Are you studying for the daunting Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines? Is your hand about to fall off from writing flashcards? Are you talking about the sub-regions of Rioja in your sleep?
If you’re taking the Level 3 exam soon–or thinking about enrolling–then this post is for you. I took the exam in late 2025 and got my results back a few weeks ago, so I feel your pain. 😬
Here, I answer a few of the questions that people have asked me about the WSET Level 3 experience. I also dish out some hard-won advice for doing well on this challenging exam.
How long did it take to get your results?
I received the long-awaited email in exactly 13 weeks. Yes indeed–my exam spent three months aging to perfection in the bureaucratic cellar that is WSET. It felt like forever.
WSET’s London office is known for doing things the old-fashioned way–that is, on physical paper–and being slow to process exams. For Level 3, 10-12 weeks is the stated turnaround time, and longer delays are not uncommon. In early 2026, a rumored IT system upgrade at WSET’s headquarters had some candidates waiting more than 16 weeks for their results.
Was it hard?
Yeah. I had heard that the Level 3 Award in Wines is a tough nugget, and it was.
The Level 3 exam reportedly has a global first-attempt pass rate of around 50-60%. That should tell you something about the difficulty of the questions…especially since a passing score is “only” 55% or above.
Most people pass Tasting with relative ease–but a lot of people fail the Theory portion on their first try. Helpfully, you’re permitted to retake just the part that you didn’t pass, and such retakes are very common and nothing to be ashamed of. (There were at least a couple of people retaking Theory in my exam group.)
What’s it like on exam day?
You sign in at your Approved Program Provider (APP), they check your ID, you put away all your stuff. You’re allowed to have a pen/pencil, eraser, analog watch, and water–no scratch paper (other than the exam booklet) or notes.
The Level 3 exam consists of a 30-minute Tasting segment of two still wines (always a white and a red), and a two-hour Theory exam that covers all kinds of wine topics from production to service. Most students take the Tasting portion first, and then the Theory portion after a short break.
Part One: Tasting
I have some informal experience with blind tasting, and I also write wine tasting notes almost daily for the blog. I will say that doing it in a controlled environment is a whole different ball game. You have to access WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) grid from memory while evaluating two mystery wines in rigorous detail.
Thirty minutes sounds like a looooong time to taste two wines–but it really wasn’t. There’s 41 points available on the Tasting exam. That’s at least 41 data points you need to come up with to write a complete Tasting paper: Twenty for the white wine and 21 for the red. I used all of the allocated time to consider, write, and double-check my written answers.
At Level 3, you do not have to comment on the grape variety, region, or vintage. There’s no points awarded for that. In fact, jumping to conclusions about the wine can distract you into missing things that can score you points.
But I do believe it helps if the wines you’re tested on are styles that you’re familiar with…and the only way to be sure of that is by tasting from the syllabus lots.
On my exam day, I was very confident about one of the wines on the table–its characteristics, quality, and identity–but less sure about the other. My nerves were getting to me, so I just tried to slow down and write the most complete and accurate tasting note that I could.
Fortunately, most people pass this portion of the test on the first attempt, and small mistakes won’t make or break you. The grading is fairly forgiving.
This exam is meant to test whether you know the process of evaluating a wine, and whether you’re able to come up with reasonable conclusions about its quality and age-worthiness. It’s not expected that you’ll prove you’re a super-somm with your miraculous blind-tasting ability. I’m sure I made a few judgment and sensory errors, but I still ended up with a very strong score on Tasting.
Part Two: Multiple Choice
The Theory exam is harder overall. You warm up with 50 multiple-choice questions. These are structured in a similar way to WSET Level 2 exam questions: A-B-C-D, all of the above/none of the above.
I previously scored a 98% on my Level 2 exam (which is all multiple-choice) about a year ago. So I wasn’t mightily worried about doing well on this part. But the Level 3 multiple-choice questions cover more specialized topics and may be trickier overall. For example, two regions with very similar names might appear as possible answers to a question to check if you know your Pommard from your Pomerol or your Maipo from your Maipu.
The multiple-choice section isn’t weighted heavily (50 out of 150 possible Theory points, so only one-third of your Theory grade). But it can help your Theory score recover if you under-perform on one or two of the written questions. If you’re looking for Merit or Distinction, getting almost all of those 50 questions correct should definitely be part of your overall strategy.
Keep in mind that doing well on multiple choice isn’t enough to guarantee a pass if you completely bomb the essay section. You need a minimum of 55% on each individual section to pass the exam and receive the Level 3 certificate.
You have two hours to complete both the multiple-choice section (on a Scantron) and four short written answer questions. The latter part is worth the biggest portion of your overall score…it’s also where a lot of candidates come in under-prepared. Any WSET educator will tell you that, among their students who don’t pass, the written answer section is where most people stumble.
I filled in the multiple-choice questions quickly (in just eight to ten minutes), so I would be sure to have plenty of time left for the essay questions. I’m really glad that I did that, because I needed most of that two-hour block of time to complete the written portion of the Theory exam.
Bumping up against the time limit means that there were some questions where I probably wrote too much. If I had to do it over again, I would’ve been more strategic about how I allocated my time on the short written answer questions.
Part Three: Short Written Answers
The second part of the Theory exam is four sprawling written-response sections. Expect this section to be about 8-10 pages, including the front and back.
This section is handwritten. If your penmanship is bad–or if you haven’t written by hand in a while–then it makes sense to practice before the test.
Three of the questions will each deal with a specific topic: A grape variety, a region, or a wine-making process, for instance. One question will always be on sparkling wine, fortified wine, or both. You’ll be given a series of prompts to demonstrate your knowledge on the topic.
Some of the prompts can be answered in a couple of words or phrases (e.g. “What is the main grape variety used in Prosecco?”).
These are the so-called “binary” questions: You can either produce the right answer or you can’t. And so, you get the marks or you don’t. These quickie answers are usually not worth more than a couple of points. This is where it makes sense not to over-write. You won’t forfeit those points if you write too much–as long as you don’t contradict your own correct answer–but it takes up valuable time that you could be using somewhere else.
Most of the questions will require you to write more extensively to gain some or all of the possible points. These prompts begin with the dreaded “command verbs”: Describe, explain, compare. (“Describe the process for making Prosecco, beginning with the reception of grapes at the winery.”)
You write your answers in little boxes. The size of the boxes–and the point allocation notes to the side of the boxes–gives you some idea of how much detail you need to include. It’s not just words, but pictures, too: You may be asked questions about wine labels, maps, and diagrams.
If you don’t know the answer, you should write something (a best guess) and cross your fingers. There’s no negative marking on WSET Level 3, so wrong answers won’t count against your total points. (Thank Bacchus for small mercies.)
When time is called, it’s hard to believe it’s been two hours. By this point, you’ve been writing by hand for at least 90 minutes straight, your wrist is killing you, your paper is covered with eraser marks, and you’ve had to resist the urge to yell, “Really?!” at an exam question once or twice.
All you can do is turn in your booklet and hope you gathered up enough points to pass. I walked out of the room feeling like I had the upper hand over the exam…but three months of waiting for results has a way of eroding that confidence. Checking my email every day throughout the Christmas and New Year’s holidays was a special kind of purgatory.
What was on the exam?
Sorry, can’t say. WSET HQ is not amused when people share exam details on social media and blogs, and I’d like to keep my certs. (All the hypothetical exam questions in this post are just that–hypothetical questions that I made up.)
Without going into the specifics of the test, I have written a bunch about what it’s like to be a WSET 3 student. I talk about my Level 3 preparation, classroom, and test-taking experience here, here, here, here, here, and here.
As you’re studying, just know that WSET can ask you to expound upon anything in the textbook–and they certainly will. Any grape, any region, any production method that’s covered in the curriculum could come up as an essay question requiring a detailed and precise response. Expect the really nerdy stuff like soil composition and geographical features to make an appearance, too. (I got an obscure viticulture question tied to a minor region, which I certainly didn’t remember reading about.)
More than that, you’re expected to link different sections of the textbook together in your answers to show that you really understand the relationships between concepts.
To make up one example, they might ask you about the influence of New Zealand’s South Island’s climate and terrain on its Pinot Noir. You’re supposed to knit together what you know about climate, New Zealand’s geography, and the special traits of Pinot Noir and touch on all those points in your answer.
It’s really hard to predict what will come up on the exam, so you have to study everything if you don’t want to risk being caught out. Exception: Per the Level 3 Specification, you will get an essay question on fortified and/or sparkling wine. So don’t neglect to study those chapters, even if Moscato d’Asti or Vintage Port is not your thang.
Even knowing all this, I was still frankly startled on test day at how challenging some of the short written questions were. Looking back, there were a couple of gimmes–classic regions and styles, service questions–but a lot more questions that I never could’ve tackled if I hadn’t studied the textbook in depth. The Level 3 exam is deviously designed to separate people with casual, “ambient” wine knowledge from those who have thoroughly studied and engaged with the course material.
How did you study?
A big ole mix of study methods. Below is a summary–I wrote in greater detail about my Level 3 exam prep strategy here.
For Theory: Textbook, paper flashcards, podcasts (Wine Educate–cheerful, up-to-date, bite-sized), quizzes, online videos (subscribing to Wine With Jimmy was absolutely worth the dough), printable maps, practice exams, other intermediate-level wine books when the WSET texts got too dry.
I didn’t use any AI-based tools. I’m sure they’re useful for some students–and I may use them for future study goals–but right now, I don’t trust their accuracy and alignment with the WSET curriculum.
For Tasting: Exploratory drinking habits (if you read The Wine Fairy, you know that I’ll taste just about anything, heh heh!), dragging my notebook and SAT (Systematic Approach to Tasting) card to bars, reading professional wine reviews, tasting in class with my classmates and instructors, blind tasting practice, writing “dry” tasting notes for common world wine styles.
I sat the Level 2 exam in January 2025 and the Level 3 exam that same November. I didn’t keep track, but I’d estimate that I put a few hundred hours into wine study over those 10 months. In other words, it was about an hour of study per day, every day–if you count all the reading, note-taking, and tasting.
Then I sat for about 32 in-person classroom hours with my instructors. There, I tasted wines alongside my peers and teacher, did practice exams, and asked questions. In total, I did far more than the 84 hours of study that WSET recommends to pass the course. I ended up passing both Theory and Tasting with Distinction.
Is that overkill? How much study is overkill for Level 3?
Eh, it depends. I feel like if you know the 10-12 major grape varieties and regions, and you’re very solid on your knowledge of climate and wine production concepts, then that’s likely enough to manage a Pass. If you work in the wine biz and can apply some of your professional knowledge of varieties and appellations, that will give you a boost as well.
But I was coming into 2025 with a casual drinker’s level of wine knowledge and not much industry experience. Also, I hate being unprepared for a test…it’s literally the stuff of nightmares. (I graduated from college almost 20 years ago and I still get the Test Dream…ugh!)
And secretly–perhaps embarrassingly–I was hoping for a Pass with Distinction. At Level 3, Distinction requires an 80%+ overall score. And remember, you have no way of knowing what two wines you’re going to be poured or what topics you’re going to be asked about. So to achieve that top-tier grade, I was aiming for something like 90% knowledge of the textbook and at least a passing familiarity with all the testable wines.
I studied consistently, then topped it off at the end. A week before my exam date, I read through the Specification and the textbook’s index. I made a list of any names or terms I was shaky on and looked them up. Then, I combed through the text and did the same for PDOs/PGIs and any geographical features that are mentioned by name (lakes, rivers, currents, mountains, etc).
It was a lot…but some of those fiddly vocabulary terms did show up on my exam. Like I said before–I expected the test to be pretty hard, and it was actually even harder.
Where did you take the class and exam?
At the Dallas Wine Education Center. They were great–highly recommended.
Are you a sommelier now?
This answer is for my family, who keep asking. (I think they saw that documentary.) No, I’m not a somm. A sommelier is someone whose job centers around the storage and service of wine. I’m still just a wine writer, but now I’m a wine writer with a cool new pin.
What’s next?
Well, I’ve basically decided that the Diploma (Level 4) is next up for me. I’m currently shopping for Diploma providers and digging into the first unit’s (D1) textbook. It’s a big time commitment and a chunk of cash–but we’re doing it! For guts, glory, and grapes.
I’m not planning on leaving my day job for wine just yet. With the current state of the industry, that doesn’t make sense for someone with bills to pay.
But wine is in my future, for sure. Definitely writing, maybe teaching/hosting, and pouring wine part time. I judged in my first wine contest last year, and I’ll certainly do more of that if invited. Already, 2026 is looking to be my busiest wine year ever: A trip to Wine Paris, the Wine Writers’ Symposium in Napa Valley, and joining the TEXSOM Awards production team later this month.
I continue to be challenged and humbled by how much there is to learn in the world of wine. If you’re currently studying for Level 3 I hope this info has been useful to you–and best of luck on your exams!
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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