I have had a few requests to both give some challenging study questions or to give some examples of what might appear on the more advanced level exams as questions. There have also been a few conversations with other students regarding how I study for advanced level questions. I thought I would bundle these together in one single initial article and then continue on with a series each time I post. I will answer these questions here, but in the future I will simply post the question(s) initially and then follow up the following time with answers. This will give those who are studying a chance to answer on their own, and then we can discuss as needed. So here goes, and remember these are fairly advanced level questions...answers are on the bottom if you want to challenge yourself at first.

1 - Name three Chateaux from the Cantenac commune which were classified in 1855 and state there classification.

2 - Name four wards in the Stellenbosch district of South Africa.

3 - For which grape variety is Ull de Llebra a synonym?

4 - Name three Grand Cru villages of the Cote de Blancs.

5 - What is the maximum sugar content allowed for Brut style Champagne? (answer in grams per liter)

6 - Name 6 sub-districts of the Willamette Valley.

7 - What is the maximum permitted alcoholic strength of a distillate from the second distillation in the Cognac region?

8 - What is the main flavoring ingredient in Suze?

9 - Which house produces Quinta de Terre Feita Port?

Ok, so first a little about how I study, and how I study specifically for certain styles of questions. To begin, it is necessary to know what style of questions you will be tasked with on a certification exam. For those studying the introductory levels of WSET, the questions are in the format of multiple choice answers. One piece of advice I often give students is that they should be prepared for questions that are asked with multiple option answers (1 and 2 only, 1-2-3, all of the above). The Brits are big fans of layering the question answer options, so it is absolutely necessary to have a good understanding of the theoretical material in order to answer correctly. You cannot just guess at many of the questions. There are also a lot of questions that are asked in a double-negative or slightly twisty way. Again, the best advise is to read the whole questions and understand what is being asked. This is the same for upper level exams where the answers are in written response.

For those studying WSET Level 3 or Diploma, as well as CMS Advanced and MW candidates, almost all of the questions responses will be in written format. The best tip I ever received in this process was to make sure I read the question, understood exactly what is being asked and then only answered the question. Don't get caught in doing a brain dump of facts you think are related to the question, as this may not really answer the question. Practice writing long-form answers or mini essays is the best practice you can employ for this. Getting yourself familiar with writing, writing under pressure and timed, will be a critical asset for being successful in any of these exams. Writing a longer answer out also forces you to look at more material and a broader scope of resources, which will help build your theoretical knowledge base.

Ok, so once I know what type of questions and exam format I will be facing, it is important to study properly. As stated, I like to answer questions in long form, and this means knowing a lot of material across a spectrum of concepts and study areas. For me this helps to build a solid foundation of base knowledge, and it forces me to be able to think across topics and then pull these ideas together in a focused answer. Keep in mind, some answers may simply be a regurgitation of facts, while others will task you to pull in multiple layers of answers to get the answer.

Some of the tactics I employ in studying include the following:

• Flashcards - both physical and digital. I usually will write out physical cards as I read and study, then type them into a digital app, such as Brainscape. this allows me to open up the app and study anytime. Repetition is key and flashcards are perfect for this. Brainscape and other apps let you create your own content, as well as use their certified decks that are already built by certified authors (of which I am one - full disclosure).
• Magazines - this may be a little unorthodox, but I like to use magazines to study. Not so much for the actual content, especially facts, as these change over time and will all need to be checked for accuracy, but more for the broad range and almost random nature of the material that is involved. Wine magazines do not have a single topic for each issue. Rather, they put together a multitude of topics for articles and news points, as well as review subjects. I have yeas worth of magazines that I have collected and go back through to read and research for new questions and terms that may not appear anywhere else. I also use these for vintage notes and to stay up-to-date with trends that emerge in certain areas of the consumer or production world.
• Have a Study Plan (and stick to it!) - it doesn't matter if you are studying for a Level 1 certification or a Master level, you need a plan and you need to follow it. Figure out the time frame you have to prepare, fill in the needed topics and resources, tasting sessions and other areas, and then execute the plan. Best advice I got years ago was to "plan your work, and work your plan". Interruptions are inevitable, but getting a plan together allows you to balance your life and space out the topics needed to be covered.
• Books - I have a lot of wine and beverage books. Honestly I don't use them as much as I used to. There is this thing called the internet now, and I can pull up any topic I need in an instant and research it. I do use some books for historical or broad topic resources, but many books are outdated almost as soon as they are published, so I have become much more selective in my library acquisitions, lately. they are expensive and take up room. My iPad is a much easier place to keep a lot of books handy. It was a tough transition for me to move from physical books that you can hold, write notes in and lend out to others, but moving more of them to a digital format allows me to access any number of books easily and anywhere. This has been a game changer in a lot of ways.
• Internet - mainly YouTube and primary resource sites, as well as Podcasts. The internet is full of material. You just have to make sure what you are reading is actual facts and not just marketing nonsense or published by someone who is not accurate in their details. I tend to stick with first authority sites such as the Consortium or governing body for the region, winery sites, and topic-specific authors that really only focus on a single region or style of wine. The internet is also great for looking up and building your map and geography theory. I find it very useful to draw my own regional maps as it can really help to put places into context with each other. I will use the internet to make sure I am getting it right by looking at a multitude of resources for comparison. I will also look to follow blog sites by people who have achieved the same certification I am working on, such as an MS or MW. They write in the language I am looking to emulate and will typically be focused on the facts and notes I need to build out my theoretical knowledge. YouTube is great for quick bites of material, but be careful about the actual content. And don't get side-tracked by the latest cat video. Podcasts are awesome for filling in the time when its hard to do actual book-work, such as when you are driving or exercising. There are a multitude out there - Levi Dalton's is the best.

This is just a taste of what and how I study. It is a layered approach and is generally designed for a more advanced certification goal. But, anyone can take pieces of this and make it work for them. I study in my way, though, so what works for me is not always going to be the best for you. The single best thing for anyone though, is to make a plan and stick with it. 

ANSWERS!!!
1 - Name three Chateaux from the Cantenac commune which were classified in 1855, and state their classification.
So for this question you need to know what the 1855 Classification was, where it was, and what Cantenac is. 
The 1855 Classification was done for the Paris Exposition, and ranked the Chateau of Bordeaux's left bank and Sauternes based on their common selling price, at the time. It was assumed that the higher the market was willing to pay for a wine, the better it must be. Cantenac is part of the Margaux commune, and is often referred to as Cantenac-Margaux. Wines in the classification were sorted in a ranking of growths or "crus" from 1st to 5th.
The Chateau that could be used to answer this question are:

• Cht Brane-Cantenac (Brane in 1855) - 2nd
• Cht Kirwan (Kirwan in 1855) - 3rd
• Cht Cantenac-Brown (Boydin 1855) - 3rd
• Cht Palmer (Palmer in 1855) - 3rd
• Pouget-Lassale and Pouget, both now Château Pouget - 4th
• Cht Prieuré-Lichine (Le Prieuré in 1855) - 4th

2 - Name four wards in the Stellenbosch district of South Africa.
This answer could include the following wards of Stellenbosch: Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch and Vlottenburg 

3 - For which grape variety is Ull de Llebra a synonym?
This is one of the many names for Tempranillo, Ull de Llebre is used frequently in the Peñedes region of northeastern Spain.

4 - Name three Grand Cru villages of the Cote de Blancs.
The Côte des Blancs includes six villages classified as grand cru. One way to remember them is using "CA COOL"

• Chouilly
• Avize
• Cramant
• Oger
• Oiry
• Le Mesnil-sur-Oger

5 - What is the maximum sugar content allowed for Brut style Champagne? (answer in grams per liter)
The maximum amount allowed today is 12 grams of sugar per litre for a Champagne Brut.

6 - Name 6 sub-districts of the Willamette Valley.
There are actually 9 AVAs, currently, in the Willamette Valley, these include...

• Chehalem Mountains AVA
• Dundee Hills AVA
• Eola-Amity Hills AVA
• Laurelwood District AVA
• McMinnville AVA
• Ribbon Ridge AVA
• Tualatin Hills AVA
• Van Duzer Corridor AVA
• Yamhill-Carlton District AVA

7 - What is the maximum permitted alcoholic strength of a distillate from the second distillation in the Cognac region?
The alcoholic strength of the newly made spirit from the second distillation in Cognac, also known as the bonne chauffe, may not exceed 72.4% abv.

8 - What is the main flavoring ingredient in Suze?
The main ingredient is gentian root, specifically the species gentiana lutea (Great Yellow Gentian), which imparts the bitter, vegetal flavors the drink is known for.

9 - Which house produces Quinta de Terra Feita Port?
Taylor-Fladgate owns and produces wine from this property, which is located on the west bank of the River Pinhão.

​I get a copy of all of the feedback commentary on each of the online classes in my APP, and I find it useful to pass along these notes from time to as they go to the core of what is taught throughout the WSET programs. This week, the topic of BLIC came up ina L2W course. BLIC and its expanded series of letters is a tasting and judging process that will be used all the way through to the MW programs, if you were ever to aspire to that level. For the most part though I find it to be a very helpful tool in establishing my assessment of the quality of a product beyond the interference and influence of the brand name, price, grape varietal, label, etc. Here is the assigned educator's notes below...

...what we also find is a bit of confusion over how to rate the quality. Here is a system which is really good for testing your observations against your opinions. It is not a definite marker, but it does give you a very good idea whether your are in the right ball park. I still use it in my initial assessments when judging wines in my wider career. The system is called BLIC, standing for Balance, Length, Intensity and Complexity. After writing your tasting note go back over it and read it carefully in relation to these criteria. (please see textbook for elaboration on these terms)
Balance: 
Balance refers to the structural components of the wine. These are its body, acidity, tannin (red), alcohol and dryness. In the world of modern winemaking it is increasingly hard to find a commercial wine that is not in balance. One of the key skills winemakers learn in training is how to balance these elements appropriately. 
Length: 
The length of a wine refers to the 'finish', how long the flavour can be detected after spitting the wine out. This is a key element is determining the quality of a wine. If the flavours just drop off immediately then it has a 'short finish', which isn't great. If the wine's (pleasant) flavours linger long after we consider it to have a 'long finish' which would be great. 
Intensity: 
It is really important to note the intensity of the nose and palate. This way we can get a full picture. If the wine has 'light' intensity then it lacks concentration, if it is towards pronounced then this would indicate better quality.
Complexity: 
It is not a simple case of large numbers of flavours indicating quality, but it is a good sign. A wine does not have to have all primary, secondary and tertiary characters to be complex. The lexicon is broken down into clusters, a wine covering a wide span of these from green fruit to herbal, floral and tropical would indicate complexity from primary flavours alone. So when reading over your note, keep a good eye on what you have tasted. If you think a wine is not complex and have written a long list of flavours, then this would call that opinion into question and vice versa.

Each of these criteria represents 1 mark out of 4. 1 = Acceptable, 2= Good, 3= Very Good, 4 = Outstanding. You can award half marks if necessary. Here is a good example of how this works...


Anybrand Italian, Pinot Grigio, 2019 
Sight - pale, lemon 
Nose- Light Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime 
Taste- Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, dry palate, high acid, low tannin, low alcohol, light body, light flavour intensity, short finish.
Balance - Yes, TICK
Length - It is 'short', CROSS
Intensity - 'Light', CROSS
Complexity - It has some fruit, but they are all in the citrus cluster. This is not particularly complex, CROSS
1/4
quality acceptable.  


​So, as you can see, by using a standardized system that becomes ingrained in your tasting process, you can very quickly make a call on the quality of wine based on relatively quantifiable criteria. If a wine ticks or checks all the boxes for BLIC, then there can be no other call than for a wine of very high quality, and if you only have 2-3 checks, then the wine falls in between as good or very good. Not a perfect system, but something that can be mastered and repeated in almost any tasting exercise.

New England Wine Academy has added an advanced Tasting Workshop to the general schedule.

This one-day class is part of the WSET Level 3 program and is for anyone looking to enhance their knowledge of wine tasting at an advanced level. The workshop is designed to help WSET Level 3 candidates understand the practical side of the exam, and follows the WSET syllabus, but there are limited seats available for non-WSET candidates who wish to participate.
This option is designed for Level 3 candidates that need extra review time, maybe have taken a break from studies and need to refresh their tasting technique, for Level 2 students looking to get a jump on their Level 3 studies, and for serious wine enthusiasts considering a wine educational path with WSET. 
​
Class is typically form 9am to 3pm, and covers approximately 14 wines as well as the methodology of the WSET level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting. You will be guided by an advanced wine educator in the proper process for tasting, as well as preparing for the Level 3 exam.

If you are interested in participating in this workshop please contact bmitchell@newenglandwineacademy.com, to reserve a spot, or sign-up with the button below. Only candidates with a strong tasting back-ground and understanding of the WSET methodology should register without checking with NEWA, first.

Next session is September 27th; cost is $129, per person.