The Wine Fairy

It’s back to school time! Some of y’all may know that I’m currently working my way through the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) certifications. So, in between all the bottle reviews and local wine topics, I thought I’d share a little bit about how that’s going so far.

I took the Level 2 Award in Wines in January 2025 and passed with a 98%. That was a major confidence booster, but the buzz didn’t last. Now I’m studying for Level 3 (the Advanced award) and oh boy. It’s a lot harder. I have an academic temperament and I’m still intimidated by the amount of content in the course and the depth of knowledge required.

Even so, I’m planning to sit the Level 3 exam later this year, in the fall. (I don’t think it will get any easier if I put it off.) That gives me about six months to get up to speed on wine theory and wine tasting–challenging, but not impossible.

Finding a Provider

The next important decision is where to enroll. There are several places that offer WSET Level 1 and Level 2 within a reasonable drive of my home in Dallas. But Level 3 is a different story. There are not as many wine schools that are qualified to teach Level 3, and the exam must be taken in-person. My three main options are to do the course and exam here in Texas, online through a long-distance provider (with a short trip to another city to take the in-person exam), or a longer trip to another city for an accelerated version of the classroom experience.

I’ve pretty much settled on doing WSET Level 3 in-person. I took a classroom version of Level 2 at the Dallas Wine Education Center and had a really positive experience–the wine selections were top-notch and so was the quality of the instruction.

For Level 3, it seems even more helpful to get the wines in class since the textbook covers many rare and regional styles that aren’t easy to source. And many WSET graduates say it can give you an advantage on the tasting portion of the exam: When you try multiple wines in class with your examiner, you can match your palate to the person who will be scoring the actual tasting.

I had been toying with the idea of going to California for one of Napa Valley Wine Academy‘s semi-annual Level 3 Boot Camps. This is where you spend about a week in the classroom–interspersed with some field trips to wineries–and then take the exam on the last day.

Even though it’s pricey, it truly sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’ve never been to any of California’s wine country. I was all ready to bust open my piggy bank and eat beans all summer to make it happen.

But when I reached out to Napa Valley Wine Academy to inquire about future class dates, they told me they were already sold out for the fall. Crap!

They were super professional and offered some alternative dates in the spring…but I wasn’t ready to sit the exam this spring and next spring is too far away. (I’m not sure my slippery brain can hold all these Burgundy maps for an entire year.) So it’s possible it’s just not meant to be. I’m on a waitlist with NVWA…but it seems more likely that I’ll end up taking the class here in Dallas.

Textbook and Flash Cards

I’ve detailed my Level 2 study techniques in another post, so I won’t go into it all again here. But I believe that a deep, disciplined review of the textbook and making my own flashcards were the most important pre-class prep. I’m almost entirely a verbal learner, and these two methods really helped me retain the material and ace my exam.

So, as we say here in Texas: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Level 3 book is much thicker than Level 2–and so is my stack of index cards. But the exam concepts are all in the book so I’m doing my best to learn it well.

Like last time, I’m using an older, cheaper edition of the WSET textbook until the official course materials are ordered. From one student to another…I don’t think it makes that much of a difference. I’ve noticed a couple of spots where the material is outdated or WSET has added new vocabulary or areas of focus. Just follow the Level 3 Specification and your instructor and it should be all good.

Tasting Exam Practice

The Level 3 exam consists of two main parts: a written and multiple-choice theory exam, and a blind tasting exam of two wines. WSET educators say over and over that the written portion of the theory exam is way harder than the tasting. The pass/fail rates reflect that: The vast majority of students pass the tasting on the first try. The theory portion, not so much…it’s closer to half.

Still, students tend to get very nervous about the Level 3 tasting exam. And I’m definitely no exception there–I am also dreading the tasting exam. (At least there will be wine to steel my nerves…just kidding.)

There’s just something terrifying about having an anonymous glass in front of you and being expected to expound upon its attributes. It’s not that I can’t discern wine fairly well–I actually think I can. It’s just that the stakes are higher and there’s less room for bullshitting on a written test. Right now, if I’m blind tasting, it’s usually as a party trick to impress people who don’t know much about wine. Writing out a complete tasting note that matches an examiner’s is much harder than being able to say, “This is an oaky California Chard” or “This is a Sangiovese-based blend” or whatnot.

To prepare, I’m doing structured tasting at home two or three times per week. I look at the Specification and choose wines that are within the scope of the course. Then I taste (well, drink) the wine and write out a detailed note according to the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting. What is the color, what is the acidity, etc., etc. A lot of those notes end up as the backbone of bottle reviews I publish here on The Wine Fairy.

Also, my friend Ian (a fellow Level 3 student) gifted me with this amazing notebook that helps teach you the WSET method of writing a tasting note. On the Level 3 tasting exam, you’re expected to reproduce the tasting grid from memory. But for now, I’ve got a cheat sheet to help me during structured tastings.

Wine with Jimmy

On the WSET subreddit, I noticed a lot of people praising the wine educator and YouTube personality Jimmy Smith. Some even credit him with helping them pass their exam.

I’m not really a YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram user–internet videos are too noisy and thirsty for me, and they seem to barely have any content between all the “like and subscribe” and clickbait nonsense. But his name came up often enough that I went to check it out. Turns out, Wine With Jimmy isn’t a pile of dumb influencer chatter, but a focused and fact-dense resource for people studying for WSET 3.

There’s a bunch of free content on YouTube–or you can subscribe to the premium site for access to more videos, interactive maps, quizzes, flashcards, practice exams and chat support. It’s great. I paid for a year’s access to the Level 3 revision material (cost: about $110 USD), and I’m slowly working my way though all the lesson modules.

Reddit had told me that the content is excellent–and sure enough, it is excellent. The flyover maps and other visual aids help enliven the often tedious WSET fact parade. There’s lots of asides about which topics tend to be on the exam, and detailed advice for tackling those challenging essay questions, as well.

As a bonus, Jimmy’s staff occasionally sends out invitations to live seminars at West London Wine School. You get to tune into a live video class with wine learners from around the world, focused around one of nine important grape varieties, which Jimmy calls the “Noble Nine.”

I’ve attended one of these so far, on Pinot Noir. While it didn’t depart from the core material that much, it was full of helpful tips for passing the exam (and finding good Pinot!).

West London Wine School hinted over email that they were having capacity issues with their livestream feature. As of this writing, the upcoming seminar on Chardonnay is marked as “sold out” and the promo code they sent me previously isn’t working. So, it’s not clear if future Noble Nine seminars will be included for WSET 3 revision students. The recorded class material is worth the price of admission by itself, so I’m not mad about it…but I’ll definitely attend more of Jimmy’s live classes if I’m invited.

This Blog

My blog project The Wine Fairy isn’t just a study aid–but it’s also a study aid. Reviews and travelogues are one way that I can put new wine knowledge into practice.

Blogging helps a lot with retention. I can’t possibly remember every wine I taste or read about. But if I can make a memory, or tell a story about it, then I’m way more likely to remember technical details at exam time.

Getting Out of the House

This wine fairy is also a city girl for life! One of the things I love most about living in a big city is that there are so many opportunities to study and taste wine, beers, spirits and food from all over the world. There isn’t just one good wine shop in the area–there’s like, half a dozen. I can rub elbows with somms, wine merchants, and winemakers who are at the top of their game, and I’m absolutely loving the wine world here in town.

Even better (and yes, I know how corny it sounds), I have the feeling that the wine world likes me back. I wasn’t expecting that. It’s a sprawling, expensive metropolis, I’m just another barfly, and everyone’s got to turn tables and make a buck.

And yet, the wine people I’ve met so far on this quest have been astonishingly supportive and generous. Since I started formal study last fall, I’ve been haunting the various shops and bars and wineries around town.

I’ve gotten to taste a lot of interesting wines that have pushed the boundaries of my preferences and knowledge. I get to hear about the trends that the pros are seeing, and which spendy bottles they think are just plonk. There’s even a few places that will blind taste me on stuff if they’re not too busy. I’m hugely grateful for the time and knowledge of the wine pros here in DFW, and hope I get the chance to pay it forward one day.

Hopes and Dreams

First: The grade. Yeah, I’m vain enough to want a good score on my Level 3 exam. (I can’t get rid of the perpetual “A” student that lives in my brain…I tried to strangle that twat, but somehow she always comes back to life.)

My goal is to pass with Distinction, which means no critical mistakes or big knowledge gaps. There is an element of luck, of course: If I get an out-of-left field essay question or have a bad cold on tasting day, then I’m prepared to settle for Merit. 😉

Second, I’m trying to retain the material well enough that it truly enhances my enjoyment of wine going forward. I’ve crammed for exams in the past and done well–but it often didn’t turn into lifelong knowledge that stuck with me after graduation. This time, I feel like it can be different. I’m a grown-up student, and I have the resources to pace myself and engage deeply with the material.

Finally, I’m continuing to revel in the joy of being around other wine nerds. No matter what happens on exam day–and no matter where the wine bug goads me next–I’m meeting the coolest people and having the best time.

I’ll be posting occasional updates here as I creep toward my Level 3 exam in the fall. If I was a YouTuber, here’s where I’d say “like and subscribe,” but this is a blog so you know what to do. Please check out more of my wine writing–including wine reviews, travel, and wine education topics in the archive. Cheers!