My «WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits» experience

I often get asked questions by people about the WSET Diploma.

So I’m going to tell you about my personal experience, which is not the best example, not by a long chalk. And why? To sump up, I skipped two levels (because I am Basque and what the hell!), I have done everything in a row (without buying myself some breathing room) and all this while keeping a full-time job (very demanding one, especially when I was in China). 

I started directly with the Level 3 in Hong Kong. I just threw myself at it and I have to admit that I found it more demanding than I had expected. Trust me, even if you can skip Level 1 and 2 as I did, you need some kind of starting point. So unless you are very familiar with the WSET (how it works, how they mark the exams and so on) I suggest you to start at least from the Level 2 to know what it is all about. 

Level 3 provides an outstanding wine education, it is a five to seven day commitment, with an exam at the end. Before the classes you will spend around 3 to 4 months studying by yourself (or less if you are on a sabbatical or in a part-time job). 

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Once I received my pass, I enrolled directly in the WSET Diploma programme. I could have waited, had a break, read some books or whatever but I didn’t. I just wanted to keep going. 

The Diploma ––WSET 4–– will take you around two years and includes six exams and a paper. I studied the “Diploma in Wines and Spirits”, now they changed it (removing Spirits) so I’m not 100% sure if the number of units is the same or not, but the time you will need to go through the course will be more or less the same. 

I did five of the units in Hong Kong, while I wasn’t living there, so the money spent on trains and hotels is countless. I chose the block release programme. How does it works? It is a two to three days of class per unit, with the exam afterwards. So you need to study everything by yourself beforehand. 

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First problem I faced with this was the lack of samples in Mainland China. It was a nightmare and cost me an arm and a leg! A further important point, I didn’t have a tasting group or any kind of study group for that matter. I did all by myself. If I had doubts, I asked the Instagram community (to whom I am eternally grateful for their help!). 

I moved back to Spain in the middle of the course, so I changed to the London School for my last unit (the feared Unit 3!). I was actually so happy with the change, London is also a very expensive city but both the teachers and the classmates were amazing and even though I changed from one group to another the camaraderie and support of the students was remarkable. Although I finished the course as I started, without a tasting group, our WhatsApp groups have been a great source of support and being in Barcelona made it easier to find someone to help me to calibrate my palate for the tasting. So the last unit, although it has been the most difficult, has also been the one where I have had more of the much-needed help. 

Having said all that, are you considering studying for the level 4 Diploma in Wines?

First thing you need to know is that there will be times when you will have no life at all. Not life at all. Get it into your head!

Second thing is that the more you learn, the more you’lI realise that you know nothing. And unless you are Jon Snow, this is a quite confusing feeling to deal with. 

Next issue is the language, unless English is your mother tongue keep in mind that you’ll have an important handicap.

You will question yourself and forget why you started this whole thing and there will be times when you’ll just want to give up. 

This brings us to the last point: the reasons why you do it are super important. I don’t think that everyone needs the Diploma to fulfill their wine-related-career-dreams and it is important to understand that this course is a big commitment in both time and money. When asked if my career has changed thanks to this title, the answer is not. Sorry. But I wasn’t looking for that neither!

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The Diploma have been one of the toughest challenges of my life and not only in my academic career but in every possible way. 

I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything but at the end of the day, we are “just talking” about wine.