She is now a certified sommelier, balancing this work with her modelling career. In addition, she’s a co-owner of Los Angeles restaurant Chulita and a founding member of the team at iBest Wines, an award-winning wine brand based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Highlighting female and BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of colour) wine professionals is at the forefront of her work as a sommelier.

My first memorable wine experience

Sipping Château Margaux at Eleven Madison Park [in New York] after auditing an intensive sommelier program. I’d never tasted such glory and the wine was poured by female Master Sommelier Mia Van de Water, who would later become one of my instructors and mentors. I don’t remember the vintage, which is funny because it makes me remember what it was like tasting as a customer rather than someone in the business. After day one of the intensive sommelier training, and every day after, vintage became a focal point. I was also just so grateful to be sitting in that lounge sipping the craft of an industry that would later become my career.

My go-to everyday wines

It really depends on the mood: Sicilian wines for their versatility; Austrian wines for the summer; white Burgundy or Rioja for comfort and texture.

My favourite supermarket buy

Schramsberg or Graham Beck – traditional-method sparkling wines from California and South Africa respectively. Guaranteed deliciousness!

My most embarrassing moment at work

Spraying bubbly everywhere at a client tasting – the bottles were too warm and surprised everyone with a firehose spray of wine when I popped the cork.

Pet hate

Wine snobs. Wine is already challenging enough to understand, which can make people less inclined to drink it, let alone try new styles. We need open-minded, kind, non-judgmental leaders in the industry to make the space more inviting.

My desert island food and wine pairing

Sauternes and New York cheesecake – the graham cracker crust and rich body of the cheesecake is perfectly complemented by the nuttiness, tanginess and sweet spices of the Sauternes. Any vintage from Château d’Yquem would do, but I recently tried the 1987 and 2005 vintages, and they were spectacular, the ’87 showing incredible freshness at almost 40 years old.

My fallback quick, after-work meal

A hummus, cheese, crackers and veggies board, with a glass of Albariño – the ultimate girl dinner.

Best buy on my list right now

Our own 2022 vintage iBest Wines Red Blend, a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend. The aromatic concentration and polished palate of this vintage compared to the previous one feel luxurious.

Wine region I’m most excited about

It has to be Jura – lots of experimenting with indigenous varieties and styles. Vin Jaune, a wine that sees years in barrel before release, is a favourite style of mine.

Wine style I would avoid buying

I have to say that I really don’t enjoy drinking White Zinfandel.

Wine region that offers the greatest value for money right now

South Africa (the Stellenbosch region specifically) and Portugal – Bairrada, Douro, Alentejo – all incredible value. Quality winemaking at a fraction of the price of similarly made wines in better- known wine-producing regions.

My favourite wine region to visit

Anywhere in South Africa – Stellenbosch, Walker Bay, Darling, so much diversity! When I lived in Cape Town, it was similar to most wine regions in that you could discover myriad local producers at the city’s shops or restaurants while also being able to take a quick car ride out of town to stunning Constantia or Stellenbosch.

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Benjamin Gubbins is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Benjamin Gubbins

Benjamin Gubbins joined Oddbins in 2002 looking to save money to return to his native home, Chile. However, after a few staff tastings and his first WSET course, he was persuaded to stay and pursue a career in the UK wine trade.

He worked a vintage in Burgundy and has travelled the wine lands of France, Italy, South Africa and Chile. He holds the WSET Diploma and has worked on both sides of the commercial table as buyer for Chile at Oddbins and sales director for a Chilean and Argentinian wine producer.

Gubbins is currently a General Manager of Vagabond Urban Winery and Head of Vagabond Academy, running wine courses and tastings for employees and the public.

Follow Ben on Instagram.

See more judges for 2026 DWWA.

Lydia Harrison MW is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Lydia Harrison MW

Lydia Harrison MW is head of education and events at WSET School London where she looks after the School’s offering of all Level 1 – 3 courses as well as a diverse programme of non-qualification events. She teaches all levels of WSET wine qualifications, specialising in French wine regions, particularly Bordeaux, as well as fortified wines.

Lydia became a Master of Wine in 2019 and supports the IMW through mentoring students, marking practice papers and helping deliver course days and seminars.

Prior to education, Lydia worked in retail for Majestic Wine where she completed her WSET diploma with distinction and was awarded the Vintners’ Scholarship for achieving the highest mark in the UK trade.

She has previously judged for the CIVB and is a certified Bordeaux tutor.

Lydia joined as a judge for the Decanter World Wine Awards for the first time in 2023.

Follow Lydia on Instagram.

See more judges for the 2026DWWA.

Victoria MacKenzie MW is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Victoria MacKenzie MW

Victoria MacKenzie MW is head of product development for Wine Qualifications at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She plays an instrumental role in the continuous progression of WSET’s portfolio of qualifications, most notably the development of student and educator materials.

As well as being a WSET certified educator, she organises and presents wine events and has judged at several international wine competitions.

Victoria became a Master of Wine in 2015 on completion of a research paper examining the physical and psychological effects of glassware on the sensory perception of Champagne. She received the Taransaud Tonnellerie Award for excellence in the Production and Handling of Wine paper.

She constantly seeks to expand and update her technical and product knowledge through wine seminars, masterclasses and travelling widely.

See more judges for the 2026 DWWA.

Tom Forrest is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Tom Forrest

Edinburgh-born Tom Forrest first fell in love with wine, and especially Pinot Noir, at the age of 18 when he was given a bottle of Nuits-St-Georges by a hotel manager. Following a career in hotel management, he began teaching wine and spirits to hospitality students in 1982, and was the executive manager for wine experience and education at Vinopolis, from 1999 until its closure at the end of 2015. Since then he has worked with London restaurants, training companies, the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Cookery School and the BBC Good Food Shows.

A member of the Institute of Wines and Spirits and an accredited WSET wine educator, Forrest oversees the WSET education programme. He has judged at various international wine competitions since 1997, is the author of The Complete Wine Course, and in 2007 he won the UK Champagne Ambassador competition and was a European finalist.

Forrest has appeared on TV shows including This Morning, the Daily Politics Show and Come Date With Me, as well as on various local radio stations in London and the South East, and has recently contributed to the Evening Standard as their wine columnist and sommelier.

Forrest was first a DWWA judge in 2011.

Follow Tom on Instagram

Caroline Hermann MW is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Caroline Hermann MW

Caroline Hermann MW is a highly respected certified WSET instructor for both wine and sake, based in Washington DC.

She has worked in many aspects of the industry, including wineries and retail sales. She is a member of the IMW Council, and is an alcohol beverage lawyer.

She has studied viticulture, winemaking, and tasting analysis at the University of Bordeaux and Plumpton College, and is a recipient of the AXA Millesimes Scholarship.

Caroline holds a Diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, and is DC’s 2nd Master of Wine.

See more judges for the 2026 DWWA.

Julie Albin is a judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Julie Albin

Julie is an international wine consultant, content specialist, and WSET Certified Educator.

Julie’s previous roles include Head of Wine Education for Bright Cellars, Regional Marketing Manager for WSET Americas, and marketing consultant for brands across the US, UK, EU, Australia, and other countries. She holds the WSET Diploma and continues to teach accredited courses, staff trainings, and consumer tastings.

Julie has written articles for Decanter Magazine, Harpers Wine & Spirit, The Drinks Business, THE PRESS (San Francisco Chronicle), Whisky Advocate, Liquor.com, and other publications. She has also served as a judge for international competitions such as Decanter World Wine Awards, Women’s Wine & Spirits Awards, International Wine Challenge, San Diego International Spirits Competition, American Distilling Institute, and has been a panelist for the Slow Wine awards.

In 2019, she joined DWWA as a judge for the first time.

See more DWWA 2023 judges.

Julia Lambeth is a judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2022.

Julia Lambeth

Julia Lambeth is a wine educator at WSET School London, regularly teaching Levels 1-4 wines. She is also Course Manager for Levels 1-3 across wine, spirits and sake, and contributes to numerous in-person and online tasting events.

Julia completed her WSET Diploma, winning the Codorniu Scholarship in 2013 and won the Wines of Australia Tasting Blind Club in 2017.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has appointed Michelle Brampton as its new CEO.

Brampton will join WSET on 1 February as CEO designate and will spend two months working alongside current CEO Ian Harris, who steps down on 15 April.

Bringing with her a wealth of experience, Brampton previously spent 19 years at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), where she most recently held the role of MD Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) from 2018 to 2021.

Brampton was also on the boards of both The Drinks Trust and the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

In the early years of her tenure at TWE, she gained international and commercial leadership experience as commercial director UK & Ireland and as CFO, EMEA and South East Asia.

The WSET said it was ‘delighted’ that Brampton had accepted the invitation to lead the organisation in the coming years.

‘Michelle’s track record at TWE and, more recently her wider role in the drinks trade, make her the ideal successor to Ian, following his remarkable 20 years as CEO,’ said Simon McMurtrie, chair of the WSET board.

McMurtrie also took the opportunity to pay tribute to ‘Ian’s exceptional achievements’ on behalf of the global drinks trade and all the WSET Trustees, past and present.

’Under Ian’s leadership, the WSET has experienced spectacular growth. When Ian joined the business in 2002, 10,000 students were enrolled annually – two thirds of them from the UK. In the last academic year over 108,000 students in 70 countries around the world took one of the WSET’s nine qualifications, with 87% from outside the UK,’ he said.

Harris meanwhile said he was ‘really pleased’ to be passing the WSET baton into Brampton’s ‘very capable hands’.

He said: ‘With the breadth and depth of her experience, she will lead the organisation into a new era of business growth, navigating WSET through today’s increasingly challenging global landscape.’

Alongside existing trustees, Simon McMurtrie (Chair), Dan Jago, Jo Locke and Allen Gibbons, WSET has also made four new appointments to its board.

Miles Beale, CEO, WSTA and Jo Thornton, MD, Moët Hennessy Europe join as representatives of the Vintners’ Company. Lulie Halstead, CEO, Wine Intelligence and Sukhinder Singh, MD, The Whisky Exchange join as representatives of the WSTA.

They all take their seats with immediate effect, taking over from Troy Christensen, Rick Connor, Susan McCraith and Michael Turner, who have come to the end of their terms as trustees.

Earlier this month, WSET announced it had received official approval from the Chinese government to resume its operation in mainland China following a year of suspended business activities at the end of January 2021.

Related content: 

Record numbers sign up for wine and spirits courses, says WSET

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With more than a decade of industry experience across wine retail, sales and brand creation, Mags Janjo is WSET Diploma-certified and now has his own UK wine importing company, MJ Wine Cellars, which also offers wine education and consultancy services.

In 2020, he partnered with Jancis Robinson OBE MW to launch the BAME Wine Professionals website – an initiative to shine light on wine talent in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

How did you end up here?

I’ve always loved speaking, sharing my experiences and nurturing talent, so the wine education evolved from that. I set up MJ Wine Cellars in 2019 as a wholesale business, building brands for high-street retailers. But we quickly realised, in the early days of Covid, that consumers were staying home and ordering wine online. It was obvious that we had to adapt and evolve, so we opened a retail side of the business too.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Once upon a time I would have said it was having the opportunity to travel, but I haven’t left the UK in more than two years now. But this difficult period has revealed that the enjoyment goes beyond just travel. No two days are the same in my job: we could be discussing the paper type and cardboard thickness for a volume brand’s Australian Shiraz first thing on a Monday, and then later be tasting an organically farmed, amphora-fermented, single-vineyard Assyrtiko by close of play. My role offers flexibility, which comes with its own set of challenges.

And the worst?

The feeling of never having enough time. There are always half a dozen things that urgently need attention.

What’s the most common misconception about your job?

People assume the glitzy side of the job – from travelling to tasting – is the entire role. Yes, buying for the wholesale and retail arm does involve tasting quirky, niche and interesting products; travelling to see producers is a necessity; and the occasional wine dinner is certainly a perk. However, that accounts for less than 5% of how I spend my time. Most of it is less glamorous – time spent trawling through spreadsheets, checking and double-checking margins, and managing suppliers, logistics and customer relationships. We are a small team, so everyone needs to muck in. Most of our back-office work is done internally, which includes taking bottle shots, consolidating data sheets and uploading them to the website. It hasn’t been uncommon for me to be up until the early hours of the morning doing data entry – especially in the early days.

What was your greatest moment?

I had the opportunity to make wine in the south of France two or three years ago. Previously I had worked in wineries and helped out during vintages, but this was the first time I was let loose on a few tonnes of fruit and winemaking equipment. It was, as they say, back-breaking work, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. For interested readers, the wine was delicious for a couple of months, but eventually threw a mean deposit as our filter machine broke down halfway through bottling!

And your greatest mistake?

Bottling on a Sunday, in rural France, with no way of getting any winemaking equipment at short notice…

What’s the one wine you recommend most often to friends?

Moschopolis, Aióra White: a lees-aged, Greek blend of Assyrtiko, Malagousia and Xinomavro, aged and fermented in amphora. If that doesn’t spark your interest, I’m not sure what will!

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Wine to 5: Ursula Thurner, public relations professional, specialising in wine

Wine to 5: Shane Jones, wine and sake educator

Born in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Shane Jones is a freelance wine and sake educator based in London. He completed his WSET diploma in Wines and Spirits in 2014, winning the Moët & Chandon Sparkling Wine Prize.

A graduate of the Sake & Shochu Academy in Japan, he is also a Certified Sake Sommelier (SSA). Currently in Stage 1 of the MW programme, his study is being supported by Decanter. Jones teaches at various institutions in the UK, as well as in France and Germany.

What’s the best thing about your job?

It brings me immeasurable happiness. After a day or an evening of teaching I feel as though I haven’t been at work, and I consider myself rather lucky that my journey has brought me to this specialist area. Sharing my knowledge with others is an absolute delight and I’m constantly challenged to deliver what can sometimes be highly technical detail to students with varying learning abilities. Did I say how rewarding this is? It is! We’re all challenged and all the better for it.

And the worst?

When students try their hardest, yet cave under exam pressure by failing to make a passing grade. My advice to them is to just try again. I believe there is always a rainbow at the end of the tunnel.

What’s the most common misconception about your job?

I’m often greeted with looks of bewilderment when I explain that I teach full time. It is far from one of the more mainstream careers in the industry, but I honestly believe it is the most fun and satisfying. We do need more of us to ensure there’s a cadre of educators delivering exceptional teaching for all who want to learn.

What was your greatest moment?

In 2015, when I collected my WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits at the graduation ceremony. It was an investment I made in myself and I was proud to have succeeded. The moment became even sweeter when I also scooped the Moët & Chandon Prize.

And your greatest mistake?

I really don’t think I’ve made any. Not yet, at least. I sometimes wonder, though, why I didn’t pursue education much earlier in my career. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

How’s your work/life balance?

I often teach evenings during the week as well as some weekend days. This does limit one’s ability to be sociable. Over time, I’ve managed to find a balance that works for me, which sometimes means having to turn down work. It was quite a challenge in the early days, but now it is very good indeed.

Which wine do you recommend most often to friends?

I’ve long been a lover of Pinot Noir and, in particular, Spätburgunder from the Ahr valley in Germany. The best of these are certainly more affordable than their Burgundian cousins and yet have the same capacity to evolve into the most beautiful and complex examples of the grape variety. The purity of the fruit just sets my heart racing… I’m rather partial to bottles from Jean Stodden.

Why should we all be drinking sake?

It’s just as delicious and complex as wine! I’d encourage anyone who has never tried it to give it a go – there’s nothing to lose. Do seek advice from a retailer and try to taste many different interpretations before dismissing it. Like wine, there are some styles that suit one’s personal taste more than others. Personally, I like the variety that’s on offer, and there are some great stories behind a lot of bottles.

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Mags Janjo DipWSET joins the 2021 Decanter Retailer Awards judging panel alongside returning industry experts Peter Richards MW (Chairman), Andy Howard MW, Laura Clay and Peter Ranscombe.

With more than a decade of industry experience across wine retail, sales and brand creation, Janjo now has his own importer company, MJ Wine Cellars, offering wine education and consultancy services.

In 2020 he partnered with Jancis Robinson OBE MW to launch the BAME Wine Professionals website – an initiative to shine light on wine talent in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities (BAME).

With entries now open for the 2021 competition, we get to know more about the newest member of the Decanter Retailer Awards panel, including his views on wine retail in the UK, wine buying tips and what he looks forward to most about judging.

Q&A with Mags Janjo, Decanter Retailer Awards 2021 judge

Tell us about yourself. How did you get into the wine industry?

Like most in the trade, I’d say I ‘fell into this wonderful industry.’ Having completed Maths and Sciences at 6^thform, I was fortunate enough to work for an employer who sponsored the WSET Level 2 in Wines and Spirits. I quickly realised that what I had studied at college, neatly dovetailed into the world of wine. There was no turning back once I’d caught the bug! I went on to occupy sales roles to the on and off-trade and eventually set up and MJ Wine Cellars in 2019.

As a new judge to the 2021 panel, what’s your impression of the Decanter Retailer Awards?

The DRA is one of the most recognisable industry awards and holds remarkable weight and credibility across both the on and off trade. Merchants around the UK proudly display their Decanter Awards in shop fronts and comms. It’s really thrilling to be part of the judging team this year!

What do you think is unique about the UK wine retail industry?

The UK retail scene offers unparalleled depth and value. Curated by the wonderfully talented buyers, consumers are treated to wines from all corners of the globe – which we sometimes take for granted. It’s a stark contrast to some countries, where the wine selection can be extremely nationally or even regionally focussed. It’s a blessing that we live in such a marginal climate – it forces us to import almost everything we consume!

What, for you, makes a wine retailer stand out?

The key word must be value. It must offer bang for your buck, no matter what region or category it specialises in. Once that’s at its core, most things tend to follow.

Wine retailers have had to quickly adjust due to Covid. Is there anything you’ve noticed retailers doing that has impressed you?

Wine retail relies on tastings and samplings. The way the retailers adapted to offering online alternatives has been hugely impressive. This goes beyond just tastings – we have seen producer Zoom calls, interactive sessions, wine courses, etc switch to a digital delivery which is particularly impressive, as the wine world is not known for being particularly tech savvy!

In the past 12 months, what have been the biggest challenges and/or successes facing your business?

Moving wine from Europe to the UK has been more costly and more importantly, more time consuming. That screw was further tightened by the pandemic. A much less talked about issue has been cash flow. Most of the trade works on 30, 60 or 90 days credit terms, with stock from Europe typically taking a week or two from cellar door to UK bonded warehouse. An extreme example was a wine taking 5 weeks from Austria, giving the importer just over 15 business days before the invoice was due!

What tips do you have for someone buying wine in the UK?

Travel off the beaten path – there are so many remarkable regions and wines in the country. Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Hungary, Georgia… these are all new frontiers to explore!

What do you look forward to most as a new judge on the 2021 panel?

Sitting on the other side of the table is set to be incredible amounts of fun, having worked for so many retailers who traditionally entered the DRA under various categories. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in!*

Enter Decanter Retailer Awards 2021 now

Decanter Retailer Awards 2020 Results

*We trust our judges’ integrity, but to avoid any questionable conflicts of interest, Mags will not judge the Subscription Wine Club and Online Retailer categories.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is enabling as many students as possible to continue with their learning during the current COVID-19 crisis by introducing online exams for two of its most popular courses.

Online exams for English language Level 1 Awards in Wines, Spirits and Sake and Level 2 Awards in Wines and Spirits will go live online from 1^st June as the WSET pushes its digital agenda.

Until now most WSET courses have been available online but for study only, with students having to sit an offline exam to complete a WSET qualification. Now they can sit the exams online too adding flexibility for students during a time when social distancing guidelines are in place across most of the world.

‘I am really excited that, with these latest developments, we can now offer our course providers and students a 360° digital learning experience at a time when traditional classroom education is very challenging or impossible,’ says WSET CEO Ian Harris.

‘The integrity of our exams is of the utmost importance to us and we are confident that the award-winning remote invigilation system we have in place meets our stringent standards. At a time when many people in the industry have much more time at their disposal, it’s great that they can choose to upgrade their drinks knowledge, studying and qualifying for a WSET qualification without leaving home.’

While Harris acknowledges that online programmes will never completely replace the classroom environment he hopes that this new development for the WSET will add ‘global reach’ to the organisation now and in the post-COVID era.

‘Online programmes give us another very important string to our bow in the short-term, and will be a valuable add-on for us to offer in the longer term,’ adds Harris.

Remote invigilation

The online exams will be carried out using remote invigilation so students can sit the tests on a computer at home while being monitored via webcam, screen sharing technology and a secondary recording device such as a smartphone. The system has been successfully trialled in can now be rolled out across WSET’s network of over 800 course providers globally.

See also: 

Top online courses to try while in lockdown

Record numbers sign up for wine and spirits courses, says WSET

Revising for wine exams? Revise with Decanter’s Know Your Wine app

A record 108,557 people took a qualification with the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) or one of its approved partners around the world in the 2018/19 academic year.

That is a 15% increase from the previous year, said the WSET, which is celebrating its 50^th birthday in 2019.

Wine, spirits and sake courses all showed strong growth, said the group, which is preparing for its first global ‘wine education week’ between 9 and 15 September with 500 events planned across 47 countries.

‘In 1969, the year we were established, we had less than 2,000 candidates in the UK,’ said Ian Harris, WSET chief executive. ‘50 years on, we have over 100,000 candidates across 75 countries.’

Key figures

Around half of candidates who took a WSET course in the past year did so in the UK, mainland China or the US.

The US saw student numbers rise by 26% to 17,416, while mainland China reported a rise of 20% to 18,206 and the UK was up by 5% to 20,448.

India entered the WSET’s top 20 for the first time, after seeing student numbers rise by 50%.

More than 109 newly approved programme providers began offering WSET courses during the year, making 880 course providers globally.

Top 10 markets for WSET candidates

1. UK (+5% in 2018/19)
2. Mainland China (+20%)
3. USA (+26%)
4. Canada (+13%)
5. France (+35%)
6. Hong Kong, SAR China (+5%)
7. Australia (+7%)
8. Taiwan (+16%)
9. Japan (+33%)
10. Netherlands (+18%)

New plans

There are several changes to the WSET course structure for the new academic year, including a new Level 3 award in spirits and Level 4 Diploma in wines, plus a revised Level 2 award in wines.

‘The growing demand for WSET’s wine, spirits and sake qualifications worldwide demonstrates the importance of setting global standards in wine, spirits and sake education,’ said Harris.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, WSET will be holding its first global Wine Education Week, from 9th – 15th September.

‘Over the course of the week, over 500 events are taking place in 47 countries – giving consumers around the world the opportunity to learn more about wine,’ said Harris.

The week will kick off on Monday 9th September with food and wine pairing launch events across the world. Starting with Auckland, New Zealand and ending with California, USA, WSET is aiming for a continuous 24-hour global food and wine tasting session, across the world in 24 countries.

WSET Certified Wine Educator and Journalist Mabel Lai, is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019

Mabel Lai

Mabel Lai is the first Certified Wine Educator from the Society of Wine Educators in greater China. Mabel also holds the WSET Diploma and is a Certified Educator. Her other qualifications include Certified Specialist of Wine, Certified Specialist of Spirits and Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 2 issued by International Sommelier Guild.

Mabel is not only one of the Founders of the Hong Kong Wine Academy but also an international wine judge. Mabel is a wine journalist with her own column in different media such as Winenow Magazine, Cru Magazine and MingPao newspaper. She is now pursuing her goal to become a Master of Wine.

Elisa Errea is a judge at the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA)

Elisa Errea

Elisa Errea is the Founder and Director of The Wine Studio, an internationally-awarded Spanish wine school offering WSET qualifications as well as custom training.

Elisa is also an strategic consultant for wineries and institutions as well as a teacher at the Chambers of Commerce of Madrid and Valladolid. She lectures at university and has also designed the current wine programme taught by her team at Le Cordon Bleu Madrid.

She is currently based in Brussels with her family and is a dedicated yogi and nutrition-freak.

She joins DWWA for the first time as a judge in 2019.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has revamped its flagship diploma qualification as part of several changes to its educational programme that will also see the launch of a level 3 spirits course.

From August 2019, coverage of spirits will be removed from the diploma qualification and from the WSET Level 2 award in wines and spirits, with the WSET introducing a new level 3 award in spirits instead.

The WSET said the changes would allow ‘more in-depth coverage of wine’ in a new Level 4 diploma in wines, with other changes including the introduction of a new research assignment to evaluate current trends in wine.

The changes follow a ‘thorough review’ of the WSET qualifications, and the new courses will benefit from ‘an enhanced, updated specification and learning materials’.

A WSET spokesperson told Decanter.com, ‘Pricing information will not be available until spring 2019 when the dates for the 2019/2020 academic year courses are announced.’

WSET chief executive Ian Harris said, ‘We continually work to ensure that our qualifications remain current and job-relevant, equipping students with the skills and expertise they need.

‘Extensive consultation with key industry stakeholders indicated a clear demand for specialist product education in the categories of wine, spirits and sake; our newly updated suite of qualifications directly addresses this demand, completing the separation of our products into three distinct subject-matter streams.’

The new level 3 award in spirits will cover a broader spectrum of world spirits, including the key Asian categories of baijiu, soju and shochu.

The new exam will include a blind tasting and a written paper with multiple-choice and short written answer questions, similar to the level 3 exam for wines.

See also: Take the Decanter.com wine tasting quiz

Ian Harris, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), has been awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2018.

WSET Chief Executive awarded in New Year’s Honours

Harris has been awarded this in recognition for his services to the wine and spirit industry.

‘It is an incredible honour to be appointed an MBE,’ said Harris.

‘After 25 years in the mainstream, commercial side of the industry, I have enjoyed the last (and the best) 15 years of my career at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.’

Harris’ love for wine began after spending a year working in Bordeaux, then working within sales and marketing, including with Waverley Vintners followed by 15 years with the Seagram Spirits and Wine Group in the UK and France.

In 2002, he joined the WSET as the chief executive. Since 2002, annual candidate numbers have grown from 10,000 to 85,000 in 2017.

‘Education is the foundation for any successful industry and I am privileged to lead an organisation that nurtures future generations of wine and spirits professionals and enthusiasts.’

‘I am very proud of what the team at WSET have achieved over the past few years and we will continue to work to build a fruitful future for this great industry, which I love.’

In 2015, the WSET was awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2015 in International Trade.

The WSET offers nine qualifications in wine, spirits and sake, in 19 languages and across more than 70 countries.

More on the Wine and Spirit Education Trust:

• Steven Spurrier becoems WSET honorary president

• How to prepare for a wine course – ask Decanter 

• Learning with the WSET

Annette Scarfe MW, a WSET and Bordeaux educator who has lived in Singapore for 20 years, is a judge in the Decanter Asia Wine Awards (DAWA).

Annette Scarfe MW

Annette Scarfe MW was awarded the prestigious Master of Wine (MW) title in 2012, winning the Noval Award for her dissertation on Ribera del Duero. She is an active member of the Education and Events committees of the Institute of Masters of Wine.

She consults for international companies on the business of wine. Annette also runs tastings and masterclasses for the media, trade and consumers internationally. She is a WSET and Bordeaux educator and runs courses in Asia. Additionally, Annette is a Wine Buyer and restaurant Consultant.

Annette is a regular member of tasting panels for consumer magazines and judges extensively at wine competitions across 3 continents. Annette has lived in Singapore for over 20 years.

Steven Spurrier, world renowned wine expert and Decanter consultant editor, has been made an honorary president of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Steven Spurrier replaces Gérard Basset MW MS OBE as the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s (WSET) honorary chairman and will officially take up his position after the WSET awards and graduation ceremony at Guildhall in London tonight (23 January).

Having joined the wine trade in 1964, Spurrier has enjoyed a glittering career both as a wine critic and educator.

‘As WSET’s global reach continues to expand, it is a great honour to have someone who has a worldwide reputation – and with education at his heart – as our honorary president,’ said WSET chairman Ian Harris.

• RELATED: Steven Spurrier’s top wines of 2016

Spurrier is the WSET’s fifth honorary chairman, following Basset, Jancis Robinson MW OBE, Hugh Johnson and Michael Broadbent.

Spurrier is known for his leading role in the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, which announced California’s arrival in the world of fine wine. He also opened L’Academie du Vin in Paris in the 1980s, and co-created the Christie’s Wine Course.

He remains a Decanter consultant editor and has been chairman of the Decanter World Wine Awards since its inception in 2004. This year, he will take up a new role as chairman emeritus of the DWWA.

Spurrier said, ‘It is a great honour to succeed such a roster of the previous four honorary presidents, particularly since the creation of L’Academie du Vin in Paris and the Christie’s Wine Course in London could not have happened without the publication of Michael Broadbent’s seminal book Wine Tasting.’

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Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

Chinese food and wine matching

Charcoal barbecued meat with Tsingtao beer, steamed seafood with Millet wine, braised pork with rice liquor are the most widely seen pairings at a Chinese consumer’s dining table. These pairings have become conventions on my table too, but I haven’t thought about the rationales behind these until the WSET Level 2 course inspired me to figure out equilibriums between food and beverages. Chinese food, after all, can go perfectly with wines when following some simple principles.

The taste of food and the taste of wine may interact and impact one another but it is food that often dominates the dinner table. In this case, one can decide what to eat first, and then choose a matching wine.

Sour dishes like sweet-and-sour pork

The sourness of food may reduce the impact of the acidity of wine, whilst enhancing the fruity flavours. Chinese cuisine like sweet-and-sour pork with a tangerine sauce may go well with high-acidity wine, such as Chablis, which will create sparks on the taste buds.

Dish with salt and umami, like braised bamboo shoot

Salt in food enhances wine’s fullness, sweetness and softens the bitterness and acidity in wine. In this case, salt in food is a very nice match to almost all wines. However, Chinese cuisine often carries salt and umami at the same time. While salt is wine-friendly, umami is less inclusive. Umami often reduces the sweetness, fruitiness and fullness of a wine. If umami is the dominant taste of a dish, it is best to choose low-tannin, low-acidity, fruity young wines. In this case, stir-fried mushrooms with Moscato d’Asti, and braised bamboo shoots with Merlot are both nice matches.

Bitter dishes like bitter gourd

Bitter food such as bitter gourd are indispensable in the Chinese diet because they have plenty of vitamins. Some bitter foods taste refreshing, while others taste … just bitter. Bitterness in food could cause the taste buds to focus on the bitterness in wine. In this case, low-tannin wines, such as white Burgundy, are a good match.

Sweet dishes like red bean rice dumpling soup

Sweetness in food always brings satisfaction but it reduces the sweetness, fruitiness and fullness in wine. It also magnifies the bitterness, acidity and burning effect of alcohol in wine. Sweet dishes paired with a less sweet wine will make the beverage taste like plain water, and will make high-acidity wines taste too sour. Sweet food and sweet, fruity wine, such as Hungary’s Tokaji, are sweetheart partners.

Chilli and spicy food like mapo tofu

Some people just can’t survive without chilli and spices. When I visited south China’s Hunan province, I found local people eat toast with shining red chilli sauce for breakfast. Local people also like mapo tofu and barbecued green pepper, and they pour shimmering chilli oil on top of a bowl of rice or noodles, the right way to consume the staple food. Chilli, like sugar, magnifies the bitter, burning effect of alcohol, increases acidity and reduces the sweetness and fruitiness in wine. So I would recommend a low-tannin red or sweet white for chilli-lovers.

Dishes with high fat and oil such as braised pork

Braised dishes such as braised pork carry a lot of calories from fat and cooking oil, and they look really rich with the dark-coloured soy sauce and sugar. Wines with high acidity will help to reduce the oily feeling on the palate, and the refreshing taste will complement the richness of braised meat.

Dishes with strong flavours like beef curry

Dishes with seasonings such as cumin, coconut milk and curry powder often steal the show on the dinner table with their strong flavours. Lightly flavoured, refreshing wines can go well with these foods as they help create layers of taste.

Lightly flavoured dishes

If the food is lightly flavoured, such as some vegetarian dishes, wines with stronger flavours and complexities can come under the spotlight, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer. Such pairings can be quite surprising because they reveal the layers of the wines.

Globalisation of food and wines extends possibilities to combine the food of one place with wine from another. Whisk(e)y with sushi, Bordeaux red with Turkish kebab, or Korean rice wine, Makgeolli, with macaroons can all be innovative and surprisingly delicious pairings. Experiment with different wines and flavours to find your own perfect match.

Read more articles from writers taking the WSET level 2 course around the world

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

In China, many consumers’ first drop of alcohol spirit will date back to his, or her, early childhood. Their grandparents will have dipped their chopstick into a rice liquor cup, and then given it to the new family member, as part of a family ritual. If the child savors the drop, rather than frown or even cry, then the entire family will applaud the newcomer. Nowadays parents realise that children should not consume alcohol, and many young consumers’ first drop of spirit may come from a wider range of global sources – such as brandy at a pub, rum at their first party, or other spirits in a cocktail.

At the WSET Level two class I tasted various spirits made from different raw materials. I feel that the raw material are decisive to the taste of a spirit. How the spirit is distilled or matured also has a large influence on the spirit’s style. Asian consumers may find Japan’s Saki, South Korea’s Soju and China’s rice liquor share features in common because they are all made from rice grains. However, they taste quite different from a spirit like white rum which is made from sugar cane, despite all looking clear and transparent.

• To read about wine news in Chinese, see the DecanterChina.com

Brandy

Brandy is made from distilled grapes. Some are oak-aged, and can be coloured with caramel.

In China, many consumers know about brandy through popular images of Remy Martin X.O., a brand of Cognac, from films or TV. Cognac is brandy produced in northern Bordeaux and is distilled twice in traditional copper pot still. Armagnac is brandy produced in Gascony region, south of Bordeaux. It is distilled in column pot still and usually only once, resulting in a spirit with fuller flavor, but some would say, less smoothness.

X.O. is a one of the highest classifications in Cognac, which is not usually accessible for its high price and limited supply. V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale), which is the next level down, is aged for more than four years in French oak – and is now widely available in China. I tasted a glass of V.S.O.P. Cognac at a reception and found I liked its smoothness and richness of vanilla and caramel. The price is also much more affordable! The last level is V.S., which tells you the brandy has been aged at least two years in cask.

Whisk(e)y

Whisky is a spirit made from grains, such as barley, corn or rye. When making whisky, the grains are ground, hot water added and then stirred to transform starch into sugar. This sugar is needed for fermentation, followed by distillation and maturation in oak.

Some whisky has a trace of medicinal toast, which can come from the peat used in heating up the malt during the production process. Many Scotch whiskies, especially from Islay, have this feature.

Whiskies from Scotland, (whiskeys) Ireland and North America are most popular among global consumers. They vary as they use different grains and distillation methods. In China, Scotch whiskies are getting increasingly popular for their refreshing and smooth taste. Japanese whiskies are also gaining more followers. High-Ball, a kind of cocktail made with Suntory whisky, an icecube and some botanical bitters, is among the most-ordered beverage in Izakaya，consumed alongside sushi or tapanyaki.

Rum

It almost impossible to say how many kinds of rum I have tasted, simply because they have all been in cocktails! In the WSET we learn that rum is made from sugarcane juice or its byproduct, molasses, through fermentation and distillation. Quality rum is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum can be classified into light rum, also called silver or white, oak aged gold rum, and oaked dark rum.

Tequila

Before the WSET course, I’d tasted tequila at a Mexican company’s reception. The host taught us to drink it in one, which in English is a ‘shot’ – not a common occurrence in China. This was a whole new way of consuming spirits and I was shocked to find, from my nose to my stomach, the heating sensation of the spirit as it went down! At the WSET, we sipped the Tequila, tasting small amounts so we could fully analyse its flavour.

Tequila is made from blue agave in a small region in Mexico. In Chinese, Tequila is translated as longshelan, literally meaning dragon’s tongue. Indeed this spirit showed me traces of dragon flame when I first consumed it.

Blue agave’s pinal, or the pine-like juicy part of the plant, is heated to transform starch into sugar, and then fermented and distilled into tequila. Unoaked white tequila, like the one I tasted, has strong alcohol. Oaked gold tequila tastes more like brandy with more smoothness and trace of toffee.

Vodka

My hands, instead of my tastebuds, were how I encountered my first drops of vodka when, during fieldwork, they were scratched. My colleague put some vodka to disinfect the wound. In China, many consumers consider vodka to be simply water blended with alcohol. Vodka can be made from grains, or plants with starch, such as potato. After fermentation and distillation, the base spirit can have an alcohol strength of up to 96 percent by volume. This is cut with distilled water to reach a final strength between 40 and 60 percent. The spirit is quite simple in terms of structure, taste and fragrance. For this reason, it is also a nice choice for making cocktails, by adding alcohol strength to the drink. Quality of this final product can vary widely.

The WSET Level 2 course exposed me to so many varieties of spirits, and so many cultures, geographical features and the human wisdom behind the tastes. Every variety is worth savoring, even if it’s just a small drop from the end of a chopstick.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Sweet and Fortified – Grape varieties and labelling – WSET Level 2

Sweet wines – Methods of production – WSET Level 2

Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Australia – Wine Label terms showing quality – WSET Level 2

Prosecco, Asti and Others – Methods of Production – WSET Level 2

Rest of the World – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Grapes – Climate, Production, Regions – WSET Level 2

Chardonnay Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories - This article is written by a news journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Robert Haynes-Peterson

It’s sometimes easy to forget, while memorizing and analyzing the indigenous grapes of Italy, that wines schools train wine professionals, and wine professionals are in the hospitality business. For them, it is not simply enough to be able to pontificate on the monopoles of the Côtes-du-Rhône or the age-worthiness of Super Tuscans – the skill is in the service.

A wine professional applies their deep knowledge of “wine the concept” all while ordering inventory, guiding customers and storing “wine the commodity.” They apply the years of learned knowledge while building out a wine menu: one, perhaps, that offers the diner the right mix of comfort and appropriate pricing, with just a hint of adventure and obscurity, all while meeting the restaurant’s desired budgets and margins. They apply the hard-earned concepts, like understanding of a grape’s flavor profile and a winemaker’s signature, when working with Chef to create a multi-course pairing dinner. They apply it when offering suggestions to the guest or fielding questions, complaints or compliments.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

The WSET Level 2 text and workbook offers brief discussions on the topic (it gets greatly expanded in Level 3 and the Diploma). Because wine service is part and parcel of the whole concept of what wine is and what truly defines a wine professional, rather than spend a concentrated day discussing the details in class, our instructor May Matta-Aliah of In the Grape incorporated service elements throughout each class. From pairing suggestions with our weekly tastings to the proper way to open a Champagne bottle (not, as I’d hoped, with a loud pop, a dangerous projectile and bubbling wine spilling over beautiful models).

“Understanding storage and service is vital,” Matta-Aliah told the class which consisted of people already in the service industry or in wine shops, as well as those hoping to launch a career. From the second week of class, as we studied the factors affecting quality and price of age-worthy wines versus “every day” wines, elements of proper storage were outlined.

“All of the practices that go into grape growing, harvesting and winemaking have a dollar value attached to them,” Matta-Aliah said. This, in turn influences the sommelier’s understanding of the importance of proper storage, inventory selection, and budgeting – when is it prudent, for example, to replace a well-regarded but expensive wine with a less expensive hidden gem?

When we arrived at the Pinot Noirs of Burgundy, the complexities of how vineyards are managed and categorized and grapes are bought and sold make it vital, she noted, to “know your producers.” This guides the wine professional in making the best buying and collecting decisions possible, and helps when attempting to replicate that impossible-to-find bottle you and your guests enjoyed.

In general, the nuts-and-bolts of storage are relatively straightforward: Wines with corks should be stored on their sides. Different wine styles are best stored, and later served, at different temperatures, always out of the light. Avoid storing wines in the kitchen or anywhere that experiences broad temperature fluctuations.

• What I never knew about wine storage – WSET Level 2

Though, for classroom purposes and per WSET guidelines, all tastings were done in the same stemmed wine glass, learning traditionally appropriate glassware for the wide variety of styles enhances the guest’s experience and looks great to boot. If you happened to catch the television miniseries “Uncorked” or the movie “Somm”, both of which track the gruelling process of trying to pass the exclusive Court of Master Sommeliers exam, you know that even such seemingly simple tasks as properly opening a bottle of wine can sometimes trip up even very experienced sommeliers and stewards.

“The challenge isn’t simply cosmetic, improperly opening a bottle can leave cork residue, cause spillage and even physical damage.”

• The 10 rules of food and wine pairing by Karen MacNeil

When it comes to pairings, Matta-Aliah regularly offered up insightful, detailed suggestions, taking the concept well beyond “meat for red, fish for white.” In general pairing suggestions would complement existing flavors or character in the wines, sometimes they would appropriately contrast – tart, bright wines, for example, cutting through heavy fats or overpowering spices. The 2014 Albariño from the Rías Baixas DO in Spain, for example, “shines” when paired with seafoods and sauce-driven paellas. A medium-bodied Tuscan Chianti Classico, on the other hand, “really wants an osso buco. It’s a whole different beast when paired with food,” according to Matta-Aliah.

Oh… and that model-free Champagne service? Keep one hand over the cage at all times – it doesn’t get twisted completely free of the cork – and turn the bottle, not the cork.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Robert? Learn more here.

WSET level 2 quiz part 2 – test your knowledge

Credit: Cath Lowe

WSET level 2 quiz – Test your knowledge

Riesling Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Did you ace part 1 of the WSET level 2 quiz? Take part 2 and see if you can beat your original score. Is this too easy? Try last week's "Think you know as much as an MW?" quiz.

Take the WSET level 2 quiz part 2 (nb – questions not taken from official WSET exam papers):

These questions are based on the topics taught in the WSET level 2 qualification in wine and spirits. The questions are not endorsed by the WSET and are not based on the WSET level 2 exam.

Link: Find more WSET stories - This article is written by a news journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

It’s one thing selecting a quality wine, but do you know what to do with it before you take the plunge and drink it? Until the WSET, no-one had ever told me how I should be correctly storing my wine. I just put them in a rack.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

If you thought your problems end with storage, then I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad tidings. Serving wine also poses challenges, and we so often get that wrong too. Mercifully, the faults we make are universal, so don’t think you’re in a boat of one.

With storage, unless you have the space and resources for a wine cellar kept at a cool and constant temperature, you may have some issues. Wines damage if exposed to extremes of cold and hot temperatures. Thus, a glaring mistake many make is storing wine in kitchens where temperature fluctuations are commonplace.

• Want to use a professional cellar service? See recommended US and UK companies here

Similarly, assuming refrigerating wine for long periods – and I’m talking mainly white and sparkling wines here – will preserves its freshness indefinitely, is a commonplace blunder. This is because the cork hardens and loses it elasticity, compromising the seal it has with the bottle. Consequently, air attacks the wine causing staleness. For sparklers, you’ll find they’ve lost their fizz.

• How to store Champagne

Another storage issue where the cork is pivotal is standing bottle upright. The cork, no longer in contact with the wine, dries out making it more porous. Once again, air interacts with the wine, oxidises it and alters the flavour, eventually warping the taste.

Light also has an adverse effect. Natural or artificial light can heat the wine in the bottle, hastening staleness and making it old before its time. Artificial light can also give wine some rather unpleasant flavours. So keep it in a darkened room if possible.

Knowing you’ve correctly stored your wine in readiness for opening, you should follow some serving suggestions whilst consigning others to history. Achieving room temperature, which is optimum for full-bodied reds, is quite a challenge in our world of frequent air conditioning and central heating use. Too cold and the wine will taste thin and harsh, too hot and the flavours become muddled and it won’t taste as fresh.

• Quiz: Best way to serve wine

As most restaurants tend to plump for a cooler environment, you’re more likely to be warming up your red. Do not put your bottle on a radiator in this instance. Sudden contact with intense heat could irreversibly damage the wine.

At the same time, ‘airing’ the wine by opening it sometime before drinking is a bogus practice. Too little of the wine is in contact with the air to have any effect. The wine remains unchanged. I know many, including myself, who have been sucked in by that.

Glassware, believe it or not, can also be faulty – and I’m not talking about a cracked glass. For example, you should always drink champagne or sparkling wines out of flutes. Why? Because if you use bucket-like glasses, the bubbles – so key to the aroma of the wine – are very rapidly lost. You must also ensure your glass is spotlessly clean. Even the slightest contamination can spoil the wine’s flavour.

• Farewell to Champagne flutes in 2016?

This is also true of glasses cleaned by a dishwasher; something of which we are all guilty. The glasses may have salt or detergent traces in them and this will result in odd flavours. Sparklers will lose their fizz much quicker with glasses tainted with dishwasher residues, so be warned.

The physical opening of a bottle of wine can be problematic, especially with sparkling wine. One of my faults has been twisting the cork, not the bottle. While it works for the Formula One drivers, the idea of exploding the cork off a bottle of sparkling wine, especially Champagne, is tantamount to sacrilege for wine lovers. You want the cork to be removed from the bottle with a quiet ‘phut’, to keep the fizz.

Remember, these mistakes are perpetrated by wine enthusiasts, the world over, and you can start to obsess about them. I am now paranoid about whether the room in which I keep my nicer bottles fluctuates in temperature too much. It’s stressful…

…But oh so worth it. Santé.

Spirit labelling terms – WSET level 2

Credit: Decanter

France, Germany and Italy – Sweet Wines – WSET Level 2

Port and Vins doux Naturels – Sweet Wines Method of Production – WSET Level 2

Sparkling Wines – Most Important Countries and Labelling – WSET Level 2

Credit: Baron de Ley

Spain, Portugal, USA – Common Labelling Terms that show Quality – WSET Level 2

France – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Syrah and Shiraz Grapes – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Sauvignon Blanc Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Vineyard Activities – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

Do you think you could pass the WSET level 2 qualification like our journalists discovering wine? Get a better idea with our quiz below...

Take the WSET level 2 quiz (nb – questions not taken from official WSET exam papers):

These questions are based on the topics taught in the WSET level 2 qualification in wine and spirits. The questions are not endorsed by the WSET and are not based on the WSET level 2 exam.

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Do you know your XOs from your VSOPs? Your single malt from your blended Scotch? Labels on spirits can be as confusing as wine bottles. Navigating the intricate world of spirit labelling is tricky for beginners.

I’ll begin with brandy because it’s made from grapes – which is fitting for a predominantly wine-focused course.

Brandy

Cognac and Armagnac are the two types of which many are familiar. Ageing is where labelling has its significance in brandy. Minimum ageing lengths for Cognac and Armagnac are set in law, and the labelling terms reflects the length of time. VS bottles – the VS stands for ‘very special’ – are the youngest of the brandy family and have aged for two years in oak casks. ‘Very Superior Old Pale’ (VSOP) brandies have undergone four years of oak ageing. The premium varieties are those that bear the legend XO (‘extra old’), but can also be called ‘Napoléon’ – why, I am yet to discover! XO/Napoléon types are aged for six years, but this will change later this year to 10 years, meaning I’m about to live some brandy law history; incredible. At this point, I should point out something Jim told us in our lesson.

‘If you have a barrel-aged spirit, you usually have some colour,’ he said. Brandy is golden, so reflects this. It seems prudent to talk now about Rum labelling, because colour is a major aspect of it.

Rum

White Rum is a neutral un-aged spirit. Jim says you could call it vodka if you want. Golden Rums are coloured as such from oak ageing, while Spiced Rum are Golden varieties with – surprise, surprise – added spice flavourings. Simple. Dark Rums get their deep, treacly colour from added caramel, but the best will undergo oak ageing to smooth out the taste.

Tequila

Tequila also gains colour from oak ageing. If you buy a ‘silver’ or ‘blanco’ Tequila, it’s un-aged. Many believe the vegetal and spicy flavours, redolent of the agave from which it’s made, mean blanco Tequila is the most authentic expression of the spirit. Therefore, any person saying ‘gold’, ‘oro’ or ‘joven’ is better than blanco is talking rubbish and probably projecting humans’ ingrained belief that ‘gold’ is more valuable than ‘silver’. This preconception is bogus because ‘oro’ styles are also un-aged and get their colour from caramel. ‘I’ll never be duped into spending 3-4 more pounds on golden tequila when I could use food colouring at home,’ Jim declared.

‘Reposado’ labels indicate oak ageing. Jim tells us ‘reposado’ means ‘rested’, so ‘a rested tequila has extracted a lot of the oaky character [from barrels].’ ‘Anejo’ Tequilas have had just a little bit of resting in the barrel.

Whisk(e)y

Describing whisk(e)y labelling can be a bit of a headache. Firstly, you’ll have noticed the parenthesised ‘e’. Spelling of whisk(e)y is oft debated but for simplicity, Scotch whisky is spelt thus, while Irish and North American whiskey is spelt thus.

If your bottle says ‘Scotch’, it must have been distilled and oak-aged in Scotland for at least three years. Add ‘Malt’ to your Scotch-labelled bottle and the whisky will have been made using malted barley as its base ingredient.

Continuing this fun adding game, a ‘Single’ + Malt + Scotch whisky is all of the above, but has come from a sole distillery. Single Malt Scotch can also be mixed with grain whisky to create ‘Blended’ Scotch Whisky. Though quality may vary in blends, it is an important whisky, so don’t simply dismiss it. I really like some blended Scotch. Irish whiskey is usually a mixture of malted and unmalted barley, and other grains, though you can get a Single Malt Irish Whiskey.

The two key states for US whiskey labelling are Kentucky and Tennessee. Bourbon is arguably the best-known US whiskey. It has to be 51 per cent corn to be called ‘Bourbon’. Moreover, I was completely bowled over to discover you can make Bourbon anywhere in the US. I was convinced you could only call it ‘Bourbon’ if it came from Kentucky (where Bourbon is everywhere). My confusion stemmed from the fact Tennessee whiskey, which is similar in production to Bourbon, can only be made in Tennessee.

Vodka and Gin

As Vodka is a neutral spirit and can be made from any base material, it seems to me a quite boringly labelled spirit. Ironically, if it has any discernible flavour during production, it cannot legally be called ‘Vodka’. ‘If someone says, “this Vodka tastes of xyz, it has so much flavour,” it’s legally not then allowed to be called vodka,’ Jim warns.

It can be flavoured however, to jazz it up. Flavoured spirits are very popular. Gin is perhaps the flavoured spirit with the most notable labels. Essentially, it’s vodka flavoured with botanicals, but to be called ‘gin’ in the first instance it must have juniper as its main flavouring. If your label is plastered with ‘London Dry Gin’ the spirit has had to be flavoured using the re-distillation process – the neutral spirit has been distilled with juniper and other botanicals.

‘Distilled Gin’ is made in a similar way to London Dry but the flavours can be added after re-distillation. Liqueurs are spirits that are both flavoured and sweetened. To be deemed a ‘liqueur’, they have to have a minimum level of sweetness, by law. The level varies depending on the country of production.

Spirit labelling is tough, but it does follow formulas. You just need to be mathematically attuned.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Spirit labelling terms – WSET level 2

Credit: Decanter

France, Germany and Italy – Sweet Wines – WSET Level 2

Port and Vins doux Naturels – Sweet Wines Method of Production – WSET Level 2

Sparkling Wines – Most Important Countries and Labelling – WSET Level 2

Credit: Baron de Ley

Spain, Portugal, USA – Common Labelling Terms that show Quality – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Fortified wines and sweet wines are made with various methods and grape varieties, which are often indicated on wine labels. Last week when we tasted Hungarian Tokaji Aszu, a noble rot wine, the teacher reminded us to notice the “5 puttonyos”, the unit given to denote the level of sugar and sweetness in Hungarian sweet wine ranging from 3 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos. Symbols like this showing the sweetness and quality of sweet and fortified wines are usually explicitly stated on wine labels so consumers can know how sweet a wine is at a glance.

Sweet wines, grape varieties and labelling

Fortified sweet wines often use Muscat grapes, such as Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and Muscat de Rivesaltes, which have very pronounced fruity, perfume aromas.

Riesling, Semillon and Chenin Blanc are easily attacked by noble rot thus they are often used to make noble rot wines. Noble rot wine’s labels may state botrytis cinerea, or just botrytis. But sometimes wine labels do not state grape variety or botrytis; they just say Sauternes AC (famous for Semillon noble rot), or Vouvray AC (famous for Chenin Blanc noble rot), and Alsace AC (famous for Riesling noble rot).

Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are two terms often seen on quality Riesling noble rot from Germany and Austria. Lables reading Eiswein means this is icewine from Germany or Austria, while in Canada, icewine’s label often has a term VQA, showing that the wine is from a legally protected appellation under the Vintners Quality Alliance system.

Sherry

Labels of Dherry wines usually state the wine’s style, such as Amontillado, Oloroso, or PX. Amontillado is dry (or Seco on the label), made from Palomino grape. The amber-colored fortified wine has a nut-like taste. Sweetened Amontillado is labelled as “Medium”.

Oloroso is also dry and made from the Palomino grape but it is different from Amontillado as it is attacked by oxygen throughout ageing. The deep-brown coloured wine has pronounced aromas of roasted nuts and a nutty flavour. Sweetened Oloroso is labelled as “Cream”.

• READ: Sherry wine and chocolate pairings

Sherry wines with labels saying Pedro Ximenez means they are made from the dried grape Pedro Ximenez (or PX for short). This wine, with syrupy sweetness, is semi-fluid and many of my classmates say it looks, smells and tastes like loquat syrup, a kind of traditional herbal medicine in China used to treat coughing. I think PX tastes much better than the loquat syrup, and PX is more versatile. In a bar in Shanghai I saw more than 10 varieties of cocktail using PX in the blend.

Port

Port wines are becoming increasingly popular in China specifically among consumers who would like to try wines but demand high alcohol at the same time. Major grape varieties for Port wines include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cao, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz. The best Port is usually made from Touriga Nacional which has deep color and high tannin.

Labels reading Ruby Port mean they are an inexpensive, non-vintage wine that undergoes less than three years ageing before bottling. Such wines are sweet, simple, and fruity: a table wine that can go with easy dining. Labels reading Reserve Ruby Port means they undergo up to five years ageing before bottling, and taste more complex than Ruby Port with more intense fruity flavours and aromas.

Late Bottle vintage, or LBV for short, means the wine uses grapes from a single vintage and it is usually sweet. Unfiltered sometimes appears on label meaning that the wine is not filtered before bottling and is better served after being decanted to remove the sediment.

Vintage Ports use grapes that come from the only the very best vineyards and are only made in good years. Vintage is usually stated on the label.

• READ: Find out more about Port

Tawny Ports are a kind of inexpensive, simple, light-coloured ports that have toffee and caramel flavours. If the label reads Reserve Tawny Port, it means the wine is aged for at least six years in small oak vessels and has more complicated flavours of nuts and a trace of chocolate.

My classmates and I shared a bottle of Taylor’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port, a tawny port with indication of age, which could be labelled as 10 Year, 20 Year, 30 Year and 40 Year. Such wines are best consumed close to bottling date, which is usually found on the label. I was wondering what I was doing when the wine started ageing 20 years ago and what I was drinking at that time. Gatorade perhaps, after a soccer session in primary school.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Sweet wines – Methods of production – WSET Level 2

Credit: Decanter

France, Germany and Italy – Sweet Wines – WSET Level 2

Port and Vins doux Naturels – Sweet Wines Method of Production – WSET Level 2

Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Australia – Wine Label terms showing quality – WSET Level 2

France – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

About ten years ago quite a number of wine consumers in China would add soft drinks such as Sprite to wines because they believed it would make wines taste softer, sweeter and more friendly to beginner drinkers. While some believe this was an innovative, local-know-how to boost wine consumption, many would frown at such methods of “blending” regarding it as a crime against nature.

In recent years as more wine varieties are known and accessible to consumers, blending soft drinks into wine is rarely seen. For those who would love a glass of sweet wine, there are a variety of different methods of production of sweet wines, each with different results:

Interrupting the fermentation

One method of production of sweet wines is to interrupt fermentation by removing the yeast, which transfers sugar into alcohol, by using a fine filter to ensure that no yeast remains in the wine. With no yeast to ‘eat’ the sugar, it remains creating a lower alcohol, sweet wine. Many of the popular off-dry wines are made in this way.

Adding alcohol to fortify the wine or adding sulfur dioxide to wine can kill yeast to stop fermentation. This is a common technique that is used to make fortified sweet Muscat wines.

We tasted un-aged Vins Doux Naturels at classroom, which have high alcohol but are well-balanced with sweetness. They have refreshing, sweet and pronounced aroma of fresh grape, peach and perfume.

Adding a sweet component to the blend

It is not permitted to add sugar to wines (that’s perhaps why adding Sprite to wines is frowned upon) but you can add a sweet component, including unfermented grape juice, or Sussreserve to sweeten the blend. In Germany some sweet and off-dry wines are made with this technique.

Concentration of sugars in the grapes

High-quality sweet wines are often made from grapes with concentrated sugars of their own. This concentration process can occur in one of three ways: by drying the grapes or to allow the growth of the Botrytis cinerea rot or noble rot to accelerate evaporation of water or by freezing the grapes which makes icewine.

• READ: Top Sauternes and Barsac 2011 and 2013

We tasted a glass of Ricioto from Italy, which is a kind of sweet red wine using dried grapes. It tastes like syrup with flavours of coffee and tobacco with a trace of honey. It’s full with a soft body and rich aroma that is quite impressive.

My teacher also let us taste sweet Tokaji Aszu, which uses noble rot attacked grapes; it has botrytis flavours and a hint of marmalade. As noble rot wines must use hand-picked grapes which has high labour costs, they are often expensive. I recalled a banquet two years ago when a sweet noble rot wine was paired with dessert. If Tokaji Aszu was on the menu, there was no need for the dessert as the wine itself was a delicious enough dessert; you can literally “chew” the full-bodied, amber-coloured wine.

On a wine-tasting event after the class I was offered a glass of icewine from Canada’s Inniskillin. The high latitude, cold and dry climate helps production of quality icewine that is high in acid and low in alcohol with a pure and refreshing taste. Production of quality icewines is limited as only a small number of producers are blessed with the geographic conditions and climate required. They are not produced every year.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Credit: Decanter

France, Germany and Italy – Sweet Wines – WSET Level 2

Sparkling Wines – Most Important Countries and Labelling – WSET Level 2

Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Australia – Wine Label terms showing quality – WSET Level 2

Credit: Baron de Ley

Spain, Portugal, USA – Common Labelling Terms that show Quality – WSET Level 2

Prosecco, Asti and Others – Methods of Production – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

I touched on sweet wines in my last WSET Level 2 article when writing about the production of Vins doux Naturels, specifically Muscat de Beaumes de Venise from France.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Southern France in particular is home to two important examples in the sweet wines catalogue. I have already mentioned Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and the other is Muscat de Rivesaltes. The Muscat grape is well suited for sweet wine, giving fragrant, floral and fresh fruit flavours – try saying that five times in a row. Peach, grape and rose are typical aromas and tastes. As Muscat wines generally forego oak ageing, the fresh fruit is instantly recognisable. Jim, our tutor, says you do get plenty of ‘Muscat aromas’ on the nose and ‘peach and apricot’ on the palate in Beaumes de Venise. He likened it to children’s favourite yoghurt: Petit Filous. Just with alcohol. A tasting note that could catch on amongst the wine cognoscenti.

Further north-west in Bordeaux, which needs no introduction, we have the Graves sub-region. Here lies the Sauternes appellation, a world-renowned sweet wine. Sémillon is the principle player, though it’s often blended with Sauvignon Blanc – something you may recall from my Sauvignon Blanc article. This is important because you should not believe Bordeaux produces only dry or sweet wines with Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc blends. It has both.

The difference in this case is that the thin-skinned Sémillon is prone to noble rot – a natural process whereby botrytis cinerea fungus grows ‘on the outside of the grape, punctures the grape itself and the water is allowed to evaporate’. Sauternes wines therefore bear ‘botrytis’ flavours, which are varied and hard to characterise, but include honey and ryebread. Strange attributes, I know. Jim also points out that where Sauternes differ from other noble rot wines, is the ‘vanilla, toast, spicy’ flavours gained from oak ageing.

• Sauternes and Barsac 2011 & 2013: Top wines

Chenin Blanc, a grape common in the Loire, is also partial to noble rot. The Vouvray AOC and Coteaux de Layon AOC are the notable wines from this grape. Alsace, due east and slightly north from the Loire, also makes botrytis-affected sweet wines using Muscat, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer or Riesling grapes.

With near seamless transitioning we move from France to Germany via their mutual relationship with noble rot-friendly Riesling. Mosel, Rheingau and Pfalz, the major regions for Riesling, also produce dry wines from this varietal. I’m focusing on the wines from the Beerenauslese (BA), Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) and Eiswein Prädikat sweetness levels. To make either BA or TBA wines, the potential sweetness levels have to be extremely high and is measured in their must weight. This can only be achieved with an element of noble rot.

‘Most of the time Riesling is unoaked so tastes of marmalade, toast, honey – coming from the noble rot – and the Riesling grape,’ says Jim. BA and TBA production are just a couple of examples of Jim’s ‘favourite way to make a sweet wine’ – by concentrating the sugars in the grapes. Trockenbeerenauslese is wine produced from grapes that are ‘left to dry on the vine’.

Eiswein, which is incredibly expensive to produce, involves harvesting frozen grapes in winter and removing the iced water from them. Jim says the labour costs are high because your winery also has to have freezing equipment, so it doesn’t warm the grapes up before the ice crystals are removed.

Before I leave this topic, there is just one example from Italy we were told about: Recioto. It was mentioned almost an afterthought, and I had to look up where it came from (Veneto, I believe and is most commonly seen in Valpolicella and Soave). Recioto has come from grapes which have been laid out to dry in the sun like ‘sun-dried tomatoes’. ‘You’ve just concentrated all of the sugar, all of the acidity, all of that flavour. So if you see Recioto, it’s a really sweet style,’ said Jim.

Tell me 12 weeks ago there exists a sweet, red dessert wine, and I’d have laughed at you. Now I raise a glass Recioto Valpolicella to the WSET; and it goes surprisingly well with dark chocolate.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Port and Vins doux Naturels – Sweet Wines Method of Production – WSET Level 2

Sparkling Wines – Most Important Countries and Labelling – WSET Level 2

Credit: Baron de Ley

Spain, Portugal, USA – Common Labelling Terms that show Quality – WSET Level 2

France – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Sauvignon Blanc Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

As Port, historically in the UK at least, is consumed plentifully over Christmas, it probably would have made sense to write this over the festive period. Since a ‘Vin doux Naturel’ (VdN), is also a big seller at Yuletide, it seems even weirder to be writing this in January. But never mind.

Though I don’t drink it much, even at Christmas, Port is something I’m used to because there’s always been a bottle living in our drinks cabinet. Consequently, I mistakenly always associated it with spirits rather than wine. A heinous, vinous faux pas.

• Cheese and Port matching

Each topic I’ve written about from my WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits course has revealed its own quirks and idiosyncrasies, and Port is no exception. The fact that the tradition of treading the grapes by foot to extract colour and tannin is still practised in many premium Port houses, is my personal favourite. It feels rustic, haphazard even, sitting nicely in contrast with the slick processes of the wine business. The suggestion that producers ‘jump up and down on the grapes,’ amuses and delights me.

Port production

Port is a fortified wine, meaning alcohol is added to it during its production. All fortified wines, tutor Erica informs us, have ‘neutral grape spirit’ (brandy, effectively) as their fortifier because ‘wines have to be made from grapes.’

As fortification occurs during the fermentation process, Port is always sweet. The added alcohol kills off the yeast fermenting the grapes which halts fermentation leaving residual sugar, and hey presto: sweet wine. Specifically, you’re left with partially fermented, high alcohol, sweet wine. Erica tells us it’s around 20-22 per cent.

Vins doux Naturels employ similar methods to Port for making them sweet. As we covered sweet wines before we did fortifieds, I had inadvertently been given an insight into Port’s production before, not that I remembered it all…

• Fonseca Ports – Six of the best

Port styles

But back to Port. After the halted fermentation, it’s ‘all about ageing’. Wines are aged in oak barrels and the length of time they spend in them determines the style.

Ruby and Reserve Ruby Ports are young, ruby coloured and taste of fresh fruit – ‘cherry and berry’ so goes Erica’s handy rhyme. Reserve Rubies, have been aged a little longer in oak, have better quality grapes, and more complexity and intensity. They’re both however, non-vintage wines, and with both: ‘once you’ve opened it, drink it’ Erica warns.

Late Bottled Vintage, similar in style to Reserve Ruby, is where the quality jumps up. The wine comes from one year and tends to be of very good quality. Their extra spicy flavours are a result of prolonged oak ageing.

Vintage Port is the top Ruby style, and is only made when a ‘Port house thinks it’s got some particularly outstanding grapes’ from a specific vintage. Wines are bottled very young but are so tannic they’re nowhere near ready to drink. They will be aged for decades, upwards of fifty years in some cases. Apparently, our peers on the WSET Level 3 Course were sampling a 40-year-old Port at the time of our lesson, and ‘still [had] time to keep going.’ It seems inconceivable a wine can age four decades and retain the original fruitiness of the grapes. Ruby Ports, aiming to maintain the fresh fruit, are aged in big steel containers, thereby not altering the flavour.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Tawny Ports on the other hand, take their name from the colour they reach through acute oak ageing.

‘[Producers] oxidise it heavily,’ says Erica. ‘It’s not just [about] leaving it; it’s about aerating the wine – moving it from cask to cask.’

‘You want to get rid of that ruby colour, take it to garnet so it ends up tawny. That oxidative effect will change the colour and give us dried fruit, nuts, spice flavours.’

Vin doux Naturels

The Vin doux Naturels we learnt about didn’t really age. For them it’s about perfume, fresh peach and grape flavours. The one we tried in the lesson was the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. Jim, our teacher for that lesson, tells us ‘the yeast has only eaten half of the sugar,’ and in the same way Port is made, ‘almost pure alcohol’ is used to kill it off. It is the reason Beaumes de Venise comes with a ‘big burning character.’

So what is the final product? In the Muscat wine, we end up with high alcohol, grape juice and Muscat grape aromas. Jim’s succinct conclusion is irreverent and apt:

‘It’s almost like a cocktail we’ve got here: a little bit of wine, a lot of grape juice, and some un-aged brandy. Because that’s what most of it is: grape juice, sugar, alcohol.’

If only tasting were that simple…

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

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- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

If people admit to knowing anything about wine, it tends to be about the sparkly stuff, I find. Narrowing it down, what most tend to know about is Champagne because of its constant referencing in either history or popular culture.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

France

Throughout the WSET level 2 course, it has been reinforced that you can’t call all sparkling wine Champagne unless it comes from the Champagne region, and the Champagne region is in France. Erica, our teacher, also tells us that the Saumur AC, which produces wine using the Chenin Blanc grape, also produces Crémant – sparkling wine which uses bottle fermentation and the ‘traditional method’ (removing the yeast after the second fermentation directly from the bottle rather than ‘transferring’ it to a tank, where it is filtered).

• Read the WSET level 2 article on Champagne production and Traditional Method

So, once again, France is one of the most, possibly the most significant country for sparkling wines. But then you have to determine what kind of champagne you’re quaffing. I’ll drink all Champagne, so this is not as crucial to me, but the Champagne you’d consume day-to-day (assuming you can afford to do so!) will be ‘non-vintage’ or ‘NV‘. The climate is temperamental in Champagne, so producers have to blend vintages to achieve the consistency for a decent bottle. ‘Vintage Champagne’ is only made in ‘the best years’ and is going to be ‘very high quality’, Erica says, It has the year written on the label.

Something I found out quickly however, that despite the clout ‘Champagne’ commands, many countries’ wines are challenging its supremacy.

Spain

Spain’s Cava is a close relation to champagne in that it is both bottle-fermented and uses the traditional method. As such, Cava has the autolytic flavours – biscuit, toast – of Champagne. I must confess, Cava has always been associated with cheapness among my peer group, and I hang my head at how readily I dismissed it based on the false assumption it was lower quality. The Cava we sampled in our lesson was of similar quality to the champagne we had, but a fraction of the price.

As a general rule, bottle-fermented sparkling wines are made in the ‘Brut’ fashion, which means they’re dry. You’ll often see that on Champagne, Cava, and New World bottle-fermented wines.

Italy

Italy has muscled in on the sparkling world with its dry and sweet sparklers. Prosecco, the signature global wine, is a tank-fermented dry/off-dry product, and is ridiculously popular in the UK. It’s everywhere. Asti, Italy’s sweet sparkling white, has lower alcohol, and it’s sibling Moscato d’Asti is even less alcoholic. Perhaps, it’s the onomatopoeic nature of the Italian words, but the labelling on Prosecco is bubbly. ‘Spumante’ (fully sparkling) or ‘frizzante’ (lightly sparkling) have a refreshing tone to them. They make me think of spumes of bubbles fizzing out in celebration; which I’m sure is the producers’ intentions. Prosecco and Asti tend to be ‘spumante’, although Erica says it doesn’t ‘usually say that on the label’. Moscato d’Asti is only given a ‘light sparkle’.

• Decanter’s top Proseccos of 2015

Germany

I was unaware that in Germany they drink ‘a lot of sparkling’ wine. ‘They can’t get enough from their own producers,’ Erica says. Therefore, they often bring in a base wine from the EU to make their ‘Sekt’ (pronounced Zekt), which is the German term for sparkling wine. They need mentioning because some high-quality bottle-fermented wines are produced in Germany. In terms of labelling, if you see ‘Deutscher Sekt’ written on your bottle, you know that the base wine can only be one made in Germany – ‘the grapes have to be from Germany’.

Complexity

What I found tough to deal with in sparkling wines was the proliferation of types, rules, regulations and labels. There is so much to take in.

Once you’ve established what you’re even drinking: Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Asti, Sekt, there is a host of labelling terms which determine how your wine was produced. ‘Tank method’ is hardly going to sound alluring on the side of a bottle, so it’s nigh on impossible for you to see that on a label. However, given the history and tradition of producing sparkling wines, bottle-fermented products will have some weird labelling. Anything that has ‘Traditional Method’, ‘Méthode Traditional’ or ‘Méthode Champenoise’ on it, means that wine has removed it’s yeast straight from the bottle. South Africa has devised its own custom term for the traditional method: ‘Méthode Cap Classique’. Although I am, on occasion, a fan of flowery language, this seems completely superfluous, but that’s just me.

If a label says ‘Bottle Fermented’, you will know that the wine is still a (probably) complex wine with yeast contact and autolytic flavours, but has been disgorged using the ‘transfer method’ – again, not a very enticing slogan.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Credit: Baron de Ley

Spain, Portugal, USA – Common Labelling Terms that show Quality – WSET Level 2

France – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Syrah and Shiraz Grapes – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Sauvignon Blanc Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Vineyard Activities – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

Wine labels from the New World are usually easy to understand for Chinese consumers, boldly showing varieties and production regions. Information on how to understand these labels is delivered throughout the WSET Level 2 course, and I found it easier than learning about French and European labels.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Argentina

Labels of Argentinian wines are usually written in English with obvious information related to production, vineyard site and grape varieties.

Malbec is a red variety that is worth remembering. The grape originated from France but has found its best fortune in Argentina where it is widely grown, blessed by warm climates. In the classroom my educator let us try a glass of Malbec, and I was impressed by its black fruit flavors. It tastes a little bit like Merlot, but with more body, tannin and ripeness of fruit.

• Five Argentina Malbecs to try – Decanter 

Mendoza is one of Argentina’s largest and finest grape-growing regions. It’s Uco Valley produces some of Argentina’s best wines. Salta is another big region with some of Argentina’s, and even the world’s, highest altitude vineyards reaching beyond 1,500 meters. It’s Cafayate sub region produces very good Torrentes, a white grape, wines along with Malbec.

Altitude is believed to bring warmth and sunshine to vineyards during the day and cooling effects during the night, crucial to good balance in the grape’s maturing progress, thus it is usually included in labels of Argentina’s wines. These wines are hard to find in China.

Other famous regions include San Juan and La Rioja. Usually the more detailed the geographic information is given, the higher the quality of the wine is hinted.

Chile

In Chile, classification of wine is influenced by that of Spain. The label usually shows the grape varieties, and reserva is added which hints “preserved in oak barrels” and gran reserva hinting “preserved in new oak barrels for longer period of time”. But, this has no legal meaning as it does in Spain, so is sometimes used as a marketing tool.

Some labels read “Embotellado en Origen”, meaning estate bottled. Its meaning is similar to that of estate bottled in the old world that we discussed weeks before. As for “DO” (Denomination of Origin/Appellation), it is similar to AOC in France and DOCg in Italy, showing unique qualities of a legally protected geographical region.

Premier Chilean regions include Aconcagua Valley, Casablanca Valley and Maipo Valley.

For those who wish to try grape varieties Chile is famous for, Carménère is a must because it is rarely found in other countries. The red grape variety is quite “picky” and requires strict climatic conditions and crop management, yields are usually limited. After I tasted a glass of Chilean Carménère, I went to several supermarkets and famous cellars in Shanghai, and found that they are not widely accessible. I personally liked its softness and perfume-like fragrance.

South Africa

Geographical indication on wine labels from South Africa normally reads “WO”, short for Wynvan Oosprong, translated as wine of origin. These WO’s can be as large an area as Western Cape, to more detailed ones like Walker Bay or Elgin. Sub-regions like Elgin shows that the wine has unique qualities of the specific area.

• Top ten South African Chardonnays- Decanter

In South Africa, some grape varieties are labelled under different names than are found internationally. For example, Chenin Blanc on a South African wine label is can be called “Steen”, and Riesling can be labelled as “Weisser Riesling” or “Rhine Riesling”. South Africa’s Cape Riesling, a local white grape variety, has little to do with “Weisser Riesling”.

Another local red variety is Pinotage, a crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsualt (which is also known as Hermitage, the source of “tage” part of the grape name). I tasted a glass of Pinotage outside classroom, and was impressed by its rich and ripe taste, which goes very well with steak.

Cap Classique on a South African sparkling wine label, means that the wine was bottle-fermented, resembling the method of making Champagne in France, and is therefore of higher quality.

Australia

We are starting to find an increasingly wider range of Australian wines in China’s supermarkets, restaurants and cellars, and it is anticipated that more Australian wines will be entering into the Chinese market as the free trade agreement between the two countries takes effect. This would make Australian wines almost duty free in China in the next few years.

My educator and classmates, some of whom are working with wine merchants, said that Australian wines are really famous for their wide plantings of international varieties and vast production sites scattering all over the country. With so many options to choose from, one can just focus on grape variety, production and region.

If the region is specified, this hints at a higher quality of the wine – the famed exception is Penfolds Grange. Regional examples are: Barossa, Clare Valley and Margaret River, where as “Southeast Australia” may stand for bulk, inexpensive wines.

It really takes lots of wine tasting to understand the uniqueness of various regions and grape varieties in the New World. Reading while tasting wine may be helpful (particularly before the exam!). All this learning has made me research the possibility of joining wine tours when I go travelling as many countries have well-developed wine tourism that look quite appealing.

Updated: 30/12/15

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Rest of the World – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Conditions and Growing Environment – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

Though the writing on a French bottle of wine can get extremely complicated very quickly, we would probably back ourselves to understand a few things. With Spain and Portugal – and I’m putting them together because they’re two countries geographically intimate – there are a few words from their languages that will pose a few more questions.

Spanish and Portuguese Wine Labels

Taking Spain first, and it sounds as basic as it comes, you should know that red wine is not ‘vino rojo’ as white wine is ‘vino blanco’. In Spain ‘tinto’ on a bottle indicates red wine. Fortunately, red wine in Portuguese is ‘vinho tinto’, so we have some viticulture crossover.

Quality in Spanish wine is often linked to ageing the wine. The wines from the Rioja DOCa region for example (the “most famous” our tutor Lydia says) or the Ribera del Duero DO, where the main grape is Tempranillo, will likely have ‘growing up’ words written on them. This is because it’s traditional to age wine in barrels in Spain. Rioja, in particular, gains most of its character from oak ageing.

• Anson on Thursday: Redefining Rioja terroir

At this juncture, it’s worth noting that when you shift into Portugal, be careful of spelling. Portugal’s ‘Douro’ DOC is just over the border from the Spanish ‘Duero’, with Touriga Nacional, instead of Tempranillo, presiding as the “star” grape. I found the languages’ closeness meant I had to concentrate on labels more intently to ensure I wasn’t confusing a ‘Douro Reserva’ with a ‘Ribera del Duero Reserva’.

Back to Spain. If a wine says ‘joven’ (young) you know the wine has been made, bottled and packaged ready for selling with little to no oak. If a bottle doesn’t have ‘joven’ or any ageing words on it, it’ll be a ‘joven’. Employing a family metaphor, Lydia says this wine is “your toddler”. ‘Joven’ wines undergo no oak ageing, they will be simple in character. The “stroppy teenager” in Spanish oak ageing is ‘Crianza’ which translates as ‘upbringing’. This wine is “still very young”, but will have had some oak and bottle ageing but will have the red fruit flavours of a joven Rioja.

‘Reserva’, the adult of the family, is as Lydia amusingly puts it “more reserved” than the younger members. By law, ‘Reserva’ wines have been aged for a minimum amount of time in oak and the bottle. As such, these wines have gained complexity and we’re entering into the quality areas of a Spanish, or Portuguese for that matter, wine label. Lydia also noted that though the word ‘Reserva’ in Spain is “legally defined”; many Chilean and Argentinian wine bottles have it written on them, and this “doesn’t mean anything.” The terms are often used to differentiate between brands, but won’t necessarily reflect quality for a South American wine.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

However, if you were to see an Argentinian wine labelled: Tempranillo, 18 months oak-aged, 2012; and a Spanish one labelled: Rioja, Reserva, 2012 – you’d be looking at similar wines in terms of production.

The elder statesmen, “the grandparents” of Spanish ageing, are ‘Gran Reserva’ wines. You will know these are premium wines because they are only made from outstanding vintages. Lydia says they might be made from the “oldest vines” (which give lower yields).

“Old vines” is an interesting label addition, seen often, and in a variety of languages. For example, you’d read it as ‘Viñas Viejas’ on a Spanish bottle. It certainly seems to denote quality because of the lower yield, and therefore higher quality grapes, old vines produce. But I’ve been sceptical about it from when tutor Jim told us in our first lesson that it had no legal definition and therefore creates a lot of disagreement in the wine growing world.

USA Wine Labels

In the USA, “old vines” is a definite mark of quality, probably because some of their Zinfandel vineyards – Zinfandel being one of the most important black grape varieties in California – are over a century old. If they keep their 100-year-old vineyards, there must be a pretty good reason for doing so.

Zinfandel is a quirky one too in that, like Syrah/Shiraz, it has a differently named twin, the ‘Primitivo’ grape from Southern Italy. “Grape DNA testing”, Lydia says, has proved they are the same variety.

[Decanter insert – DNA testing has proved they are very similar, but are actually both clones of a Croatian grape called Crljenak.]

Therefore, it amazed me that when we tasted an outstanding Primitivo from Marks & Spencer supermarket, which cost less than £10, we had tried a wine from the same grape – a similarly outstanding, bespoke Californian vineyard Zinfandel in our second lesson – which was three times the price. It just goes to show that something the same can be so different when made in different parts of the wine world.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

France – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Vineyard Activities – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

Before I joined the WSET Level 2 course, I often said to my family that we shall “open a bottle of Champagne for celebration” on special occasions or for holidays. At that time, like many consumers in China, I barely knew the proper names for any other sparkling wine, and thought “Champagne” is the word interchangeable for “sparkling wine”.

After the session for sparkling wines, I was exposed to so many varieties and realize how different they can be in terms of tastes, fragrances, and methods of production.

The session started with a tasting of four glasses of sparkling wine: France’s Champagne, Spanish Cava, lightly fizzy [Frizzante] Prosecco from northeast Italy, and fully sparkling Asti DOCG from northwest Italy’s Piedmont.

Champagne and Cava have obvious influences from yeast and are quite dry, while Asti and Prosecco are refreshing and very fruity.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

My classmates showed quite diverging attitudes toward the quite different styles. My favourite, among the four glasses, was Asti DOCG, deeply touched by the Muscat grape’s perfume and its cheerful, refreshing taste which brings about festive mood.

While Champagne and Cava are bottle-fermented which enables them to have long time in contact with yeast and lees, Prosecco and Asti are tank-fermented which has little influences from yeast and have more pronounced fruity notes.

Prosecco

Most of Prosecco wines are tank-fermented, although bottle-fermented versions also exist. First, grapes, the variety is Glera, are squeezed gently to make clear and pure juice, which is fermented to become a still, dry base wine. Then the base wine is transferred to a pressurisation tank with yeast and sugar added then sealed for second fermentation. As the second fermentation completes, the wine is filtered, then bottled under pressure to retain the carbon dioxide which has dissolved into the wine.

In this way, Prosesso becomes medium-bodied, refreshing wine with peach flavor and fragrance. Some Prosecco are spumante (fully sparkling) and some are frizzante (slightly sparking) depending on pressure given to carbon dioxide in the wine.

• Prosecco Quiz – Take the Test

Sekt

Some inexpensive, simple sparkling wines with labels saying “Sekt” are tank-fermented. Sekt can use cheap base wines sourced from anywhere within the European Union. However, if a wine is labelled as “Deutsche Sekt”, it can only use German base wines.

Asti

Asti DOCG is tank-fermented but is different from Prosecco because it is fermented only once. This white, light-bodied sparkling wine is made of Muscat grape which has intense floral and fruity flavors of peach, rose, and grape. It is usually sweet and has low level of alcohol.

Gently squeezed Muscat grape juice is transferred to pressurisation tank. Yeast then is added, but the tank is not necessarily sealed as carbon dioxide is only trapped when fermentation is nearly finished to achieve proper level of carbonation. When desired level of alcohol is reached, fermentation is interrupted by chilling the wine, followed by filtering (screening out yeast and lees to avoid second fermentation in bottle), then bottled under pressure.

My educator also brought a bottle of Moscato d’Asti to the class. It is also tank-fermented and made from muscat grape, but compared to Asti DOCG, it has lower level of alcohol and higher level of sweetness, and is slightly sparkling because of less fermentation.

I bought some bottles of Moscato d’Asti after this session because I find it is a perfect weapon to deal with my writer’s block – it has a low level of alcohol that will not get me intoxicated, and it has that intrinsic cheerful mood that sweeps away pressure and fatigue! The perfect antidote for working overtime.

I decided to buy more of Asti before the Christmas and, with my family, will now “open a bottle of Moscato d’Asti for celebration”.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Rest of the World – Common Wine Labelling Terms – WSET Level 2

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Grapes – Climate, Production, Regions – WSET Level 2

Chardonnay Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Conditions and Growing Environment – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

France. The spiritual homeland of wine. Most, when prodded, will think of France first when asked about wine quality.

I want to talk about three levels of quality, which have legal definitions in viticulture: ‘Villages’, ‘Premier Cru’ and ‘Grand Cru’ – all of which we learnt about in our WSET Level 2 course.

Burgundy

In Burgundy, of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fame, labelling is straightforward. The quality labels range from regional (Bourgogne AC) all the way to the very specific: the Grand Crus.

• Burgundy classification by Benjamin Lewin MW

The terms to consider are ‘Premier Cru’, and ‘Grand Cru’, which relate to the vineyards. ‘In Burgundy, when we talk about Premier Cru, it’s about the geography,’ our tutor Alex says. ‘Some of the best vineyards will be classified as Premier Cru.’

To be able to put that on your label, all of the grapes must come from that vineyard; most of these wines will also name the village or commune. For example, Gevrey-Chambertin [Commune], Clos Saint-Jacques [Premier Cru Vineyard].

The Grand Cru vineyards are the ‘very, very best’ in Burgundy and with both red and white represent the most premium wines available. You’re in one of the Burgundian ‘Villages’, Gevrey-Chambertin say, and you go into a “tinier, smaller region…an appellation in itself”, says Alex. Our example was Chambertin-Close de Bèze, a Grand Cru in the commune of Gevrey-Chambertin, so if you see “Chambertin-Close de Bèze” on a label, you know you’re drinking something special.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Bordeaux

In Bordeaux, things are a little more complicated. ‘Château’ is used to describe a premium quality wine made on a producer’s own land. It doesn’t mean that the wine has come from a vineyard that has a castle on its grounds. It simply means that the wines produced have not been created from grapes, juice or brought-in wines from elsewhere. If a vineyard has enough money to have an on-site production line, you can assume it’s of good quality. A ‘Grand Vin’ describes the chief wine of a particular château.

Like Burgundy, the standard wines are labelled ‘Bordeaux’. ‘Bordeaux supérieur’ means the wine has to come from a smaller region in Bordeaux. It’s here where the trickiness comes in. Many labelling terms indicating quality are not linked to the appellation system. If the bottle’s label has the words ‘Grand Cru Classé’, which was created in 1855, you’ll be drinking a premium Bordeaux.

• The 1855 Classification – by Benjamin Lewin MW

Depending on which side of the Gironde River you are, ‘Grand Cru’ is a problematic phrase in Bordeaux. In St-Émilion (right bank), the term is linked to the appellation; yet on the left bank this is a labelling system used by a large number of top quality wines, independent of the appellation system. It’s quite confusing at the top of the quality tree.

• St Emilion dispute: Classification upheld, opponents vow to fight on

A little lower, but still in the very good range of wines, ‘Cru Bourgeois’ is a labelling term for wine that aren’t quite at ‘Grand Cru Classé’ level.

A quite fun fact associated to this is that wines have to apply for ‘Cru Bourgeois’ status every year. I assume, therefore, that if you don’t make the grade, there’ll be some punishment being meted out on a vineyard. That is pure speculation, but I’d like it to be true. There seems to be much more to learn in this hierarchy, but I guess that is what the WSET Level 3 is for.

Rhône Valley

In the Rhône Valley, the labelling is split into two, given the distinct differences between the wines of the Northern and Southern Rhône regions. Even within the two regions there exists a quality hierarchy. The ‘Côtes-du-Rhône’ label – a very recognisable term for any level of wine aficionado – is the generic regional term. Although it theoretically applies to the Northern Rhône, you predominantly see this on Southern Rhône wines.

A little bit higher in the pecking order is ‘Côtes-du-Rhône Villages’, which refers to a cluster of villages all located in the Southern Rhône. The best Rhône wines are labelled ‘Cru’. From this tiny word you will know that the wine is from an individual area, from either Rhône region, and that has been given its own AC status.

Labelling can give you a headache as a wine consumer. There is so much written on the front and back of a wine bottle, it’s hard to know what’s meaningful and what’s just hot air. Armed with this information, sifting through the garbage will be a less arduous task.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Sauvignon Blanc Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Syrah and Shiraz Grapes – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Robert Haynes-Peterson

Riesling has fascinated me for a while now. In the U.S. at least, Riesling was long considered an overly sweet, uncomplicated wine and by the late ‘80s / early ‘90s or so, as Americans became more serious about wines, Riesling was pretty déclassé.

Then something happened. Wine buyers and educators discovered the whole, deep, complex world that is Riesling wine. Now, if you corner a master sommelier and ask what their ‘indulgence’ wines are, odds are he or she will include an unusual Austrian, German or Alsace Riesling in the mix.

‘It’s absolutely one of my favorite white grape varieties,’ our instructor May Matta-Aliah told us, recognizing that many of us in the class clung to old notions of sugary, flabby wines. ‘It shows the imprint of the terroir it is grown in like a mirror.’

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Riesling is an aromatic white grape with an emphasis on fruit and floral notes. In fact, the wines we sampled in class were quite pronounced on the nose. Those aromatics change significantly depending on where and when the grape is harvested. Because it has both a high potential sugar content and retains a high acid content, it’s a tricky but versatile grape. It’s one reason for the unusual German labelling system (discussed in a separate post) that identifies both when the grape was harvested and, separately, the relative dryness or sweetness of the wine.

Early harvest grapes often give the floral notes, with green apple, lime and white peach. Harvesting late, especially in cool regions like Germany’s Mosel, brings out peach notes, mango and pineapple. The thin-skinned grape is susceptible to botrytis (‘noble rot’) which creates a naturally sweeter wine. Leave it on the vine through the first frosts, and you get Eiswein (ice wine), a popular dessert option. In the much warmer Pfalz region of Germany, the wines tend to be dry and elegant, but Matta-Aliah notes that even in the Mosel, more and more growers are offering a dry interpretation of Riesling.

‘A lot has to do with culture and context,’ she explained. ‘Germans used to drink wine as an aperitif, pairing beer with their food. Now they’re drinking a lot more wine with their food.’ Fortunately, I’ve learned, Riesling is up to the task.

• Australian Riesling Panel Tasting

The grape also grows well in Australia of all places. The Clare Valley and Eden Valley are gaining attention for dry, medium-bodied wines with tons of citrus aromatics. They also tend to age well. I think many of the people in class were surprised that there was as much going on with these wines as there are.

‘It’s an absolutely beautiful grape,’ Matta-Aliah told us. ‘I would love to be able to separate in people’s mind that Riesling does not have to equal sweet. The irony is, a lot of people who say they don’t like sweet wines, then taste a great off-dry Riesling, have a sort of revelation. They say, ‘ohhh!’ It also has such beautiful acidity and there’s a kind of tautness with the acidity. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s just gorgeous.’

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Robert? Learn more here.

Robert Haynes-Peterson – WSET, USA Based Journalist

Pinot Noir Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

If I had taken my WSET Level two course before last year’s Christmas and had learnt to read wine labels, I would have shopped smarter when choosing wines for the family gathering. This Christmas, I will read labels thoroughly when deciding what to buy rather than just grab the wines that the handsome shop assistant recommends.

My classroom sits in the basement of a cellar at ASC Fine Wines, so wine labels are almost everywhere and students can easily compare the labels.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

At a glance, labels of wines from the New World are not quite as complicated as the Old World because most are written in English and boldly show grape varieties. In the Old World background knowledge is required to tell what varieties most wines are made from such as Sancerre or Vouvray.

Having drunk so many glasses and studied so many labels in previous weeks’ lessons, I have learnt to understand more information in addition to just looking at the designs of a label.

The name of the producer or the brand is one of the most important pieces of information on a label and not just because some brands are loudly singing “I am expensive and exclusive”. The brand or producer of a wine is like an author to a book, and therefore states the style. Usually, when I like one writer, I come to like almost all of his or her works. For me, this is also true with wine brand/producer too. Some are large-scale brands such as Jacob’s Creek or Yellow Tail, and others are created by distributors, such as Marks & Spencer’s St-Michael, or some are family producers such as Trimbach.

The vintage is particularly important for prestigious wines whose qualities and prices are impacted by climate and other conditions of a specific year. For example, for those who prefer young wines, 2010 is generally better than 2007 in much of France. My WSET educator showed a huge infographic saying which vintage in which region is outstanding. It takes knowledge of geography, climate studies and even financial markets to understand why some years are far better than others. And I guess that’s a reason for further study at Level 3 if I can pass Level 2.

• Decanter vintage guides

Geographical Indications (GI) show the defining influence of an area on its grapes, the wines’ style, quality and flavour. Wines with GIs show they have unique flavour from permitted grapes varieties, vine growing and winemaking techniques. Take Italy’s wine with labels saying DOC or DOCG for example. They stand for legally protected GIs, meaning these wines are made within certain rules and have unique flavours that are hard to copy elsewhere.

The role of oak played in the winemaking process is also commonly noted on the wine label. To understand the influence of oak better, I tasted three wines, one unoaked Chardonnay from California, one oaked Chardonnay from Australia, and one Chardonnay with new barrel ageing from China.

As for the labels, they stated the barrel/barrique are “new” so the wine has a quite obvious and pronounced oak flavour. The Australian “oaked” wine has been in contact with oak staves or chips. I can sense the trace of oak but it is not very obvious. The “unoaked” California wine shows no oak character, focusing on presenting the refreshing, fruity flavours. This information relating to oak influence can be quite important for consumers who are sensitive to oak flavours, and can found on the back label.

“Organic” indicates that the wine is made of grapes grown without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, or “biodynamic”, which refers to vineyard’s carrying out winemaking and grape growing activities according to biodynamic principles, which includes the positions of planets and stars.

Some terms are quite common but definitions are not fixed, and have no legal controls, such as “Cuvee”, meaning blend but this does not clearly state the details of blending. “Vieilles vignes”, or “old vines” are believed to give higher-quality grapes and lower yields. Some “old vines” can be as young as 30-years-old, while others can be 120-years-old. How old is old enough remains undefined.

Some large-scale brand have labels stating “Limited Edition”, such as Chile’s largest producer Cono Sur which has 20 Barrels Limited Edition Sauvignon Blanc, meaning the wines are of small batch, exclusive and representing higher qualities of the brand/producers’ products – though we were unsure the quantity of these wine. Reserve is also used on labels in the new world, but has no legal meaning.

Choosing a wine is becoming clearer, but there is still much to learn, so I may be listening to that handsome shop assistant a little longer.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Robert Haynes-Peterson

Why is Champagne the way it is? What makes it so special? What is the Champagne method of production? I was about to cover that and more in my seventh WSET course exploring Champagne.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Actual Champagne (as opposed to other sparkling wines) is subject to some of the most rigorous production regulations in the wine world. What intrigues me is that these rules aren’t arbitrary. Much of what we see, taste and drink in a quality bottle of bubbly is a by-product of the geology, physics and history that went into making Champagne in the first place.

The Champagne Method

• Champagne must be made from any combination of three specific grapes grown in the Champagne region: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Two of these are red, yet Champagne is usually pale lemon in color. ‘Champagne grapes must be harvested by hand,’ says our instructor May Matta-Aliah, ‘and they use the most gentle presses you can imagine so there is almost no skin contact which would add color.’

– Christmas Champagne recommendations

• Champagne is made within a very tightly defined region of northern France. ‘This is the northern-most growing region in France,’ says Matta-Aliah, ‘it’s very cold and the grapes barely ripen’. This gives the grapes high acidity. The region is also known for chalky soils, impacting drainage and may contribute a specific minerality to the wine.
• Champagne goes through two fermentations: the primary turns the grape juice into wine, the secondary, created by adding more juice/sugar and yeast and conducted in the bottle, traps carbon dioxide to get the bubbles. Because the second fermentation creates more alcohol and the base wine can only be so strong, the first fermentation is a fairly low-alcohol, high-acid wine.
• After the secondary fermentation, Champagne is aged “sur lat” (on its side) for a legal minimum of 12 months, with the now spent yeast cells and waste still in the bottle as it ages contributing to the complex flavor profile.
• The evolution of the Champagne creation process we know today led to many innovations: thicker bottles and specialised corks to hold the pressurised contents; “Riddling,” which involves turning uptilted bottles very slowly to move all that dead yeast (sediment) to the bottom; “Disgorgement” which involves a rapid freezing of the sediment, popping the cap and letting them blast out of the bottle. “Dosage,” an addition of sugar and “reserve wine” to top off the bottle and regulate its sweetness. Even the deep punt at the bottom of the bottle, according to Matta-Aliah, was added to create a place for sediment to settle (before the Disgorgement technique was developed), making it easier to decant cleanly.

– Champagne Quiz – Test your knowledge

What I drew from of all this is that, even if one follows the production process exactly (and many do—when it’s made in France but outside Champagne, the wine is called a “Cremant,” outside France, it’s sparkling wine made in the “Traditional Method”), you’re never going to replicate exactly the look, feel, smell and taste of true Champagne. No wonder the Champagne houses are so proud of their accomplishments!

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Robert? Learn more here.

Updated: 7th January 2016

Robert Haynes-Peterson – WSET, USA Based Journalist

Pinot Noir Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape: Syrah is the French term while Australians say Shiraz.

An inauspicious start to my education on this black variety.

Mercifully, it is similar grape to Cabernet Sauvignon (small and thick-skinned) so I had a modicum of prior knowledge to keep me from total ignorance. Remembering Shiraz wines I had had before, I was fairly certain flavours would include black fruits and hints of peppery spice. As a rank amateur, it is gratifying when you make a judgement call which turns out to be partly true.

The Grape

Syrah wines are produced in moderate and hot climates, their thick skins requiring a healthy dose of sun to allow them to ripen. They tend to be deeply coloured, with medium-high tannin and medium acidity levels. The styles vary depending on the climate, but wines are normally full-bodied, with black fruits flavours. In moderate climates, you may encounter peppery spice, herbaceousness and smokey characteristics. In hotter regions, you will have riper, even jammy, fruit flavours with sweet spice (liquorice) and dark chocolate shining through.

Oak treatment, either through barrel ageing or the use of chips/staves, is common and adds toast, smoke, vanilla and coconut flavours. Erica, my Syrah teacher, puts it succinctly: ‘Syrah likes oak.’

While using Syrah alone can produce a fulfilling and satisfying wine, it is regularly blended with the grape Grenache to give it structure: boosting colour, tannin and acidity, and adding dark fruit character to the red berry notes of Grenache.

Regions

The Northern region of France’s Rhône Valley is Syrah’s historical and classical home, and we were told to think of the area as “100 per cent Syrah”, despite other grapes growing there. Syrah’s vertiginous sites, which peer over the Rhône river, make for difficult harvesting and expensive production. Thus, winemakers concentrate on producing top-quality wines – to make it ‘worth their while’, as Erica says. Côte Rôtie and Hermitage are the premium appellations of the region, producing some extremely rare and expensive wines.

For those with shallower pockets, the larger, flatter and more affordable appellation is Crozes-Hermitage. The trade-off in price, is that the wines will probably have less body and intensity, and probably less or old oak treatment.

• Top 10 Australia Shiraz

Moving to the other side of the world, Australia is lauded for its Shiraz (Australian terminology is appropriate now, I think). The grape is grown all over the country and consequently, wines come in a variety of styles. A Shiraz produced with grapes from hot climates, is perhaps the best-known of these styles. The Barossa and Hunter Valleys have such climates, and the former is world-renowned for its Shiraz. The wines have pronounced black fruit flavours of blackberry/plum, complemented by sweet spice and dark chocolate. Oak treatment is marked in these wines, adding essences of vanilla, smoke and coconut. In the country’s more moderate regions, the best wines can resemble those of the Rhône.

• Best New World Syrah for Rhône lovers

While France and Australia remain the Syrah/Shiraz big players, there are green shoots of promise from other significant wine producing countries such as South Africa and Chile; adding to the global presence of this exciting grape.

During my lesson, we tasted a Northern Rhône Côte Rôtie and a Barossa Valley Shiraz. Both were complex and full-bodied, with pronounced flavours redolent of the regions in which they came from. While I leant towards the Côte Rôtie – its tannin and acidity balance, black cherry, black pepper, vanilla, and bizarre, but weirdly appropriate, mint flavours completely enveloping my senses – Syrah’s pure versatility ensures it has enough to appease all tastes.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Sauvignon Blanc Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

The Blend – Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Grapes

The third WSET learning session starts with tasting three glasses of wine – Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaux, Bordeaux, France, a Merlot from Pomerol AOC, Bordeaux, and Cabernet-Merlot blend from New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay. After tasting and comparing the three glasses, I come to understand why Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot can become good partners – while Cabernet Sauvignon gives tannin, acidity and aroma, Merlot enhances body and alcohol – like a musical duet with a tenor and soprano.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are often grown together. Both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot require moderate or hot climate to ripen properly.

Bordeaux

Premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot regions include Bordeaux, particularly the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The Left Bank at west and south of the Gironde and Garonne has three major appellations, namely Médoc, Haut-Médoc (which includes the communes – Pauillac, Margaux, St-Julien and Saint-Estèphe), and Graves (including the commune Pessac-Leognan). The left bank is particularly renowned for Cabernet Sauvignon, which presents high levels of tannin, acidity, medium alcohol and can be aged for many years. In general Cru Classé chateaux produce the very finest wines and they have prices to match the quality.

The Right Bank at the north and east of the Gironde and Dordogne has two most important appellations, namely Saint-Émilion AOC (with its best wines labelled as Premiers Grands Crus Classés A) and Pomerol AOC. The dominant variety at the Right Bank is Merlot, presenting medium tannin, medium acidity, and tender notes of red fruit and plum.

Besides the wines from the most prestigious appellations, many fine wines from Bordeaux, labelled as Bordeaux AOC or Bordeaux Superieur AOC (which usually has higher level of alcohol than Bordeaux AOC), are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Rest of the World

Australia’s Coonawarra and Margaret River have emerged as two classic regions for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon has unique minty and eucalyptus flavours, while Margaret River’s Cabernet and Cabernet-Merlot blends have high tannin levels with blackcurrant flavour.

New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay produces high-quality Cabernet-Merlot blends. They usually have blackcurrant leaf aromas accompanied by cedar complexity from oak.

USA’s Napa Valley, including the Rutherford and Oakville districts, and Sonoma’s Alexander Valley are premium Cabernet Sauvignon regions. Their wines are typically have high levels of tannin and oak flavours (after tasting some USA’s Cabernet Sauvignon, my first impressions where that Californian oak-treated flavours are more dairy-like, vanillin, soft and smooth while French oak-treated flavours are more cedar, coffee and tobacco).

Premium-quality Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varietal and blended wines are also produced in Chile, particularly Maipo Valley, Colchagua and Cachapoal.

Argentina’s Mendoza has very good vineyard sites of high altitude, which are good conditions for growing the country’s best red wines.

South Africa’s Stellenbosch produces wines that taste similar to those from Bordeaux which have higher levels of tannin and acidity with notes of herbs.

Entry Level

As Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are international varieties that are widely grown, bulk production, inexpensive wines made from the two varieties or their blends are easily found. Chile’s Central Valley, France’s Pays d’Oc IGP, South Africa’s Western Cape, South Eastern Australia, USA’s California and Argentina’s Mendoza are major regions for inexpensive red wines.

Inexpensive, light-bodied Merlot from Northern Italy are easily found in the Chinese market and they are especially popular among female consumers who prefer not to have wines of high tannin. However, more consumers who have been exposed to the complexity and long finish of high-but-soft tannin wines, especially of high quality, pure Cabernet Sauvignon, are embracing tannin and disposing of the old notion that high-tannin only means austerity.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Chardonnay Grape – Climatic, Winery Influence, Most important regions – WSET Level 2

Conditions and Growing Environment – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

Link: Find more WSET stories

- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Robert Haynes-Peterson

Pinot Noir is considered one of the core French grapes, known for its thin skin making it easy prey to weather damage and rot. It’s also intolerant of high temperatures which results in jammy, rather than fruit-driven, wines.

Though commonly aged, it’s easily overpowered by new oak barrels (‘the better quality the fruit,’ says course tutor Matta-Aliah, ‘the more new oak it can handle’). The wine’s flavour profiles range dramatically from intense red fruits to intense vegetal and game notes sometimes overpoweringly so. Though it grows well in moderate and cool climes, regions that are too cool produce an under-ripe grape imparting negative impressions of wet leaves and cabbage on the wine.

Regions

In addition to Burgundy, I was familiar with Pinot Noirs from Chile, New Zealand, Sonoma and Champagne, where it’s one of three grapes permitted in Champagne production. But it turns out most of the world’s wine growing regions outside France and Germany are too warm growing only a relatively tiny proportion of Pinot Noir in their coolest appellations. Oregon and New Zealand are achieving global recognition for their very well-made expressions.

• Oregon Pinot Noir: Expert’s Choice – Decanter

But it’s Burgundy where high-quality Pinot Noir continues to shine. While Gamay is permitted in the region, Matta-Aliah explained that it’s only common among certain producers in southern Burgundy where things get a bit warmer and trickier [Beaujolais]. For the most part, any red wine called “Burgundy” is going to be 100% Pinot Noir.

In part, this dedication to the “pure” grape is due to it being expensive (see labour-intensive growing conditions, above). As long as it’s commercially viable to do so, growers would rather not blend it. It’s also a grape that performs exceptionally well on its own (where, say, Cabernet Sauvignon often needs to be softened with a small percentage of other grapes, or Merlot might require additional structure).

The hierarchy of Burgundian classifications groups specific vineyards on their terroir and quality potential, with Burgundy being the most generic appellation classification, and becoming increasingly specific (and more expensive, with lower production) through Villages, Premier Cru and Grand Cru, a vineyard-specific category. ‘They’ve gone through every vineyard, every block in Burgundy and delimited, qualified and classified them,’ says Matta-Aliah.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Though the classifications can be confusing, she points out ‘the elaborate labeling system really works to your advantage. Just from the label, if you know it, you can learn incredible details about the wine, like no other label in the world.’

In addition to information about where in Burgundy the wine was produced and to what expected quality level, additional verbiage can take us even deeper. Because more than one buyer or owner may be producing Burgundy from a single Grand Cru vineyard, I learned that it is beneficial to know the producers to successfully replicate my drinking experience the next time I order.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Robert? Learn more here.

Robert Haynes-Peterson – WSET, USA Based Journalist

Letting the Wine Stew: Maceration – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

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- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By Yiyao Wu from Shanghai – the Chinese perspective

The second session of my WSET Level two course starts with a glass of Chardonnay from Pouilly-Fuissé, France, and another glass of Chardonnay from Marlborough, New Zealand. A good way to start the day. The differences between the creamy French wine and the crispy New Zealand wine presented me for the first time with the unusualness of the Chardonnay grape variety, which offers hundreds of possibilities when grown in different conditions and made with the various viticulture and viniculture techniques.

Viniculture

Chardonnay is quite adaptable. It is not very aromatic itself, but very expressive when influenced by winemaking techniques. A typical process called malolactic fermentation is used to soften harsh acids and bring out dairy flavours. Another process is called ‘on the lees’ – which I’d seen on wine labels, but hadn’t understood. The wine is left on the dead yeast cells after fermentation, or lees, which gives the flavours of butter and toast to Chardonnay. Oak-aged Chardonnay adds flavours of spice, toast and vanilla, depending on what oak was used.

Regions

France

Burgundy produces arguably the most expressive Chardonnay in the world, and their entry level wines are usually labelled as Bourgogne. In cool Chablis, a sub region at the north end of Burgundy, Chardonnay of high acidity has pronounced notes of smoke, flint and minerals, particularly those labelled [from the vineyards of] Premier Cru, or Grand Cru.

In Côte d’Or, which has a moderate climate, at the heart of white Burgundy makes Chardonnay fuller in body, with notes of white stone and tropical fruit accompanied by savory notes. Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet are among the most famous villages. Le Montrachet [a Grand Cru] vineyard’s Chardonnays are arguably the world’s finest white wines and the most expensive ones too.

• Decanter’s Burgundy hub page

The Mâconnais at the south end of Burgundy produces large volumes of affordable Chardonnay wines, labelled as Macon-Villages. At Pouilly-Fuissé village, steep sun trap slopes and the warm climate at the south of the Mâconnais brings full-bodied Chardonnay wines with tropical fruit and oak flavors.

Rest of the World

In Australia, Yarra Valley in Victoria, the Adelaide Hills region in South Western Australia and the Margret River region in Western Australia make Chardonnay wines of various styles. Australian Chardonnay usually has pronounced citrus and melon notes. The ripe styles of Chardonnay are being left behind in Australia in favour of leaner wines, with more acidity and freshness.

New Zealand’s Marlborough is an important region for premium Chardonnay wines, with crisp acidity and pronounced tropical fruit notes.

• 10 Exciting California Chardonnays

In the US, premium Chardonnay wines are from California, including from the sub regions of Russian River, Sonoma and Carneros. Californian Chardonnay can be split into two styles:

• the full-bodied, rich fruit flavoured and heavily oaked
• savory, lean and withstrained that resembles the the Côte d’Or

Chile’s Casablanca Valley, Argentina’s Mendoza and South Africa’s Walker Bay are also producing high-quality Chardonnay wines, as their cool climates slow down the ripening, and allow the grape variety’s flavours to build up through time.

• South American Chardonnay – Panel Tasting

Inexpensive Chardonnay wines from South Eastern Australia, South Africa’s Western Cape, America’s California, Chile’s Central Valley, France’s Pays d’Oc, Southern Italy and Argentina are getting increasingly popular in the Chinese market and are easily accessible in supermarkets and online shopping websites. Most of these wines are unoaked, or the oak flavors are from oak staves or chips. They can be paired with a light dinner course such as steamed fish or scallop salad.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Conditions and Growing Environment – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

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- This article is written by a journalist on a journey of discovery - and on a mission to learn about wine.

By John Elmes

I’ve always been a bit circumspect around Sauvignon Blanc. Those I’ve drunk in the past have generally left me cold, a combination of tartness and sour or synthetic fruits warping my view. I seemed to encounter every flavour except those I now know to be typical of the variety.

Bizarrely, novice wine lovers seem to be able to describe the characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc quite successfully, often without having even tried the wine. That might be a reason for its popularity, you can hedge your bets that the wine you’re about to drink is crisp, dry, and refreshing.

Sauvignon Blanc is aromatic and traditionally displays potent green fruit, floral and vegetable fragrances, contrasting though those might sound. Not many people would simultaneously denote green apple and asparagus, or gooseberry and green bell pepper. With Sauvignon Blanc you can, and do.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Wines are high in acidity, medium-bodied, and almost always dry. Therefore, Sauvignon Blanc needs a cool climate to preserve these qualities, though it can abide a moderate one. This is why you see some from the cooler New World regions, beside those from the brisk climates of northern France.

As one expects fresh, crisp wines with green fruit and herbaceous flavours, Sauvignon Blancs are near-exclusively unoaked. The notable exception is the Californian Fumé Blanc, a type synonymous with the Napa Valley. Though the grape can cope with the moderate climate, it is too warm for the grape to retain its herbaceous characteristics. Fumé Blanc was described by one WSET tutor as a “quirky” alternative to traditional Sauvignon Blanc, and is widely credited to Californian wine trail-blazer Robert Mondavi. Another quirk is that they can be unoaked, lightly oaked, or heavily oaked – an outlandish step. However, with some Fumé Blancs you can still taste hints of grape’s herbaceous heritage, breaking through the spicy oak flavours of vanilla, toast or liquorice.

France is the native homeland of Sauvignon Blanc and the Loire Valley, the epicentre for the typical wines produced in the country. The villages of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé – not to be confused with Pouilly-Fuissé – face each other across the banks of the Loire river and produce dry, medium-bodied white wines with high acidity, and moderate or pronounced aromas of green fruit and herbaceous notes – gooseberry, grass, blackcurrant leaf or even nettle. It might seem strange, but you really can smell and taste these aromas and flavours, even though, to me, the idea of tasting nettle seems simultaneously ridiculous and painful. I encountered many of these traits on a Domaine Girault Sancerre, Le Chene du Roy, during a lesson tasting. As mentioned, I was no fan of Sauvignon Blanc before, but its nuances have converted me like a vinous Damascene moment.

Bordeaux is also a prime Sauvignon Blanc growing spot, though its white wines are often blended with Sémillon, with the latter dominating. The two grapes balance out each other’s characteristics to produce dry, medium/high acidity, medium- or full-bodied wines, occasionally with oaky flavours. Ironically, Bordeaux was where the grape originated, but – as befits western history of appropriation – the Loire region plundered it and made it its prodigy.

• Bordeaux dry white wines to try

Moving into the new world, New Zealand rivals France commercially with its Sauvignon Blancs. The cool climate of Marlborough in the South Island is widely regarded as a new classic region for punchy Sauvignon Blancs characterised by traditional pungent, intense flavours with additional tropical fruits such as kiwi and passion fruit. Further west, in Australia, you find clean and intensely fruity Sauvignon Blancs in Adelaide Hills.

I think Sauvignon Blanc shares a little of Chardonnay’s versatility because it produces excellent wines in all the popular global wine-growing spots. On South Africa’s Western Cape, the cooling influences of Constantia and Elgin, afford them a reputation for Bordeaux or New Zealand-esque Sauvignon Blancs. Those following the New Zealand format tend to be lighter in body and less intense or complex, while the Bordeaux-style wines have more intense, herbaceous characters.

Last but not least, Casablanca in Chile is an up-and-coming area for herbaceous, fruit-led Sauvignon Blancs. These wines are acutely aromatic and refreshingly fruity, with citrus, green apple and grassy notes.

As is the capricious nature of wine, I can now say I like a variety I previously disliked. Long may it continue.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Vineyard Activities – Factors that influence wine – WSET Level 2

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By John Elmes

Where do ‘vineyard activities’ sit within winemaking? Well, before we even see so much as barrel stave, we need to get our gardening hat, green our fingers and take a stroll into the vineyard.

An easy way to think of a vineyard is to imagine it as a gigantic allotment. Like your humble vegetable patch, you need space to get in amongst your produce to examine their cultivation. For that simple reason, vines are organised in rows. Jim, our WSET tutor for the day says this “keeps everything quite ordered.” You won’t find any crop circle vineyards, not unless the owner was particularly eccentric.

This organisation allows you the space to ensure you grow quality grapes to make your Chablis, Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Chambolle-Musigny (admittedly, I had to look that last one up). Pruning your vines, snipping a few leaves off here or there, will allow you to make them “grow in the way you want it to grow” (training methods). Vineyard topiary it isn’t, but it is as significant as a cockerel-shaped privet hedge is to the proud gardener.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

You can further manipulate the grapes by controlling their numbers on each bunch and literally putting them in the position you want to grow them in. If it is cool, you may want place the grapes in the sun. If hot, you will probably want to shade the grapes with leaves because “they can get sunburnt,” says Jim. Perhaps there’s a gap in the market for Ambre Solaire for fruit?

If growing conditions are foggy and damp, winemakers separate the grapes so they don’t grow mould – this makes perfect sense but had not crossed my mind. Jim calls it allowing “aeration into the canopy.” A line worthy of Wordsworth.

Animal pests are similarly villainous. Insects and birds can damage all parts of the vine and nets may be required to help protect from the latter. In certain places, it is common for vineyard owners to take arms and have a bird hunt. Knowing how controversial this sort of activity is nowadays, I was quick to ask whether you needed a licence. You do.

• See “Animals eating wine grapes”

Keeping your vines clear of silent predators such as mildew and rot by spraying them with fungicides is vital. These fungal diseases damage the vine’s green parts and spoil grapes. Long-term, they can reduce yields, inhibit ripening and may kill the vine completely. A vineyard can become a graveyard in as little as 72 hours, so you must nip diseases in the bud.

Once you have dodged these issues and the grapes are growing, you produce your yield – the amount of grapes or wine produced in your vineyard. Historically, arable farmers would want higher yields, but this is not necessarily true of winemakers. Though you have fewer bunches that will produce less wine, lower yields will produce riper grapes with more intense flavours. Prestigious vineyards or regions may have certain rules about yields.

Unfortunately, this is extremely time-consuming and expensive. As the crop is smaller, each kilo costs more and must sell at a higher price to make the extra effort worthwhile. Maximising yields by irrigating vineyards and filling the grapes with water will make the wine cheaper, which is ideal for customers, but the flavours will be blander, which is not. Most wines fall between these two poles.

Grapes are harvested by either machine or hand and, like many vineyard activities, these methods have advantages and disadvantages. Hand picking allows careful and selective harvesting, but is laborious and expensive. Machine harvesting is quicker, cheaper, and increases the risk of damaging the grapes in the process. Annoyingly, as many vineyards are on steep slopes for the best growing conditions, it’s not physically possible to drive a machine picker on them. “The flavours in the grapes don’t know how they were picked,” Jim says, and so both techniques can produce quality wines.

So there you have it. ‘Vineyard activities’ are fundamental to the final product. One thing I’ve noticed already, is the familial culture around winemaking; it isn’t just a business venture. Each process has its own human resonance.

Jim tells us that in parts of the continent, winemakers organise special parties during the season to hunt wild boar – another animal danger to ripe grapes – during their harvesting season. How many other businesses can make a convivial event out of pest control?

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

John Elmes Biography – WSET, UK Based Journalist

Updated 26/11/2015

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By Robert Haynes-Peterson

In its basic form, “maceration” is a sort of infusion of fruits, herbs or spices in a standing liquid. It’s a method integral for making everything from gin to beer to soap. For winemakers, however, it’s more than that; it’s a near-magical element of the fermentation process.

As we discussed in class, when preparing to convert grape juice, water and yeast into alcohol (and carbon dioxide) via fermentation, the winemaker has a big choice: Do they ferment the grape juice (also called the “must”) on its own, or in contact with the rest of the grape cluster (the skin, pulp, seeds and stems)? Do they…macerate?

‘You make choices in the vineyard, during winemaking, maturation and bottling,’ says our instructor, May Matta-Aliah, an experienced wine educator. “Every single one of these decisions is going to have an impact on the wine.”

Maceration is probably the most visually recognizable of the winemaker’s choices: it’s the difference between white and red wine. That’s because the nearly colorless flesh and juice of red grapes is the same as white grapes. All the color, tannins and many of the flavors we associate with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Noir come from the skin of the grape. You get the color by “crushing” the grapes a bit (so juice and skins mingle), then letting everything ferment together.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Sitting in large steel (or oak or clay) fermentation tanks, usually following a crushing, the juice, skin, flesh and other bits soak together for between about 2 and seven days, depending on the type of grape and how intense the winemaker wants the wine to be. A thick-skinned grape (like Cabernet Sauvignon) will infuse more color, faster, into the fermenting juice than a thin-skinned one (like Pinot Noir). May is quick to point out to us, however, that a dark color doesn’t necessarily mean a better wine. In fact, an opaque Pinot Noir (one you can’t read a menu through if you tilt the glass over it, for example), may actually involve added coloring. “Learn to like translucency in wine,” she insists.

White wine, by the way, is kept white by pressing the juice/must out of the grapes, running it off and fermenting it without the skins (some white wines receive a few hours of contact for a little more color and complexity. Again, it’s up to the winemaker).

While the macerating liquid is converting from juice to wine, the solid materials continually float to the top of the fermentation tank, creating a firm “cap” (imagine a foot-thick skin on chocolate pudding or yogurt). This needs to be mixed back into the developing wine several times a day, either via “pumping over” (where juice is drained out the bottom of the tank through a hose and pumped back up to the top of the tank, or through physically “punching down” the cap with a tool that looks a bit like a long metal Swiffer. I’ve tried to do this and trust me, it’s not easy work. Fortunately Periscope videos only last 24 hours, or my comically inept attempt would be viral somewhere.

Eventually the young wine from that sloppy, bubbling purple mass of fermenting liquids and solids is drained out of the bottom of the tank (aka “free run” wine). The stuff left behind will usually then be pressed once or twice to get more wine out which may be discarded, blended into the free run to make a more character-driven blend before aging, aged separately from the free run to be blended later, or sold off to other winemakers (choices, choices).

May also noted in this class (and during others) that following the decision to let grape juice macerate, the winemaker has several options along the way. Rosé wines are made the same way as red wines, but the process is “abbreviated,” with skin contact lasting only a day or two (less contact equals less color). For Burgundy-based Pinot Noir wines, some producers still “cold soak” the grapes and juice: The mixture is kept at a low-enough temperature that fermentation doesn’t begin for a couple of days. The idea is that more color transfers to the juice for a deeper, richer wine than if the thin-skinned grape was simply fermented (May says not all winemakers agree that such a transfer actually happens to any significant degree). Carbonic Maceration (not yet covered in class), is a completely separate process where whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide-rich tank before crushing. The idea being that it creates a very lush, soft “fruity” wine (think Beaujolais Nouveau, where this process is common).

What did I learn? I’m finally able to sort out the steps differentiating white and red wines. The short version: White Wine: Grapes are crushed, then pressed. Then all the juice (not yet wine) is fermented on its own without any solid bits. Red Wine: Grapes are crushed and *not* pressed. The juice ferments with all the other bits of the grape cluster thrown in. After fermentation, wine (not juice) is pressed off to be aged or bottled.

It doesn’t seem that hard, but for some reason, until this very course, I was never able to quite keep it all straight in my head.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Robert? Learn more here.

Robert Haynes-Peterson – WSET, USA Based Journalist

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By Yiyao Wu

My first lesson at the WSET level 2 course started with a tasting of three types of wine – no course I’ve ever taken before is more indulgent than this; sipping from glasses at ten in morning while reading an atlas of major wine regions to understand the links between geographic conditions and the various tastes of the wine.

The type of grape determines largely the flavour, colour, sugar, acidity and the levels of tannin in the wine. Other conditions, namely climate, weather, sunlight, water, warmth and nutrients also affect the the taste of the wine.

Climates suitable for wine production are divided to three categories: hot, moderate, and cool. Climate type can have dramatic impacts on flavour of ripe grapes. Latitude (the closer to equator the hotter), altitude (the higher the cooler) and influences of the sea (such as warm ocean currents and cold ocean currents) can lead to clues on the taste of the wine.

Generally speaking, hot climate (such as in Australia) brings more alcohol, a fuller body, more tannin and less acidity while cool climate brings less alcohol, lighter body, less tannin, and more acidity.

I taste one type of Chardonnay from Pouilly-Fuisse, France, and another from Marlborough, New Zealand. While the New Zealand wine offers topical fruit flavors of pineapple and mango, the French wine gives pronounced citrus, crisp acidity and mineral notes.

Climate is also a main factor that influences temperature, a key to production of sugars. Most of the vineyards lie between 30 and 50 degrees latitude, including China’s Ningxia, the country’s biggest producer of wine grapes and home to some very impressive wines. Very few vineyards are closer to the equator than 30 degrees because it is generally too hot.

• Use the where to study map on the WSET website to see which courses are available near you.

Some grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon need more heat than others to ripen fully, while Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir need a moderate or cool climate to avoid over-ripening and to maintain their refreshing character and acidity.

Weather conditions, which vary from one year to the next, also have impacts on taste, which explains the importance of vintage in some regions with inconsistent weather patterns such as Bordeaux and Champagne. Extreme weather conditions such as hail, high winds, floods and late frosts may reduced production and quality of grapes of a certain year. After taking into account all these factors, I quite appreciate the glass of Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina from vintage 2012, which is produced from grapes that survived the worst conditions in Mendoza in the past decade. Sometimes very good wines are in debt of Mother Nature’s blessing.

Sunlight, which gives energy to grapes to combine carbon dioxide and water (which can come from rain, the ground or irrigation) into sugar, and water are indispensable. “Just enough” seems to be perfect, as too much sunlight makes grapes ripen too fast with unpleasant jammy flavour, and too much water leads the growth of rot, and causes grapes to become bloated.

Vines also need tiny amount of nutrients provided by the soil. As long as there are sufficient nutrients, poorer soils are better – because they encourage vines to “compete” with one another to absorb the nutrients and become crop of higher quality.

After the class, I found my high-school world atlas deep from the bookshelf and read the maps of the wine regions again, whilst sipping from glasses if wines to reinforce the memories of the link between geography and tastes. As the WSET course reinforced, the best way to understand wines is always drinking.

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

Yiyao Wu Biography – WSET, China Based Journalist

Link: Find more WSET stories

I am a reporter with an English-language newspaper based in Shanghai, covering a wide range of business topics including luxury, lifestyle, real-estate, wealth management and the retail market. Throughout these topics, it is very clear “Wine” has become a keyword.

Consumption of wines has been surging in the past years and market has been observing a growing thirst for wine knowledge and “investment” opportunities. Celebrities and wealthy people from China are buying chateaux in France; wine importers are opening outlets nationwide, making people believe that wines are good for health; Sauvignon Blanc has been replacing rice liquors on the tables at wedding banquets in many cities.

The wine industry has become an often-discussed topic – as a reporter, I find nothing better than a systematic educational course that will help me to understand “wine” as an industry. And as a keen diner and (responsible) drinker, I find nothing better than a course that lets me to taste tens of wines (including some of world’s best and most expensive ones) that helps me to understand and enjoy wine and spirits, which are among the best things in life.

With some basic knowledge, strong interests and no professional training in wine sector, I’m looking forward to the WSET Level 2 course, which will allow me and people who wish to become a knowledgeable drinkers to look behind the label and to be exposed to multitude of varieties, regions and characters. I am looking forward to the course and hope it will be a journey that develops my senses!

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like Yiyao? Learn more here.

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Link: Find more WSET stories

I really enjoy wine. I love its tastes, its delicacy or fortitude, its exotic geographies…even its place in popular culture thrills me. I haven’t always though and it took me a while to come to terms with its vagaries. I first started to drink it with any regularity at university. Given how limited I view my knowledge now; I blush at the thought of the 18 year old me knocking back bottles of cheap Chenin Blanc at ‘formal’ dinners – regardless of whether I was eating a fish or a fillet steak. I didn’t even countenance red wine back then – shocking, I know.

It has taken me a little over a decade to reach a point where my appreciation has turned into a full-blown desire to learn about wine. Given how delicious wine is, my principal motivations are for improving my palate, tasting knowledge and food pairing ability. But I do want to be able to impress friends and family. Don’t we all have a bit of that in us? Beyond this, I like learning new things. I derive as much pleasure from telling someone a wine tastes of black fruits and chocolate as I do telling them a region at a high altitude will have a cooler climate than a region closer to sea level, even if they share the same latitude. Anyone who knows me will tell you geography is not my strong suit, so this is quite the departure.

I’ve just returned from a trip to Tuscany where I visited many vineyards and felt like a fraud when I tried to speak knowledgeably. I’m hoping the WSET course will de-fraud me.

You can follow him on Twitter at @elmsie10

Interested in studying for a WSET qualification like John? Learn more here.

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