vines throughout the year - answer-spring: start of growing season, develops shoots,
leaves, and flowers
Summer: flowers turn into grapes by end of summer
Fall: vines drop leaves, end of growing season
Winter: vines are dormant
What does a vine need to grow - answer-warmth, sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and
nutrients
Skins provide - answer-tannin, color, flavor
Seeds and stems provide - answer-tannins
, Pulp provides - answer-water, sugar, acid, flavor
Grape formation and ripening - answer-flowering, fruit set, vérasion, ripening
Flowering - answer-in spring, vine develops flower clusters that will turn into grapes
once pollinated by the wind
Fruit set - answer-once pollinated, the flower starts to grow seeds and begins to swell,
becoming a grape
Vérasion - answer-start of the ripening process, when grapes start to lose their dark
green colors
Ripening - answer-grapes swell with water and become soft and fleshy, acidity drops,
sugar rises
White grapes: green fruit --> stone fruit --> tropical fruit
Black grapes: fresh fruit --> cooked fruit, tannisnd evelop
Botrytis - answer-- a fungus that grows on ripe grapes, causing noble rot
- makes tiny holes in the skin of the grape, causing the water inside to evaporate and
concentrating the acids, sugars, and flavors of the grape
- only beneficial if: it grows on ripe grapes, and the conditions are right (damp misty
mornings to encourage spread, followed by warm, dry afternoons to limit the growth and
prevent it from destroying grapes)
- grapes affected by botrytis used to make sweet wine
Frozen grapes - answer-- used to make sweet icewine/eiswein
- healthy grapes left on the vine into the winter, where they are picked frozen and
pressed before they thaw, separating the ice crystals and skins from a small amount of
highly concentrated acidic, sugary, and flavorful juice
Latitude - answer-most important factor that influences a wine region's climate (30-50)
Altitude - answer-affects temperature (cooling)
Seas - answer-moderating influence-- can bring cool currents (ex: south africa) or warm
currents (ex: northern europe)
Rivers - answer-take longer to warm up and cool down that the land, so provide warmth
in cooler regions and extend the growing season
Also reflect sunlight, which helps grapes ripen in latitudes further from the equator and
protects against frost
Air - answer-cool air from seas and mountains is moderating
ANSWERS
Light-medium bodied white and rose service temp - answer-chilled, 7-10ºc
Full bodied white service temp - answer-lightly chilled, 10-13ºc
Light-bodied red service temp - answer-room temp or lightly chilled, 13-18ºc
Medium-full bodied red service temp - answer-room temp, 15-18ºc
Glass size - answer-reds: large glasses
Whites: medium glasses
Sparkling: flutes
Vacuum systems - answer-method to keep wine fresh once opened, relies on a pump to
remove air from inside a bottle
Blanket systems - answer-method to keep wine fresh once opened, pumps gas in to the
bottle, which pushes air out
Cork taint is caused by... - answer-tca (tricholoroanisole)
What scent will a corked wine have - answer-wet cardboard
How does oxidization affect wine - answer-honey, caramel, coffee flavors, darker colors
How does heat damage affect wine - answer-dull and stale flavors
How long can grape vines live - answer-60+ years
Vines throughout the year - answer-spring: start of growing season, develops shoots,
leaves, and flowers
Summer: flowers turn into grapes by end of summer
Fall: vines drop leaves, end of growing season
Winter: vines are dormant
What does a vine need to grow - answer-warmth, sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, and
nutrients
Skins provide - answer-tannin, color, flavor
Seeds and stems provide - answer-tannins
, Pulp provides - answer-water, sugar, acid, flavor
Grape formation and ripening - answer-flowering, fruit set, vérasion, ripening
Flowering - answer-in spring, vine develops flower clusters that will turn into grapes
once pollinated by the wind
Fruit set - answer-once pollinated, the flower starts to grow seeds and begins to swell,
becoming a grape
Vérasion - answer-start of the ripening process, when grapes start to lose their dark
green colors
Ripening - answer-grapes swell with water and become soft and fleshy, acidity drops,
sugar rises
White grapes: green fruit --> stone fruit --> tropical fruit
Black grapes: fresh fruit --> cooked fruit, tannisnd evelop
Botrytis - answer-- a fungus that grows on ripe grapes, causing noble rot
- makes tiny holes in the skin of the grape, causing the water inside to evaporate and
concentrating the acids, sugars, and flavors of the grape
- only beneficial if: it grows on ripe grapes, and the conditions are right (damp misty
mornings to encourage spread, followed by warm, dry afternoons to limit the growth and
prevent it from destroying grapes)
- grapes affected by botrytis used to make sweet wine
Frozen grapes - answer-- used to make sweet icewine/eiswein
- healthy grapes left on the vine into the winter, where they are picked frozen and
pressed before they thaw, separating the ice crystals and skins from a small amount of
highly concentrated acidic, sugary, and flavorful juice
Latitude - answer-most important factor that influences a wine region's climate (30-50)
Altitude - answer-affects temperature (cooling)
Seas - answer-moderating influence-- can bring cool currents (ex: south africa) or warm
currents (ex: northern europe)
Rivers - answer-take longer to warm up and cool down that the land, so provide warmth
in cooler regions and extend the growing season
Also reflect sunlight, which helps grapes ripen in latitudes further from the equator and
protects against frost
Air - answer-cool air from seas and mountains is moderating
