WSET Level Two Award in Wines with Polly Gibson of 'Wine With Polly' at Winding Wood Vineyard

From Autumn 2024 we are delighted to be hosting courses with Wine with Polly at Winding Wood Vineyard.

From how to recognise a riesling to food pairing a pinot, expand your wine knowledge with this four-day beginner to intermediate course based at Winding Wood Vineyard in West Berkshire. Suitable for industry professionals and wine enthusiasts, by the end of the course, you’ll have gained an in depth knowledge of the principal and regionally important grape varieties of the world, the regions in which they are grown, and the styles of wine they produce.

What you’ll learn:

How to taste and describe wine using the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®(SAT)

How environmental factors, grape-growing, winemaking and maturation options influence the style and quality of wines made from eight principal grape varieties;

Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio/Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz

The style and quality of wines:

made from 22 regionally important grape varieties

produced in over 70 geographical indications (GIs) around the world

How grape varieties and winemaking processes influence key styles of:

Sparkling wines

Fortified wines

Key labelling terms used to indicate origin, style and quality

Principles and processes involved in the storage and service of wine

Principles of food and wine pairing

Who’s it for?

This course is perfect for anyone interested in learning about wine, either for personal interest or for those embarking on a career in wine or hospitality. No previous qualifications are required, but if you are a complete novice you may wish to complete the WSET Level One Award in Wine before embarking on this qualification. If you’d like to talk through which qualification would be best suited to you please get in touch.

Where is the course held?

We're lucky enough to call Winding Wood Vineyard our home in West Berkshire; a boutique vineyard in organic conversion, beautifully situated between Newbury and Hungerford.

About Polly Gibson

A wine lover on a mission to never be a wine bore! Polly is a WSET Diploma holder with over a decade of experience in the industry and is the founder of 'Wine With Polly', an events and education company based in West Berkshire. She has put hundreds of students successfully through WSET training (with a 100% pass rate to date!) 

Course dates (students are required to attend all four days): 

November 2024

Taught days 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th November 2024

Exam on 1st December 2024

Course days 10am-3.30pm.

Price includes tea, coffee and a light lunch each day.

In addition to classroom study this qualification requires a minimum of 11 hours of personal study and is assessed by a one-hour multiple choice examination.

For more detailed information on what is covered in the courses please see the specification here. 

*Please note a booking form must be completed two weeks prior to course start date.  

What our students say about this course...

"...your teaching has been outstanding - balanced between getting through all the syllabus but also offering enough interesting extras and anecdotes to make the facts memorable.

Definite highlights have been getting to smell all the wet grass, forest floor & mushroom smells on the first morning walk, the smell of Gevery-Chambertain, and a serious bout of reminiscing/wanderlust induced by the Chianti this afternoon." 

Ben Piper, Newquay

"Thank you for a great 4 days of teaching, organising and sharing your enthusiasm and great knowledge with us. I feel like I learned a lot about grapes, and wine, and geography. And of course how to keep warm in a barn...!"

Lucy Howdle, Falmouth

"Thank you very much for putting on a really enjoyable, informative and well-executed course. I learnt loads, and found the whole experience excellent. It was a great group, really nice to get to know everyone."

Jim Michell, St Wenn