This document contains all the information you need for the WSET Level 1 exam. It serves as a comprehensive summary of the handbook/flashcards and is beneficial for preparing for your course day as well.
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WSET LEVEL 1 – AWARD IN WINES
Element 1: What is Wine?
Wine is fermented grape juice
o grapes are crushed to release their sweet juice
o Alcoholic fermentation is the natural process that changes grape juice to wine, which is
caused by yeast (= microscopic organisms)
o 4 elements of Alcoholic Fermentation: sugar + yeast = alcohol + carbon Dioxide
o Yeast eats sugar in the grape juice & converts it to alcohol and carbon dioxide
the alcohol stays in the wine, but the carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere
o The level of alcohol in wine is measured by volume (abv)
e.g. 10% abv means: ten per cent of the liquid is alcohol
There are two principal types of grapes: white, and black
o Key difference: black grapes have deeply coloured skins that contain tannins
o Tannins can make your mouth feel dry
o White grape skins have a golden colour
o The pulp colour is the same regardless of the colour of the skins
o Pulp: soft and fleshy made up of water, sugar and acid
o Skin: colour, tannin
Element 2: Growing Grapes
The plant that produces grapes = grape vine
o Grape vines can live for several decades
o A couple of years after planting the grape vine reaches maturity
o Once a year, a grape vine produces a crop
o The vine flowers in spring Each flower on a grape vine becomes a grape, which ripens
during summer (after flowering, a cluster of individual flowers transform into a bunch of
small, hard and green grapes).
o When grapes ripen, green grapes change colour
White grapes: green golden
Black grapes: green purple
o When grapes ripen: the sugar level rises, their acid level fall, and they swell with
water.
Grape vines can successfully grow and produce good quality fruit at latitudes with the correct amount
of sunlight, heat and water.
o Grapes are grown typically at latitudes between 30 and 50 degrees north and south of the
Equator. Grape vines grow better when the winter is cold, as it allows the vine to rest
o Regions located closer to the north and south poles are known as cool climate regions
o E.g. Germany and Northern France
o Generally: white grapes are more commonly grown in cool climates
o The colder it is: lower sugar levels, higher acidity levels
o Regions located closer to the equator are known as warm-climate regions
o E.g. Parts of Australia, and parts of California
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, o Benefit: grapes ripen more consistent
o Generally: black grapes are more commonly grown in warm climate regions
o Generally, the warmer it is: the higher the sugar levels, lower acidity levels, flavours
can taste riper.
Key difference between temperature in cool vs warm climate temperature low vs high. The
sunlight is weaker in a cool climate. In a warm climate, nearer the equator, the sunlight is
more intense.
Element 3: Making Wines
White wine Crushing Pressing Fermentation Maturation Bottling
o Crushing, the grape juices get released
o When crushed grapes are pressed, the remaining grape juice gets released
o Fermentation takes place in steel tanks or oak barrels. Fermentation starts by
adding yeast to the grape juice
o Maturation: the fermented juice can be stored/ aged until ready for bottling.
This happens is stainless steel tanks or oak barrels.
o Fun Fact: black grapes can be used to make a white wine how: gently
pressed to release the colourless juice, making it suitable for white wine
production
o After the grapes are crushed, when making red/rose wines, the grape juice
and the skins are put into the fermentation vessel
o Fermentations start by adding yeast to the mixture of grape juice and skins
o Colour and tannins are extracted from the skins during fermentation
process, by mixing them thoroughly with the juice
o When is the wine drained off the skins
o Red wine: immediately after fermentation
o Rose wine: after a few hours when it is pink, fermentation is then
finished without the skins
o When making red wines, pressing is used after fermentation to release any
remaining wine
o Maturation takes place in stainless steel tanks or oak barrels (rosé is usually
stored in stainless steel tanks)
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