WSET Level 2 Tasting Kit: A 12-Wine Study Set
Build a focused 12-wine WSET Level 2 tasting kit by contrast, with a budget plan, sample order, SAT practice and no implication that tasting is examined.
A WSET Level 2 tasting kit should make the theory visible. Do not collect famous bottles at random. Build contrasts: high and moderate acidity, low and high tannin, cool and warm climate, aromatic and neutral varieties, unoaked and oaked wine, sparkling production and fortification. Twelve carefully chosen wines can teach more than a costly case with no plan.
Tasting is educational, not part of the current Level 2 assessment. WSET’s official qualification page describes a one-hour closed-book examination of 50 multiple-choice questions. The course still teaches the Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting, so the glass is a tool for understanding style, not a secret practical paper.
The 12-Wine Contrast Set
| Slot | Representative style | What it should demonstrate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc | High acidity, pronounced aroma, cool maritime influence |
| 2 | Dry or off-dry German Riesling | High acidity, aromatic fruit, sugar-acid balance |
| 3 | Chablis or another unoaked Chardonnay | Cool-climate fruit, high acidity, no obvious oak |
| 4 | Oaked warm-climate Chardonnay | Riper fruit, fuller body, oak and possible malolactic notes |
| 5 | Pinot Noir | Pale colour, high acidity, low to moderate tannin |
| 6 | Cabernet Sauvignon | Deeper colour, higher tannin, black fruit |
| 7 | Warm-climate Shiraz | Full body, ripe fruit, alcohol and spice |
| 8 | Chianti Classico or regional Sangiovese | High acidity, red fruit, savour and food relevance |
| 9 | Brut traditional-method sparkling wine | Acidity, bubbles and lees-derived character |
| 10 | Prosecco | Tank-method fruit and a useful sparkling contrast |
| 11 | Sauternes-style or other botrytised sweet wine | Sweetness balanced by acidity and concentrated flavour |
| 12 | Tawny Port | Fortification, sweetness, oxidation and maturation |
These are style targets, not mandatory labels. If a category is unavailable or too expensive, ask your provider for a representative substitute that serves the same learning objective.
Buy Pairs, Not Isolated Bottles
Taste slots 1 and 2 together to separate herbal Sauvignon aroma from Riesling’s fruit and possible sweetness. Taste slots 3 and 4 together to isolate climate, oak and malolactic conversion within one grape. Taste slots 5 and 6 together to make colour and tannin differences unmistakable.
Sparkling and fortified pairs work the same way. Traditional-method wine beside Prosecco connects production to bubbles, fruit and lees character. Sweet wine beside Tawny Port separates sugar-acid balance from fortification and oxidative maturation.
The Level 2 cheatsheet supplies the fact framework. The tasting set tests whether you can recognise the consequences in a real wine.
A Four-Session Order
- Structure: Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Winemaking: unoaked Chardonnay, oaked Chardonnay, traditional-method sparkling wine and Prosecco.
- Climate and origin: warm-climate Shiraz, Sangiovese and a repeat of the most useful white contrast.
- Sweet and fortified: botrytised sweet wine, Tawny Port and any weak category from the first three sessions.
Keep each pour to 50 to 75 millilitres. Four people can share bottles while retaining enough wine to revisit. Never drive after a tasting, provide water and food, and use spittoons when studying several wines.
Record Evidence, Not Guesses
Use the WSET SAT supplied with your current course. For each wine, record appearance, nose and palate in the prescribed order. Then add one private study line: what caused the style?
For example, do not stop at “high acidity”. Link it to a cool region, an early-picked grape or a naturally high-acid variety when the evidence supports that conclusion. Do not invent production details that the label or course material cannot establish.
Use the free SAT tasting grid to keep sessions comparable. Revisit a wine blind only after you can describe it consistently when the label is visible.
Keep the Budget Sensible
- Split bottles and cost with two to six students.
- Ask whether the course fee already includes classroom samples or a shipped kit.
- Buy representative regional wines, not prestige cuvées.
- Use 375 millilitre bottles or reputable sample packs where available.
- Preserve still wine with a sound closure and refrigerate it promptly, then retaste within a short window.
Online-course samples are not usually included in the base fee, according to WSET’s online-learning guidance. Put sample delivery and any required tasting workshop into the full cost before choosing a provider.
What the Kit Cannot Do
It cannot replace the official study materials, your provider’s teaching or the current specification. It also cannot guarantee that a bottle represents its category perfectly. Bottle condition, vintage and producer style introduce variation.
After the tasting work, return to the actual assessment: use the Level 2 exam guide and a timed mock test. If tasting consumes revision time without improving causal understanding, reduce the set and strengthen theory retrieval.
Sommo turns those observations into a repeatable study loop, with structured tasting records, mock questions and spaced repetition for the theory behind each contrast. Download Sommo free and keep the glass connected to what the exam tests.
Sommo is independent of WSET. The current WSET specification, official materials and your Approved Programme Provider remain authoritative.
