my experience has been that since buyers from restaurants are usually sommeliers, they hold MS and MoW designations in a higher regard. Then there are people with no designations at all but have been in the business for years and know everything about wine and then some, so it’s difficult to make broad/general rules. Lots of sommeliers take the WSET in concurrence with their MS or MoW or CWE.
Where do you live? Nola Palomar is offering 20% off WSET classes for a Spanish wine 3-day intensive course going from July-August. It’s a great start. http://www.spainwines.es/en/calendar.php is the website to register, the code to get the discount is: VELETA
I assume you have the WSET Advanced text book, I’m afraid anything in here could come up. I can’t advise you how to revise, my technique is to re-write course notes in an abreviated form which, though painful, helps the information stick for me.
Make sure you know your basics of viticulture and the various styles of vinification in detail (white/red still, sparkling and fortified).
Be able to identify key styles and regions of major grape varietals.
Ensure you know use and abuse of alcohol as WSET has become keen on this.
Be able to recognise indigenous grapes and their regions.
Make sure you know “old world” France (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Loire and Champagne). Remember spirits may also crop up within the theory even if it’s only in the multiple choice.
Be able to choose some similar wine styles from the same grape but a different region.
Be able to pair a wine with some suggested food and explain why you chose it.
Make sure you can systematically critique a wine in a blind tasting to the WSET standard.
Remember you have to pass the blind tasting and the theory section to pass. Theory is 50 mutliple choice plus 4 short answer questions each worth 25 marks. Blind tasting is also worth 25 marks.
Yes, the International Wine Center has said … you can be asked anything in the book!
I am currently reviewing all of my notes and making flash cards … I agree, it’s the writing down pertinent facts again that makes it stick for me as well!
Alright, back for a bit more studying this afternoon!!
I was just sent the MW application pack for 2010. Here is the time requirements for passing
The MW Examination is divided into three parts: theory, practical and dissertation. Candidates are required to undertake the closed-book parts of the exam, theory and tasting, until they achieve a pass in at least one with three attempts within four years. Candidates have a maximum of five attempts within six years to achieve a pass in both theory and practical. Once a pass is achieved in both, candidates may progress to dissertation, which can be completed within a minimum of one year. It consists of the candidate’s own original research written up in a maximum of 10,000 words in English.
warning, the link is to a company I have a big stake in (figure that ought to cover things well enough here):
I don’t know if you’ve made a final decision, but this is a pretty good overview (from an MS, but he dealt with everyone fairly evenhandedly) from the Preview issue of our magazine that went over most of the various certification programs and their focus. I think you’ve already gotten some great advice (I would chime in to add: ignore that silly anti-International Wine Center site, it’s one disgruntled guy), but this may help with some of the facts:
That is a lot of books! Great list. But so as to not intimidate, honestly, I found these three books to be most effective:
Sotheby’s–great for super detailed information, stuff you won’t fin in the Oxford companion, but not that great for maps
World Atlas of Wine–great maps
Oxford COmpanion–good for specific words, etc for definitions but since it’s not a book, it doesn’t “narrate” or string the facts together.
Sarah are you referring to books for the Advanced Ceriftifcate or the Diploma. My list is what I used extensively for the Diploma.
A few books I forgot to mention are the Wines and Foods of the Loire Valley by Jacqueline Friedrich and Italian Wine for Dummies packed with info in a logical order. I also used Knowing and Making Wine by Emile Peynaud, David Bird’s book was not available in the US until after I took the viticultural/vinification exam.
Stephen Skelton MWs book on Viticulture and also The Art and Science of Wine by James Halliday & Hugh Johnson are available via Amazon. These are now considered key reference books for WSET Diploma.
A number of the older key texts like those of Emile Peynaud are now out of print. Thanks for the list of refereces to QWSPR regions, this will be useful wheer I have not already purchased them.
I have a peer that has been an MW candidate for over 5 years. I know the level of difficulty and commitment, but I’m also curious if the new rule of 5 attempts and 6 years came into play for all candidates or if some were grandfathered in?
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