Home > WSET > Diploma > Tasting Portfolios > Unit 3 Portfolios
Wine Tasting Portfolios for Unit 3 (Light Wines)
How and Why to Submit Tasting Portfolios
The WSET no longer requires tasting portfolios; however, we recommend that our students hand in tasting notes for us to evaluate at due dates we specify so that they can receive feedback in advance of their exams.
These tasting notes must be done in "neat and legible hand-written
English" (as per the WSET Diploma Candidate Assessment Guide, which
can be accessed online here).
The notes may not be typed. They should be done using the standard WSET
Diploma Tasting Note found in the Unit Study Guides.
WSET Diploma Unit 3 Portfolio
Categories
During the 2003-04 year, students were required to submit tasting notes for 128 separate
wines for grading. However, during 2004-05, that
number was reduced significantly – only 26 separate categories.
These 26 are a good cross-section of the various styles
of still wines available. For example, while the long list required
a NZ Sauvignon Blanc and a South African Sauvignon Blanc and a Chilean
Sauvignon Blanc, all of which would probably be unoaked and of similar
style, this shorter list only asked for one New World, unoaked Sauvignon
Blanc.
The lists below use price category terms ranging from "low-priced"
to "premium." In U.S. dollars these terms translate as:
- "low-priced" = less than $10
- "mid-priced" = $10 to $20
- "high-priced" = $20 to $30
- "premium" = above $30
| White Wines |
| Wine Style |
| 1. |
Premium, unoaked Chardonnay |
| 2. |
Premium, oaked Chardonnay |
| 3. |
Premium, German, Kabinett/ Spätlese Riesling |
| 4. |
Premium, dry Riesling |
| 5. |
Premium, Loire Sauvignon Blanc |
| 6. |
Mid-priced, New World, unoaked Sauvignon Blanc |
| 7. |
Inexpensive/ mid-priced dry, youthful, unoaked aromatic varietal
wine |
| 8. |
Inexpensive/ mid-priced dry, youthful, neutral wine (can be a
blend) |
| 9. |
Inexpensive/ mid-priced sweet wine |
| 10. |
Premium, mature, complex, sweet wine |
| 11. |
Inexpensive, youthful, fruit driven blend |
| 12. |
Premium, mature, complex dry white |
| Rosé Wines |
| Wine Style |
| 13. |
Any quality dry, rosé |
| 14. |
Any off-dry to medium rosé |
| Red Wines |
| Wine Style |
| 15. |
Premium, mature, complex, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon dominated
wine |
| 16 |
Premium, mature, complex, New World, Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux
blend, but could benefit from further ageing |
| 17. |
Premium, mature, complex, medium/ full bodied Merlot |
| 18. |
Inexpensive/ mid-priced, youthful, light bodied, Merlot |
| 19. |
Premium, mature, complex, Pinot Noir from Burgundy |
| 20. |
Inexpensive/ mid-priced, youthful, Pinot Noir |
| 21. |
Premium, cool climate (relative to wine 22), medium/ full bodied
Syrah/ Shiraz, ready to drink, but could benefit from further ageing |
| 22. |
Premium, hot climate (relative to wine 21), full bodied Syrah/
Shiraz, ready to drink, but could benefit from further ageing |
| 23. |
Any inexpensive youthful, light bodied, blended wine |
| 24. |
Any premium, complex wine made from traditional Italian varieties |
| 25. |
Any high-priced/ premium, traditional, oaked or oxidatively-aged
red |
| 26. |
Any inexpensive/ mid-priced, youthful wine made using carbonic
maceration |
Unit 3: The 128 Other
Categories
This is the list of light wine categories required before
August, 2004. Since the wines used for the Unit 3 blind tasting tests
will come from these same 128 categories, the WSET still recommends
that all Unit 3 students taste all 128 categories.
Those who attend our Unit 3 classes generally taste all of these wines during the classes.
We list the categories below for the benefit of home study
students and also as advance notification for our own students.
There are choices within the table. For example, the second
line on the list below asks for one of two Cru Classé Red Bordeaux,
either a Medoc Cru Classé or one from the Haut Medoc.
| Bordeaux |
| 1of 1 |
Red Generic Bordeaux |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Médoc Cru Classé |
Haut-Médoc Cru Classé |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
White Generic Bordeaux |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Red Pessac-Leognan |
Red Graves |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Saint-Emilion |
Pomerol |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Entre-Deux-Mers |
White Graves |
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Sauternes |
Barsac |
Other Sweet Bordeaux wine |
|
| 3 of 3 |
3 vintages of one red wine |
|
|
|
| South
West France |
| 1 of 2 |
Inexpensive White varietal VdP Gers |
Inexpensive White varietal VdP Gascony |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Bord'x style red wine |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Cahors |
Madiran |
|
|
| Burgundy |
| 1 of 3 |
Bourgogne Rouge |
Hautes Côtes-de-Nuits Rouge |
Hautes Côtes-de-Beaune Rouge |
|
| 1 of 2 |
Red Commune Côtes-de-Nuits |
Red Commune Côtes-de-Beaune |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Red 1er or Grand Cru Côtes-de-Nuits |
Red 1er or Grand Cru Côtes-de-Beaune |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Chablis |
1er Cru Chablis |
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Meursault |
Puligny Montrachet |
Chassagne Montrachet |
|
| 1 of 3 |
Mâcon (white) |
Mâcon-Villages |
Pouilly-Fuissé |
|
| 1 of 2 |
Beaujolais |
Beaujolais Villages |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Any Beaujolais Cru |
|
|
|
| Loire |
| 1 of 2 |
Rosé d'Anjou |
Cabernet d'Anjou |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Muscadet Sur Lie |
|
|
|
| 1 of 4 |
Anjou Blanc |
Savennières |
Vouvray Sec |
Saumur Blanc |
| 1 of 2 |
Pouilly Fumé |
White Sancerre |
|
|
| 1 of 4 |
Touraine Sauvignon |
Quincy |
Menetou-Salon |
Reuilly |
| 1 of 3 |
Coteaux du Layon |
Vouvray Moelleux |
Montlouis |
|
| 1 of 4 |
Saumur-Champigny |
Bourgueil |
Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil |
Chinon |
| Alsace |
| 1 of 1 |
Pinot Noir |
|
|
|
| 2 of 4* |
Riesling |
Pinot Gris |
Gewurztraminer |
Muscat |
| 1 of 1* |
*Grand Cru of one of same grape as chosen above |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Pinot Blanc |
Sylvaner |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Vendange Tardive |
Sélection de Grains Nobles |
|
|
| Germany |
| 2 of 3 |
Riesling Kabinett |
Riesling Spätlese |
Riesling Auslese |
|
| 1 of 3 |
Riesling BA |
Riesling Eiswein |
Riesling TBA |
|
| 1 of 2 |
Riesling Trocken |
Riesling Halbtrocken |
|
|
| 1 of 5 |
Müller-Thurgau |
Silvaner |
Weissburgunder |
Grauburgunder |
| |
Scheurebe |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Spätburgunder |
Dornfelder |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer |
Nahe |
|
|
| 1 of 4 |
Rheingau |
Pfalz |
Rheinhessen |
Baden |
| Austria |
| 1 of 2 |
Grüner Veltliner |
Riesling |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Any sweet Austrian quality wine |
|
|
|
| Hungary |
| 1 of 1 |
Tokaji Aszú |
|
|
|
| 1 of 4 |
Modern Chardonnay |
Modern Sauv. Blanc |
Modern Irsai Oliver |
Modern Gewurz. |
| Romania |
| 1 of 1 |
Modern varietal white wine |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Modern varietal red wine |
|
|
|
| Rhone |
| 2 of 2 |
Côtes-du-Rhône |
Côtes-du-Rhône Villages |
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Red varietal VdP Ardeche |
Red varietal VdP Bouches-du-Rhône |
Red varietal VdP Vaucluse |
|
| 2 of 5 |
Côte-Rôtie |
Hermitage |
Crozes Hermitage |
Cornas |
| |
St.-Joseph |
|
|
|
| 1 of 4 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
Gigondas |
Vacqueyras |
Lirac |
| 1 of 1 |
Any Rhone white |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Any Rhone rosé |
|
|
|
| Southern France |
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive international white varietal VdP |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive international red varietal VdP |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Premium international red varietal VdP |
|
|
|
| 2 of 7 |
Coteaux du Languedoc |
St.-Chinian |
Minervois |
Corbières |
| |
Fitou |
Costières de Nimes |
Côtes du Roussillon |
|
| 1 of 2 |
Provence rosé |
Languedoc-Roussillon rosé |
|
|
| Northern Italy |
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive red Veneto IGT |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Varietal white Trentino-Alto Adige |
Varietal white Friuli-Grave |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Soave |
Gavi |
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Barolo |
Barbaresco |
Gattinara |
|
| 1 of 2 |
Dolcetto |
Barbera |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Valpolicella |
Valpolicella Ripasso |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Valpolicella Amarone |
Valpolicella Recioto |
|
|
| Central Italy |
| 1 of 2 |
Red Tuscan IGT |
|
|
|
| 1 of 5 |
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi |
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo |
Vernaccia di San Gimignano |
Orvieto |
| |
Frascati |
|
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Chianti Classico Riserva |
Brunello di Montalcino |
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano |
|
| Southern Italy &
the Islands |
| 1 of 2 |
Red IGT from international varietal |
Red IGT from traditional varietal |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
White IGT from international varietal |
White IGT from traditional varietal |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Southern DOC/DOCG white |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Southern DOC/ DOCG red |
|
|
|
| Spain |
| 3 of 4 (red) |
Rioja Joven |
Rioja Crianza |
Rioja Reserva |
Rioja Gran Reserva |
| 1 of 4 (red) |
Navarra |
Catalonia |
Somontano |
Costers del Segre |
| 1 of 4 |
Red La Mancha |
Red Valdepeñas |
Red Valencia |
Red Jumilla |
| 1 of 2 |
blended red from local and international varietals |
| |
Navarra |
Catalonia |
|
|
| 1 of 5 (white) |
Catalonia |
Costers del Segre |
Navarra |
Rueda |
| |
Somontano |
| 1 of 2 (white) |
Modern style La Mancha |
Modern style Valencia |
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Traditional white Rioja Reserva |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Any Spanish Rosé |
|
|
|
| Portugal |
| 1 of 1 |
Any Portuguese rosé |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Vinho Verde |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Modern style white |
|
|
|
| 1 of 4 |
Red Dao |
Red Bairrada |
Red Ribatejo |
Red Ribatejano |
| 1 of 3 |
Red Duoro |
Red Alentejo |
Red Borba |
|
| Bulgaria |
| 1 of 2 |
Red wine from international varietal |
Red wine from blend of international & local varietals |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
White wine from international varietal |
White wine from blend of international & local varietals |
|
|
| Greece |
| 1 of 2 |
Modern red AOQS |
Modern red VDP/ regional wine |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Modern white AOQS |
Modern white VdP or Regional wine |
|
|
| Cyprus |
| 1 of 1 |
Modern style white |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Modern style red |
|
|
|
| California |
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive generic Calif. red |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive Calif. blush |
|
|
|
| 2 of 3 |
High quality oaked Chardonnay |
High quality unoaked Chardonnay |
High oaked Sauvignon Blanc (Fume Blanc) |
|
| 2 of 4 |
Red Zin |
Red Cabernet Sauv. |
Red Merlot |
Red Pinot Noir |
| 1 of 3 |
Red Bordeaux varietal blend |
Red Rhône varietal blend |
Red Italian varietal blend |
|
| USA-Other |
| 1 of 2 |
Oregon Pinot Noir |
Washington Merlot |
|
|
| Chile |
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive high volume branded Red |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Mid range Sauvignon Blanc |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Premium varietal white wine (not Sauvignon Blanc) |
|
|
|
| 2 of 4 |
Premium Cabernet Sauv. |
Premium Merlot |
Premium Carmenère |
Premium red blend |
| Argentina |
| 2 of 2 |
Red varietal Malbec |
Red varietal Bonarda |
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Red varietal Sangiovese |
Red varietal Tempranillo |
Red varietal Cabernet Sauvignon |
|
| 1 of 2 |
White varietal Torrontés |
White varietal Chardonnay |
|
|
| Australia |
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive high volume branded red wine |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive high volume branded white wine |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Mid range varietal red |
Mid range blended red |
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Premium range varietal red |
Premium range blended red |
|
|
| 2 of 2 |
Oaked Chardonnay |
Unoaked Chardonnay |
|
|
| 1 of 3 |
Hunter Valley Semillon |
Clare Valley Riesling |
Eden Valley Riesling |
|
| 2 of 5 |
Tasmanian Pinot Noir |
Yarra Valley Pinot Noir |
Barossa Shiraz |
Western Australia Cab. Sauvignon |
| |
Coonawarra Cab. Sauvignon |
|
|
|
| New Zealand |
| 2 of 4 |
Chardonnay |
Sauvignon Blanc |
Riesling |
Pinot Gris |
| 1 of 2 |
Red Bordeaux blend |
Pinot Noir |
|
|
| South
Africa |
| 1 of 1 |
Inexpensive Chenin Blanc |
|
|
|
| 1 of 1 |
Mid range Pinotage |
|
|
|
| 1 of 2 |
Premium red varietal wine |
Premium red blended wine |
|
|
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