WSET Diploma: How It's Going
The hardest part is sitting on those damn plastic chairs
I recently finished my first unit of the WSET 4 Diploma. This unit, the D1, focuses on Viticulture and Vinification. A sort of ‘ground zero’ for students to pass before undertaking the comprehensive D3 Wines of the World unit. This is how it’s been going.
where I study and write to you from
Starting the D1 was daunting. There are two days of lectures at the beginning of the month, and an exam at the end of the month. These lectures were mere days after my CMS exams which I wrote about here:
Putting your head into a vice and tightening it until your eyes begin to pop is not dissimilar to how I felt jumping into the D1. Although I was present in the classroom, I must guiltily admit my mind wandered to fantasies of pool-side Pina Coladas, shrimp cocktails, servants fanning me whilst I finally read Proust — no, actually, maybe a Mills & Boon — something good for the soul. Ah no, we’re back in the classroom. They’re listing the 16 different kinds of rootstock and my bum hurts from sitting on these plastic seats for so long. Onwards, onwards.
Fantasies aside, I should mention that pursuing WSET 3 and 4 close together was a huge advantage. The concepts are still fresh and much of the content covered in these lectures merely elaborated on those I was already familiar with. Students who had taken a break before returning definitely struggled to get back into the WSET headspace.
COMPARING CMS AND WSET
During my CMS studies, flashcards were my best friend. They were constant: on break at work, on the train, on the loo, making dinner, before bed. I was a flash-card pro, ready to direct my momentum towards the WSET syllabus. I quickly discovered that I could not flash-card my way into a passing grade. Understanding concepts was more useful than factoids, so my study techniques had to adjust.
For me, these new techniques involved colourful mind maps, sheets summarising key information, diagrams, and thought experiments:
“If I wanted to make a cheap, nasty rose for export, how would I do that from site selection to packaging?”
or
“If I were a wine grower in Priorat, how would I plan my vineyard to account for the disease, water, nutrients, and climactic pressures?”
and
“If I were a super-premium biodynamic producer, what would wine production look like for me?”
These thought experiments were most useful in preparing me for the WSET D1 exam.
There were some factoids that needed flash cards: the aforementioned 16 different rootstocks, permitted sulphur levels in the EU, ferment temperatures for different styles, but these only complemented the core concepts.
To summarise the difference between the CMS certified and the D1, this latter is more about understanding and applying ideas, where the CMS emphasises rapid recall under pressure.
THE EXAM
I somehow ended up on a trip to France that departed 3 hours after my exam was due to end. I rolled up to the exam, suitcase in hand. It was very much a ‘write then flight’ scenario.
In spite of my pre-flight jitters, I used the full time for my exam and left with the worst hand cramp of my life. I wrote 5 pages over 4 questions which spanned the full range of the textbook. I had studied close to 12 hours a week and felt confident in my capacity to answer all the questions. There were some topics I was thankful did not pop up (I never did learn all 16 rootstocks) but that is always the case with exams.
I was delighted to be the first one out of the room once the timer rang, and promptly situated myself in the waiting car. I promise you, my first impulse at the airport was to find a cold glass of champagne and celebrate the end of the exam— and the beginning of my holiday.
(later, on the plane, my travel companion admonished me for leaping into the D2 textbook which was dutifully printed and ready to read whilst away. “You know you’re allowed to have a break right?” Alas, no rest for the wine student)
How are your wine studies going? Let us know in the comments section!