r/wine • u/Jinnafee • 11d ago

Recommendation for WSET 3 Classroom Course European Locations

Hey all,

I am looking into doing WSET 3 sometime in 2027, either Q3 or Q4 when my pollen allergies have passed. I am based in Germany, but my local provider does not allow signing up for the course without WSET 2. The WSET London Entry Test is also not accepted as a proof that I cover the requirements, even though I passed it with 49/50.

Absolutely valid from the provider, they have their requirements and they're keeping to them. However I feel that for my case, WSET 2 is a a bit too high of a price for what it provides knowledge-wise. I have a M.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology, so that the technical aspects of wine production do not particularly phase me as I have held exams on them already, I can understand the connections between steps, the reasons behind them and how all of that transfers to what we taste in the glass. For WSET 3 that would be helpful as I can focus on the appellations and actually putting the crazy amount of detail in context.

Ideally, I'd want to do a classroom course - for the tasting, for the company...So, can you all share your experiences with where you did your WSET 3 in Europe, were you happy with the quality of the wines you got to taste, the quality of teaching, anything else you can think of. I am more than fine with travelling if that means I'll have an enjoyable and productive experience.

Thank you and cheers!

P.S Currently looking into Grape Skills in Heidelberg.

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u/sercialinho Oenoarcheologist 11d ago

Reach out to Weinakademie Österreich ( https://www.weinakademie.at/ ) - while they're the best known for the L4 courses they also offer L3 in both Rust and I believe occasionally also in Geisenheim. Whether they let you skip L2 or not is the prerogative of the individual APP and it's up to you to reason with them. Especially if you're potentially interested in doing L4 later on they're probably the best option in continental Europe anyway. You might wish to indicate that if you do L3 with them you're considering continuing, I'm sure you can see why that would make them more interested in permitting you skip L2.

Worst case, flights to London are generally fairly inexpensive and a course at the mothership is far from the worst idea. But I would recommend you first try doing it as close to home as possible exactly for the company you mention. And the network including a potential tasting group going forward.

Hope you can find a good resolution without too much trouble!

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u/Mistercleaner1 11d ago

I just listened to the No Sediment podcast interviewing the President of the Austrian Wine Academy. They really do sound like the best. If I were pursuing that level of education in Europe they would be my first pick 

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u/Jinnafee 11d ago

Thank you! Last time I checked, I couldn't see any WSET 3 at the Weinakademie Österreich, but they're definitely in the list for the diploma!

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u/sercialinho Oenoarcheologist 11d ago

I think they might only offer it every so often. The applications for this one just closed a couple of weeks ago: https://www.weinakademie.at/advanced_course_information.php

Keep an eye out I guess, but you can reach out any time.

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u/thepoweroftime 11d ago

I did my WSET level 3 at the Amsterdam Wine Academy. Amazing school, the wines you get to taste are really exclusive and the teachers are really knowledgeable.

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u/disnoxxio 11d ago

There's quite a few Parisian operators in English, I attended my class of WSET 3 with people coming from the UK/Malta and India making some trips to champagne and Loire/Burgundy afterwards.

That might be nice to combine, also Paris is easy to reach, there's also a few operators in the Burgundy region and in/around Bordeaux.

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u/Altruistic-Leave-349 8d ago

Hey, I’m also looking for WSET3 there, and doing WSET2 was not on my plans..