Studying Wine Is Not Just Tasting It

A glimpse into the ways my creative brain learns as I get ready to sit my WSET 3 exam.

As some of you may know, I have been studying for various wine certifications the last two years. I received my WSET levels 1 + 2 last year and have been studying like a mad person for WSET level 3 recently.

W What?

WSET stands for the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, according to their website, “WSET qualifications are globally recognised as the international standard in wine and spirit knowledge. They are designed for those who are just starting out in their careers, as well as established professionals, and the many enthusiasts who have a passion for wines and spirits”.

They prepare you for various careers in the wine industry from teaching, to vineyard management, distribution, importing, managing a wine shop and so on. You gain a vast knowledge across the board that helps you in these various roles. Or, if you are completely in love with studying, you can do it for fun.

Photo by Kate

The question I get asked weekly, will you be a Sommelier?

No, I will not. While technically I could, people training to be Sommeliers typically focus much more on beverage and hospitality service and tend to study via the Court of Master Sommeliers. If you don’t know me personally, I can’t be in service, this girl can’t open a wine bottle without a special opener which nice restaurants and wine bars would refuse to allow me use (thanks cancer) let alone pour a glass in a professional manor and not make a hot mess, the bottle is too heavy, also, thanks cancer. So, therefor, I am studying with the WSET and focusing on writing and the education side of the industry for now.

Photo by Kate of various Portuguese wines from around the country

How this visual learner actually studies

I study and taste a lot of wine (I always spit when tasting) and then I study more. When I start studying about a country and their wine regions, laws and grapes, I like to taste through a variety of wines found in the various regions. This is typically how I begin studying that country.

Then I move on to visual learning. Let’s start with the fact I am a map lover, you probably read that in a previous post. My love of maps is really insane, but it helps me learn an area. I am sure many people feel this way, and not just in learning about wine.

My office is jam packed with framed maps and hand drawn maps that I did roughly for study purposes. Then, I took over our living room wall and posted a travel road map of Europe onto the wall to study as well. I also have atlases and more specified maps for various countries in almost every room, it is a little bit ridiculous, but it is how I learn.

Photo by Kate

After I do some tastings, I then read all about a country, draw a map myself, take one of these maps from the above photo off the wall and really study it, then I will imagine being in the place I am studying. Is it hot, cold, what do I need to bring to wear if I were going on vacation? That helps me remember the climate and various points of interest I need to know, rivers, mountains etc. I then go to the handy google earth and I look at the region on satellite view and in 3D. Then I can see the vineyards, where they are located, what kind of slope and aspect they have. If I didn’t do all of these things, I would absolutely retain nothing about the region. Even with doing all of this, I can assure you I will not remember each region I need to know for my exam. It covers far too much for me to feel confident in every area. So after this level I will just focus on one country for my career.

Artwork by Kate

Making infographics helps as well

Having been in the design world since I was 19, for college and then in my career until earlier this spring, roughly 20 years, I can’t do anything now without making art to go with it. Now, I won’t pretend I am reinventing the wheel here, there are tons of people famous for their wine infographics, and sure, they make a lot of money off of them. But I hand draw each of mine, I don’t do them digitally, my tasting notes now all use hand painted wine as a visual behind the notes, I even use my hand dyed fabrics to fill in drawings. I may be making things more complicated, but, I’m an artist, isn’t that the basis of what we do. While I do these to help me retain information, I also have a long term plan for them.

Art by Kate

When this crazy study month is over, I will be making a ton of useful wine content for the wine lover who doesn’t want to study, doesn’t want to work in wine, but wants to know a little of the nerdy bits. I hope to bring you lots of fun wine visuals that can be useful for you at dinner parties, at the wine shop and even just at home when making dinner.