WSET to offer Level 3 Award in Spirits

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) will launch a Level 3 Award in Spirits course next year, following industry demand for an advanced qualification.

The WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits will include Asian spirits such as as baijiu, soju and shochu

The WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits, which will be available from 1 August 2019, will be the highest advanced course for spirits offered by the WSET. Currently the WSET offers a Level 1 and Level 2 Award in spirits.

The new qualification has been designed to “complement the global growth in spirits”.

The course will build on the WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits and provide more detail on production and its impact on style and quality.

In addition the course will cover a “broader spectrum” of spirits from around the world. For the first time, the WSET will examine Asian spirits such as baijiu, soju and shochu.

As with other WSET Level 3 qualifications, the exam will include both a blind-tasting exam and a written paper comprising multiple-choice and short written answer questions.

In addition, the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits and the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits will now “focus exclusively” on wines, and will no longer have modules in spirits.

“We continually work to ensure that our qualifications remain current and job-relevant, equipping students with the skills and expertise they need,” said WSET chief executive Ian Harris.

“Extensive consultation with key industry stakeholders indicated a clear demand for specialist product education in the categories of wine, spirits and sake; our newly updated suite of qualifications directly addresses this demand, completing the separation of our products into three distinct subject-matter streams.”