JULY 2013
NEWSLETTER
WSET LEVEL 3 AWARD IN WINES
Enjoy Discovering Wine have recently announced
new dates for our WSET Level 3 Award in Wines
& Spirits in the Autumn.
Why Study for WSET Level 3?
This course is appropriate for those in the drinks
and hospitality industries in a supervisory
capacity, who need core information to advise
management and customers with authority, and
make informed selections of wines and spirits.
WSET Level 3 is also ideal for the wine
connoisseur who wants to learn about wines and
spirits in a rigorous and structured manner, and
gain an internationally recognized wine and spirit
qualification.
WSET Level 3 course leads to a UK Government
recognized qualification, gained by successfully
completing:
•Multiple-choice paper of 50 questions
•Question paper requiring five short written
answers
•Blind tasting of two wines.
This qualification is accredited at Level 3 in the
UK National Qualifications Framework. It is a
prerequisite for candidates planning to study for
the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits
qualification.
SIGN UP NOW FOR YOUR
WSET LEVEL 3 AWARD IN WINES & SPIRITS
If you would like to book a place, please download
the booking form from our website, and email the
completed form to our Course Administrator.
ERICA CONTEMPLATES - ITALIAN WINES
I make no apologies for talking Italian again this
month as it seems to be a hot topic for various
reasons. It is clearly on Helen’s mind following her
blog (if you missed it, you can read it on our
website here).
Book Your Place
If you are considering this qualification we
recommend you sign up sooner rather than later.
Once your course fees are received your Study
Pack will be dispatched in order for you to make
a head start on the 56 – 80 hours of private study
that you need to do in order to pass this exam.
Our Level 3 dates are 17th 24th September, 1st,
8th, 15th October plus the exam on 22nd October.
The course costs £625 and this fee includes
study materials, all samples, tuition and
examination.
Perhaps it was having two gentleman from
Sardinia and Piedmont on our most recent WSET
Level 2 course that prompted this. Then this
morning I spotted an article on Sparkling White
Zinfandel that made me smile and think again how
clever those Italians are.
They are just so damned good at spotting the
trends. Think Chianti, my memories as a young
adult were the squat bottle in a fiasco (straw
basket); I started my wine experience on Frascati
Continued on page 2
Contact Erica Dent , 50 Spitfire Way, Hamble, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 4RT Phone + 44 (0)7966 499589
NEWSLETTER
JULY 2013
TASTINGS IN OUR REGION THIS MONTH
Tuesday 2nd July at 7pm
Furleigh Wines Estate Dinner at the Summer Lodge
Country House Hotel, Evershot, Dorset
Cost £99 per person. For more details go to:
http://www.summerlodgehotel.co.uk/bar-anddining/fine-wines/wine-dinners.
Tuesday 2nd – Sunday 7th July
The Hampshire Fare Pop-Up
Hampshire Fare features food, drinks and crafts at a
SpaceQube pop-up. For more details go to:
http://www.space-qube.co.uk/pop-up-shop-moreinfo.php.
Thursday 4th July at 7:30pm
Wine Tasting Event at Little Paddock, Near Ringwood,
Dorset. Hosted by Vinolicious, tickets cost £16.50.
For more details go to:
http://vinolicious.co.uk/event/wine-tasting-at-littlepaddock/.
9th
Tuesday
July
Cheese & Wine Tasting at the Hoddington Arms,
Upton Grey, Hampshire. For more details go to:
http://www.hoddingtonarms.co.uk/whats-on1/13cheese-and-wine-tasting.
Saturday 13th – Sunday 14th July
Dorset Seafood Festival at Weymouth Harbour, Dorset
For more details go to:
http://www.dorsetseafood.co.uk/.
Sunday 21st July 12 – 4pm
Four Vineyards of Hampshire Wine Tasting Event at
Wickham Vineyard, Southampton. Tickets costs £5.
For more details go to:
http://www.englishwineproducers.co.uk/news/events/.
Wednesday 24th July at 7pm
Cottonwood Boutique Wine Club – Spanish Wines
Dinner, Bournemouth Dorset, Cost £25 per person.
For more details go to:
http://www.thecottonwoodboutique.co.uk/index.php/cot
tonwood-boutique-wine-club. To read what Helen
Evans of Enjoy Discovering Wine thought of the
Cottonwood Boutique Wine Club’s first dinner on New
World wines, please read her blog here.
WILL YOU TRY THE NEW SPARKLING WHITE ZINFANDEL?
ERICA CONTEMPLATES - ITALIAN WINES
Continued from page 1
(and now I make a career out of wine so that was a
good start). Valpolicella is another ‘give us more and
more please’ story; many of my students have never
tasted it but have heard about Asti; names like Barolo
and Amarone are not far down the list of regions that
students know and often love; and no one could deny
they are winning the race for popular quaffing wine in
the pubs and bars of the UK right now with Pinot Grigio.
So Sparkling White Zinfandel, genius I thought! The
company already makes Asti and Prosecco so know
the sparkling market. They also produce a sparkling
Sauvignon Blanc!, but a fizzy rosé from a grape widely
grown in Italy (known as Primitivo) but better known
from California, and one of the wines made popular by
the biggest wine brand in the world, Gallo (read this
article that we posted to Facebook about the top 10
wine brands), all so very clever.
So this made me think if we combined some of the top
trends right now, rosé, Pinot Grigio, fizz … Google …
first one up and yes who is doing it, the Italians are of
course, how did I miss that!
Contact Erica Dent , 50 Spitfire Way, Hamble, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 4RT Phone + 44 (0)7966 499589
NEWSLETTER
JULY 2013
I really loved the atmosphere when learning the Level 1,
tasting different wines and sharing the personal feelings
with each other. It is not only a class, but also like a
meeting or party where we can share drinking experience.
I really enjoyed the level 1.
SILOU LIU, FORMER WSET LEVEL 1 & 2 STUDENT
INTERVIEW WITH WSET LEVEL 1 & 2
STUDENT – SILOU LIU
Silou Liu is from China and studied WSET Level 1
Award in Wine and Level 2 Award in Wine and Spirits
as an add-on to her major in International Hospitality
and Tourism Management MSc.
When you signed up for the WSET Level 1 Wine
course what did you want to have happen?
I signed up for Level 1 in early May 2013. I had heard
of the WSET from my friend, they said I could learn
general information about wine and distinguish
different kinds of wine. I like drinking and am interested
in wine, so I was looking forward to discovering a good
wine and hoped not to be shy to choose a wine in a
restaurant/bar. Meanwhile, I wanted to hear some
interesting experiences from classmates.
After completing the Level 1, my friends and I went to a
Michelin restaurant in London. We used the Level 1
knowledge and chose a white wine from Loire for
pairing with our main course. It really worked, food
pairing with wine is fantastic. In Level 1, I learned that
fatty food should be paired with the high acidity wine.
White wine from Loire is suitable, and the food could
reduce the acidity and made the wine more
fruity. Before the Level 1 course I was not confident to
go to a Michelin restaurant to order a drink in London,
even in a bar, I just ordered soft drink.
And when you finished your WSET Level 1 you
signed up for the Level 2 in Wines and Spirits, what
made you decide to do that?
Because I wanted to know more about wine and I liked
Erica's class, freedom, funny and relaxed. Also, this
course can help me develop my career very well in my
hometown, and I plan to be a trainer in the future. I
wanted to know more about sparkling and sweet wine, the
basic information was not enough for me, I wanted to
learn more detail, because I had not tasted the sparkling
and sweet wines, especially my favourite one: Port. I
learnt a lot, like sparkling wine not only includes
Champagne, but also Cava and other kinds of sparkling
wines made in different countries. Before Level 2, I just
knew one sweet wine: Port, but now, I can tell my friends
that sweet wine also has several styles, like Sherry (which
I dislike). At the same time, I now understand how to
serve and store sparkling wine and sweet wine.
What else did you like about the Level 2 course?
When I tasted the wine, I knew much more about
describing the wine and distinguishing the quality of the
wine. Now, I am back home, when I am attending a party
and have a dinner with the elder, I will recommend a wine
or distinguish a wine for them. I was a teacher to my
parents and the elders on how to distinguish the quality of
a wine and how to taste wine, like look, smell and taste. I
explained the wine type, like a red wine from Chile should
include red fruit flavour and oak. Now, they know some of
the information about Level 1, they know how to enjoy a
wine.
I am enjoying the process of the whole course, I am very
glad to know Erica, Helen and my classmates; we were
like a family and explored wine together.
So what do you want to happen next?
Find a job with a nice salary to support me to learn Level
3, 4 and 5. I hope my dreams can come true one day.
What would you say to anyone thinking of doing
WSET?
It is worth learning if you are interested in wine, and it will
be a precious experience in your lifetime.
Contact Erica Dent, 50 Spitfire Way, Hamble, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 4RT Phone + 44 (0)7966 499589