Category: WSET Level 4 Wine

A wine can leave fermentation in excellent condition and still disappoint when its bottle is opened. Time in a vessel, a final blend, a filtration

Removing alcohol does not leave an otherwise identical wine behind. Ethanol affects warmth, flavour release, texture and the environment in which

Concentrated grapes do not automatically make a sweet wine. Yeast can consume their sugar, producing a powerful dry wine instead. Sweet wine produ

A pale pink wine can be dry, sweet, delicate, firm, inexpensive or ambitious. Its colour does not settle any of those questions. Rosé winemaking

A dark red ferment can look impressive long before it tastes balanced. Colour enters the liquid relatively quickly, while the amount and character

Two white wines made from the same variety can seem barely related. One is brisk and aromatic, with a clean, direct fruit profile. Another feels b

A load of grapes reaches the winery, but it does not arrive as a blank canvas. The fruit brings its maturity, temperature, health, microorganisms

A grape can become sweeter without becoming more useful. Water loss can raise the concentration of sugar while heat, disease or an approaching sto

A vineyard can grow cover crops, encourage beneficial insects and use precision irrigation without being certified organic. Another can meet an or

Two vines can look thirsty for different reasons. One may have exhausted the water around its roots. Another may sit beside a blocked emitter whil