WSET Advanced Certificate Course
Getting Started
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Advanced Certificate Course and its exam are very challenging; it is recommended that you first pass the Intermediate Certificate Course before attempting the Advanced Certificate Course. However, individuals with extensive wine knowledge will be admitted without having taken the Intermediate Certificate Course.
Learn more about WSET Wine Courses.
Advanced Certificate Course Overview
The WSET Advanced Certificate Course consists of 13 weeks of instruction (2.5 hours per week) followed by a 2-hour exam in a subsequent week.
In its original form the WSET Advanced Certificate Course had 15 weeks of instruction, and its sheer length had driven its cost above $1400. But in Philadelphia we have taken some common-sense measures (such as combining the Port and Sherry classes) to reduce its length and its cost.
Our streamlined WSET Advanced Certificate Course includes:
- 13 weeks of instruction (2.5 hours each week) covering wines & spirits
- 1 to 1.5 hours of tasting each week
- Beginning the fourth week, blind tasting practice to prepare the blind tasting exam.
- Comprehensive review session in the week preceding the exam
- In the final week, a 2-hour exam. The exams are forwarded to the WSET in London for final grading, and the WSET will issue the Advanced Certificate to successful candidates.
This course presumes substantial prior wine knowledge, and is quite challenging, even to students who have had a lot of other wine classes. In the U.K., candidates for management positions within the food and wine trade are usually expected to have earned the Advanced Certificate.
Through April, 2007 171 people have earned the Advanced Certificate through our local "Centre."
The Advanced Certificate Specification Booklet (PDF) provides a detailed listing of the expected learning outcomes for the course.
The Advanced Certificate is a pre-requisite for the WSET Diploma Course.
Weekly Breakdown of the Advanced Certificate Course
Advanced Certificate classes are scheduled to last 2.5 hours, but sometimes last only two hours. The first 60-90 minutes are lecture and discussion. The last 60 minutes are dediated to tasting. Usually 6 wines are poured; since every student is given 6 wine glasses, they can be poured together, which enables comparison tastings. We also conduct 15 minute practice tasting exams, using categories of wines that have been previously tasted in class, during 6 of the 13 weeks of classroom instruction.
Week 1. Intro and overview; the WSET Advanced Cert level Systematic Approach to tasting; preview of the tasting exam and the written exams.
Wines:
- a young, neutral Italian white (e.g., Pinot Grigio)
- a Tokaji Aszu, 4 to 6 puttonyos (comparison, age and sweetness)
- a Beaujolais (Nouveau, if seasonal)
- a mature, full-bodied red wine (e.g., a ten year old Chateau Musar)
Week 2. Viticulture, vinification, wine maturation. This subject matter is time-consuming. Since we will have less time to taste than usual, we pour wines that are either very familiar or less likely to be on the tasting test.
Wines:
- an Australian Riesling
- a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc
- a Romanian Pinot Noir
- a New Zealand Pinot Noir
- an inexpensive Australian Shiraz-Cabernet blend
- a premiuim Australian Shiraz
Week 3. France introduction, Bordeaux and SW France
Wines:
- a white Graves or Pessac-Leognan
- an AOC red Bordeaux
- a Pomerol or St. Emilion
- a classified growth Haut Medoc red (same vintage as the Right bank wine)
- a Madiran or Cahors
- a Sauternes
Week 4. Alsace and Burgundy
Wines:
- an Alsace Riesling
- a Chablis (Premier or Grand Cru)
- a Cote de Beaune Premier Cru white
- an Alsace Gewurztraminer
- a Cru Beaujolais
- a Cote d'Or red
- ALSO- 15 minute practice tasting exam
Week 5. Loire, Rhone, Southern France (Provence and Languedoc)
Wines:
- a Muscadet
- a Sancerre or Pouilly Fume
- a Vouvray demi-sec
- a quality Languedoc red
- a Northern Rhone red (e.g., Hermitage)
- a Southern Rhone red (e.g., Chateauneuf du Pape)
- ALSO- 15 minute practice tasting exam
Week 6. Northern and Central Europe: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania.
Wines:
- a German qba
- a German Kabinett Riesling
- a German Spatlese Riesling
- a German trocken or halbtrocken kabinett or spatlese
- an Austrian Gruner Veltliner
- a red wine from Hungary or Bulgaria
- ALSO- 15 minute practice tasting exam
Week 7. Italy
Wines:
- a premium Southern Italian white
- a premium Northern Italian white
- a premium Sangiovese-based Tuscan red
- a Barolo or Barbaresco
- a premium Southerrn Italian red
- an Amarone
Week 8. Spain, Portugal, and Southern Europe (Greece, etc.)
Wines:
- a Vinho Verde
- a white Rioja
- a red Rioja Reserva
- a red Rioja Gran Reserva
- a Priorat or Ribera del Duero
- a Duoro red
- Also available for tasting, before or after class:
- a Greek white wine (e.g., Santorini)
- a Greek red wine (e.g., Nemea or Naoussa)
- ALSO- 15 minute practice tasting exam
Week 9. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
Wines:
- a South African Chenin Blanc
- a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
- an Australian dry Semillon
- another dry Australian white, not Chardonnay (e.g., verdelho)
- a South African Pinotage
- a Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
- Also available for tasting before or after class:
- an unwooded Australian Chardonnay
- a fully-oaked Australian Chardonnay
- a premium South African red blend (e.g, Cabernet and Merlot)
Week 10. The Americas
Wines:
- an Argentinian Torrontes
- a premium California Sauvignon Blanc
- a Chilean Carmenere
- an Argentinian Malbec or Bonarda
- a premium Napa Cabernet
- a premium California Zin
- Also available for tasting, either before or after class:
- a Uruguayan tannat
- ALSO- a 15 minute practice tasting exam
Week 11. Spirits and Liqueurs
Tasted:
- a Cognac
- a single-malt Scotch
- a rum
- a vodka
- a gin
- a liqueur
Week 12. Sparkling wines
Wines:
- a Prosecco
- a Cava
- a non-Champagne traditional method French sparkler
- a Champagne
- a U.S. traditional method sparkler
- an Asti
Week 13. Fortified wines
Tasted:
- a Fino or Manzanilla Sherry
- an Amontillado or dry Oloroso
- a 10-Year Tawny Port
- an LBV Port
- an Australian Liqueur Muscat or Muscadelle (Tokay)
- a Bual or Malmsey Madiera, 10 years or older
Advanced Certificate Course Materials
When you register for the Advanced Certificate Course, you will receive the following course materials:
- the class textbook, Exploring The World of Wines & Spirits (a totally new book, with much greater emphasis on the New World)
- a tasting notebook
- a map book
- a study guide book with self-assessment questions and answers to help you study
- a Specification book which lists what you need to know for the exam, learning outcomes for each segment of the course, sample exam questions and answers, and categories of wines to be tasted during the course (PDF version)
Also included - at no extra cost - are six Vinea INAO/ISO wine glasses (the official international wine tasting glass).
Advanced Certificate Course Offerings in Philadelphia
We typically offer the Advanced Certificate Course two times per year, from January through April and from September through December.
For the latest scheduling and pricing information, view our schedule and our price list.
Sign up now for the Advanced Certificate Course.
Home Study Option
Home study is an option for students wishing to pursue the Advanced Certificate at lower cost or at their own pace. Learn more about home study for the Advanced Certificate.