Could a day spent learning to tell your Pinots from your plonks at London’s WSET turn the average wine-lover into a bona fide wine connoisseur? Carys Sharkey finds out
The UK’s wine sector is going through a period of chop and change. The UK is still the second largest importer of wine in the world, behind only the US (and behind Germany if based on volume rather than value, respect). But as boiling temperatures stretch grape harvests to the brink in much of Europe, the UK’s domestic growing market is ripening. As grape production becomes more rooted in our landscape, will wine consumption in turn shake up our lager-drenched culture?
A recent study by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has found that although wine consumption is slowing, there is a trend towards premiumisation. In other words, less plonk more Planque. The average Brit drinks 17.5 bottles of wine a year, which to me feels puritanically low. This summer, my GP gave me a gentle scolding over my own wine consumption (which was concerning because I was lying).
But I love wine even if I’ve never been on totally sure footing talking about it. In an attempt to rationalise what I was pounding down over lockdown, I read the excellent ‘Wine from Another Galaxy’ by the Noble Rot boys. I occasionally read wine columns, a little wonkish on the vine, and diligently take pictures of bottles I drink in restaurants for the pseudo camera roll archive. Remembering wine when you don’t really know wine and are drinking said wine is a challenge in itself. But earlier this year I decided it was time to get a proper schooling in how to talk about – or at least convince others I can talk about – wine.
Bermondsey Street is one of the most European feeling streets in London. Bustling with bars and cafes, The White Cube gallery and great restaurants like Casse Croute and José Pizarro, it’s an apt home for a wine school. The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is the global standard for booze qualifications. It offers classes in beers, sake and spirits, but wine is its bread and butter. Sommeliers from top restaurants around the world will study here for years to get the highest qualification: a Level Four Diploma. Next time you’re at a fancy restaurant, look out for the little pin badges proudly displayed by somms who have put in PhD-level graft.
My own ambitions were more modest, namely, a full-day course to get my Level One (the difficulty between levels rises exponentially). Arriving in the morning to the classroom felt like going back to school, only here the desks were covered in wine glasses rather than pencil shavings. My class of 20 or so was pretty mixed. A WSET spokesperson explains that one of the biggest changes the school has seen since Covid is the rise of amateur enthusiasts taking courses rather than just people in hospitality and the drinks sector more widely. In my group there was one man who loved wine and had brought his mate who had “nothing better to do” on a Friday; a couple of friends wanting to order better wine when they hit the town; one guy was plotting a coup to become head bartender; a husband wanted to catch up to his Level Three wife; and some of the younger members of the class looked like their parents may have bought them the course for Christmas.
The day is split into two halves: theory in the morning and tasting in the afternoon (you can also do Level One across two evening classes). Our teacher, who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, took us through the basics of wine production, grape characteristics, different styles, best practices with serving, drinking and storing. It was genuinely fun, and although never super challenging, by lunchtime we could read a wine list and know more or less what to expect from the bottle.
During the lunch break I was so geed-up on wine learning that I went and spent a small fortune on bottles of wine from 40 Maltby Street. Sadly my words failed me when met with the incredibly cool, natural wine connoisseurs working there.
The afternoon session is a little blurrier. Spitting was encouraged, but not enforced. It was an amazing experience to taste along with a sommelier as they throw out words that in that exact sip, makes total sense: green pepper, Haribo, stewed plums, Petits Filous yoghurt, apricot, clove, menthol cigarettes, tarte Tatin, black olives and manure. Our teacher told us that one of the best ways to develop your palate is just to smell everything you come across, which I’ve been doing – slightly deranged baby-esque – ever since.
The Level One course was a gentle expanding of what wine can be – and how it doesn’t always need to adhere to rigid rules. At the end of the day you take an exam, which also reminded me of going back to school in a less good way with its big ticking clock and candidate numbers. Had I known it was exam conditions, I might have gone lighter in the sampling. But brimming with overconfidence I breezed through and got an email a couple of weeks later confirming I’d passed – not, however, without a few mistakes.
Not to worry, it just gives me something to aim for when I take my Level Two.
Want to learn more about wine? Here’s a breakdown of the qualifications run by WSET:
- At Level 1, you’ll learn the fundamentals in an approachable way, helping you explore and enjoy drinks with greater confidence.
- At Level 2, that confidence grows into broader knowledge and understanding. You’ll learn to compare products, understand how production influences style and quality, and develop a more structured approach to tasting and evaluation.
- At Level 3, learners move from understanding to explanation. They gain a deeper knowledge of production, style and quality, while developing the analytical tasting skills needed to confidently assess, describe and explain why a wine, beer or spirit tastes the way it does.
- For those who continue to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines, the emphasis is on expert-level analysis and evaluation, preparing students for senior industry roles or advanced study.