WSET

​I am extremely happy to announce that I have completed all of the requirements for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), Level 2 (for wine, of course).  WSET was established in England by the same people and at around the same time as the Court of Master Sommeliers.  The Court of Master Sommeliers is geared for people in the restaurant trade, whereas WSET is more for wine writers, winery reviewers, et al., and is more technical.  At the top of the heap of WSET, one becomes a Master of Wine.  Of course, if you go the Court route you wind up a Master Sommelier.  For people like me, WSET is the better track, so I took it.  Not to be outdone, Doc Ed is impatiently waiting the results of his WSET Level 3 finals, having moved from the Court where he had already achieved level 1.
WSET is more classroom oriented, and I was quite lucky to have the course taught locally by a Master of Wine, Lindsay Pomeroy.  The classes included tasting lots of wines, something I found quite delightful (duh!).  She also teaches both WSET level 1 and level 3 classes, and some others, including a wine tasting class.  Her website is www.winesmarties.com, should you be interested in taking one of her courses.
If you pass the test, you are awarded a pin and a certificate.  I have attached a picture of the pin, but they do not want the certificate duplicated in any way, including a picture, for fear of being forged.  I will wear the pin on my winery visits, of course.  Need it for my street cred…