Passing the WSET Level 3

It has taken almost three months for me to get the results of my WSET Level 3 exams, which seems to be par for the course during COVID. I’m sure it takes a while to correct the exam, ship it over to London, have the organization across the Atlantic verify that the exam was taken under proper conditions, reach out to the wine school I attended, and then for the email to be sent to me with the good news.

The pin and certificate will no doubt take more time to arrive, but that’s ok. Pins and certificates are a formality, if not a little snobby to wave around. Acknowledgement and affirmation feel a little more important, but might be transient.

The experience, knowledge, and skill are everything.

It would be reasonable for anyone to ask: Why can’t you just drink wine, decide whether or not you like it, and just move on? No one needs certification for that.

The sentiment is true.

It is also, for me, false.

Wine is a complex and wondrous product that rewards experience, if one should decide to pursue it. Certification is a nice signpost for progress, but it’s not the goal in itself. I thirst for the expertise that allows me to extract every last detail of pleasure out of a bottle of wine.

So for today, I am grateful for what I have gotten so far. And yet, I am not satisfied to stay in this spot for long. There’s so much more to learn and taste that I am eyeing the diploma program already.