WSET® Level 3 Award in Wines

Classroom Course Price: $1699  |  Online Course Price: $1099

About the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines

The WSET Level 3 Award in Wines is an advanced qualification for wine professionals and serious enthusiasts who want to explain wine style, quality, and price with authority. This globally recognized credential covers the world’s principal wine regions in real depth, from the viticulture and winemaking that shape each style to the regulations and labels that govern them.

Because the course pairs rigorous classroom tasting with systematic evaluation using the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine® (SAT), you will learn to assess any wine in the glass, articulate what you taste, and make informed judgments about quality. Specifically, you will taste 60+ benchmark wines chosen to illustrate the major points of the course across both Old World and New World regions.

In short, Level 3 is where wine fluency becomes wine expertise. Students finish the course able to guide a cellar conversation, lead a staff training, or advise a buyer with the confidence that comes from systematic knowledge.

Prerequisite: WSET Level 2 Award in Wines or equivalent wine knowledge. Candidates must be 21 years of age or older to participate in any tasting activity.

Who Is This For?

• Sommeliers, beverage directors, and wine buyers advancing toward expert-level fluency
• Retail and import professionals who select, describe, and sell wines by style and quality
• Serious enthusiasts ready to move beyond Level 2 and engage with wines systematically
• Future WSET Diploma candidates building the tasting and theory foundation required to progress

Course Details for the Level 3 Award in Wines

Slate Wine Academy delivers the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines in two formats on a single registration page. Choose the path that fits your schedule and how you prefer to learn.

Classroom format. The in-person course runs across ten three-hour sessions led by a SWSA Course Educator, followed by a separate eleventh session for the in-person exam. Scheduling varies by cohort and typically follows a weekly format or a compressed multi-Sunday format. Each cohort tastes 60+ benchmark wines across the course’s regions and styles, and students sit the in-person exam at the final scheduled session.

Online format. The online course runs through the WSET Online Classroom, a self-paced platform that gives you 12 months of access to all course content plus a nine-week educator support window for questions as you study. Importantly, Level 3 uses an in-person exam regardless of course format, so online students coordinate with SWSA to sit the exam at one of our scheduled exam sessions.

What You’ll Learn

Tasting and Evaluating Wine Systematically

First, you will learn to evaluate wines using the WSET Level 3 SAT. Specifically, this covers appearance, nose, palate, quality assessment, and readiness for drinking, so you can judge any wine with consistent rigor.

Factors in the Vineyard and Winery

Next, you will study how climate, soil, viticulture, and winemaking choices shape the finished wine. These production fundamentals explain why wines from one region taste so different from another and why style, quality, and price vary across the global wine market.

Wines of France

Then, you will cover the still and rosé wines of France in depth, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône, Alsace, Loire, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, and the South West, along with the regulations and labels that frame each region.

Wines of the Rest of Europe

After that, you will work through the principal European wine countries beyond France, including Germany, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece. Each country’s style signatures, key regions, and classification systems build the theoretical backbone of the exam.

Wines of the New World

In addition, you will explore the major New World producers, including the United States, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Each region’s climate, flagship grape varieties, and stylistic range round out your global picture of wine.

Sparkling, Fortified, Service, and Price

Finally, you will study the production methods and signature styles behind Champagne, other key sparkling wines, Sherry, Port, and other fortified wines. Importantly, you will also cover wine service, storage, and the factors that influence wine price and quality across the global market.

Classroom Course Includes

• Ten three-hour in-person sessions led by a SWSA Course Educator
• Printed WSET Level 3 Award in Wines study materials
• 60+ benchmark wines tasted in class across the course’s regions and styles
• Invigilated in-person exam at a separate final session
• Educator guidance throughout the course
• Additionally, wine glasses, tasting mats, and spit cups at every session
• Access to the SWSA Remote Learning Hub, a companion resource with supplementary video content to reinforce your study between sessions
• Optional pre-exam Tasting Review Session available as an add-on for extra blind tasting practice before exam day

Online Course Includes

• Printed WSET Level 3 Award in Wines study materials shipped to your mailing address
• 12 months of access to the WSET Online Classroom
• Educator support available throughout the nine-week support window
• Self-paced video lessons, module quizzes, and mock exams inside the Online Classroom
• 50+ practice short written answer questions to reinforce your study
• Free admission to a pre-exam Tasting Review Session with a SWSA educator for blind tasting practice before exam day
• Access to the SWSA Remote Learning Hub, a companion resource with recorded classroom sessions and supplementary video content
• In-person exam scheduled with SWSA at one of our exam sessions
• Wine samples are not included; a suggested tasting list accompanies the course so you can source wines locally

SWSA Student Perks

Every SWSA student enjoys partner benefits that extend learning beyond the course. Specifically, the following perks apply to the Level 3 Award in Wines:

• Tim’s Wine Market offers a student discount on wine purchases. Details shared after registration.
• E-tasting offers a student discount on a curated Level 3 Wines tasting kit to support at-home practice. Details shared after registration.
• Direct access to a WSET-certified SWSA educator by text, phone, or email throughout your course.

Time Commitment

The WSET Level 3 Award in Wines carries a Total Qualification Time (TQT) of 84 hours. This breaks down into 30 Guided Learning Hours (which count the scheduled exam time) and 54 hours of Private Study.

Overall, the online format lets you control the pace across your nine-week support window and your 12-month classroom access, while the in-person format delivers the same content across ten three-hour sessions with real-time educator guidance and live tastings.

Assessment for the Level 3 Award in Wines

• Exam format: two assessed units:
  • Unit 1: a closed-book theory exam with 50 multiple-choice questions plus a short written answer paper.
  • Unit 2: a blind tasting paper covering two wines using the WSET Level 3 SAT.
• Pass mark: 55% on each part of Unit 1 and 55% across Unit 2, with three grading bands:
  • Pass: 55% to 64%
  • Pass with Merit: 65% to 79%
  • Pass with Distinction: 80% and above, with no individual paper below 65%
• In-person exam only: regardless of whether the course is taken online or in person, Level 3 candidates sit the exam in person at a SWSA exam session.
• Classroom students: sit the exam in person at the final scheduled session of the course.
• Online students:
  • The exam date listed in the course registration block is the next scheduled SWSA exam session after your online course ends.
  • Online students must confirm exam registration and attendance with SWSA directly before their online course window closes. Listing an exam date does not automatically enroll online students in that session.
• One-year exam window from enrollment, with a rescheduling fee published on the WSET cancellations policy.
• Successful candidates receive a digital WSET certificate, and a lapel pin is available upon request.
• The WSET Level 3 Award in Wines is Ofqual regulated.

Helpful Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Cancellations, Refunds, and Transfers Policy