Advanced Wine Knowledge for Yacht Interior

Independent study. xplor is not a WSET Approved Programme Provider and is not affiliated with WSET. Useful preparation if you are working toward WSET Level 3, but no WSET qualification, examination or certificate is awarded, and the blind-tasting examination cannot be replicated online.

Free

WINE-3-1 · The Framework: Why a Wine Tastes as It Does

4 lessons

WINE-3-1.1 The Vineyard: Site, Season and Grower Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-1.1.1

From Naming to Explaining: Why a Wine Tastes as It Does

Introduces the discipline of explanation: justifying a wine style and its quality by naming the cause, rather than merely naming the wine. Covers the four families of cause and the difference between climate and weather. States plainly that xplor is not a WSET Approved Programme Provider and that no qualification is awarded here.

WINE-3-1.1.2

Climate, Weather, Site and Viticulture

Explains how climate band, the growing environment (latitude, altitude, aspect, water, soil) and viticultural choices such as yield and harvest date create a wine style. Distinguishes site factors from seasonal weather.

WINE-3-1.2 The Winery and the Glass Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-1.2.1

Winemaking: Vessel, Extraction, Oak and Maturation

Covers the winemaking decisions that shape style: vessel, fermentation temperature, extraction, malolactic conversion, lees, oak type, size, age and toast, blending, maturation, stabilisation and bottling. Teaches reading a wine backwards to its cellar causes.

WINE-3-1.2.2

Tasting, Explaining and Judging Quality, Readiness and Price

Teaches a structured tasting method and, crucially, how to explain each observation by naming its cause. Covers judging quality on balance, length, intensity, complexity and typicity, assessing readiness for drinking, and describing wine to a guest without jargon.

WINE-3-2 · France in Depth

4 lessons

WINE-3-2.1 Bordeaux Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-2.1.1

Bordeaux: Banks, Communes, the 1855 Classification and Sauternes

Explains Bordeaux as a soil and grape story: gravel and Cabernet Sauvignon on the left bank, clay and Merlot on the right, the Medoc communes, and precisely what the 1855 classification does and does not classify. Covers Sauternes, botrytis and dry white Bordeaux.

WINE-3-2.2 Burgundy and Beaujolais Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-2.2.1

Burgundy: The Hierarchy, Chablis, the Cote d Or and Beaujolais

Sets out the Burgundy hierarchy from regional to Grand Cru, stressing that Burgundy classifies the vineyard while producer competence still decides quality. Covers Chablis, the Cote d Or, the southern regions and Beaujolais with its crus and semi-carbonic maceration.

WINE-3-2.3 The Rhone and the Rest of France Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-2.3.1

The Rhone Valley: Northern Syrah, Southern Blends

Contrasts the northern Rhone, where cool-site Syrah gives peppery, structured wines from steep terraces, with the warm southern Rhone and its Grenache-led blends, including Chateauneuf-du-Pape and its supporting varieties.

WINE-3-2.3.2

Loire, Alsace, Provence, the South and Jura

Covers the Loire from Muscadet through Chenin Blanc to Sancerre, varietally labelled Alsace and its off-dry trap, Provence rosé and Bandol, the value of the Languedoc, and the oxidative curiosities of Jura.

WINE-3-3 · Europe Beyond France

4 lessons

WINE-3-3.1 Italy Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-3.1.1

Piedmont and Northern Italy

Explains Nebbiolo as a pale but ferociously tannic and acidic grape, the logic of Barolo and Barbaresco, the roles of Barbera and Dolcetto, and the cool alpine whites of the north. Clarifies what DOCG, DOC and IGT actually tell you.

WINE-3-3.1.2

Tuscany, the Veneto and the Rest of Italy

Covers Sangiovese and the Tuscan hierarchy from Chianti to Brunello, the origin and status of the Super Tuscans, and the Veneto, where appassimento drying explains Amarone, Recioto and Ripasso. Ends with a tour of the Italian south.

WINE-3-3.2 Iberia Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-3.2.1

Spain and Portugal

Explains Rioja, where the classification is a length of ageing rather than a grape or a vineyard, and covers Ribera del Duero, Priorat and Rias Baixas, then Portugal: Douro table wine, Vinho Verde, Dao and Alentejo.

WINE-3-3.3 Germany, Austria and Central Europe Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-3.3.1

Germany, Austria and the Rest of Europe

Clarifies that the German Pradikat scale describes ripeness at harvest and not guaranteed sweetness, with Trocken denoting dry. Covers the German regions, Austrian Gruner Veltliner and Riesling, and Greek, Hungarian and Central European wines.

WINE-3-4 · The New World and the Wider World

4 lessons

WINE-3-4.1 The Americas Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-4.1.1

The USA and Canada

Explains that a US AVA defines origin only, so the producer rather than the appellation guarantees style, and shows how fog and coastal gaps, rain shadow and lake effect drive style in California, Oregon, Washington, New York and Canada. Covers why Napa Cabernet is priced as it is.

WINE-3-4.1.2

Chile and Argentina

Explains how the Humboldt current, the Andes and Chile s natural quarantine from phylloxera shape its wines, and why the east-west Costa, Entre Cordilleras and Andes zones describe style better than valley names. Shows how altitude in Mendoza drives diurnal range, colour, tannin and acidity, and what separates a cheap Malbec from an expensive one.

WINE-3-4.2 The Southern Hemisphere Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-4.2.1

Australia and New Zealand

Shows how Australia s GI system defines origin only, and how regions from Barossa to Tasmania span nearly every climate, so the jammy stereotype is a climate error. Explains Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc as a product of both site and cool stainless-steel winemaking, plus Central Otago, Hawke s Bay and the drivers of price.

WINE-3-4.2.2

South Africa, and the Emerging Regions Including England

Explains how the Benguela current and the Cape Doctor cool South African vineyards, what the WO system certifies, and why Chenin Blanc and the Swartland revolution matter. Covers the emerging regions, including why English sparkling wine works on chalk in a warming marginal climate and why it is expensive.

WINE-3-5 · Sparkling, Fortified, Sweet and the Professional Context

4 lessons

WINE-3-5.1 Sparkling Wines Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-5.1.1

Sparkling Wine: The Methods Compared

Compares the traditional, transfer, tank, ancestral and carbonation methods, explaining autolysis and why lees contact is the real dividing line between Champagne and Prosecco. Walks through the traditional method step by step, the dosage scale, and the world s main sparkling wines.

WINE-3-5.2 Fortified and Sweet Wines Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-5.2.1

Fortified Wine End to End: Sherry, Port, Madeira and VDN

Explains that everything in fortified wine follows from when the spirit is added, and covers sherry from flor and biological ageing to oxidative Oloroso and the solera, then Port styles, Madeira and estufagem, and Vin Doux Naturel. Includes the service implications of each.

WINE-3-5.3 The Professional Context Practice in examiner →

WINE-3-5.3.1

Buying to a Brief: Cellar, Provenance and Storage

Turns an owner s budget and itinerary into a tiered cellar plan, then covers provenance and counterfeiting at the top of the market, what to inspect on an old bottle, and how to store wine correctly on a moving vessel. Ends on heat damage and the value of a cellar log.

WINE-3-5.3.2

Service, Faults and Pairing a Demanding Menu

Covers judging readiness to drink, the two quite different reasons to decant, the common wine faults, and exactly how to handle a corked bottle worth four figures in front of a guest. Ends with structural pairing principles, a responsible drinking note and a plain statement that this course is preparatory study only.

Aligned to the IAMI GUEST Program framework. Preparatory study only — assessment and certification are carried out by an approved GUEST Training Provider. Official source (GUEST Program).

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