About the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines

What Is the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines?

Quick Answer: The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines is a 50-question, 60-minute, closed-book multiple-choice exam. You need 55% to pass, 70% for a Merit, and 85% for a Distinction. There is no negative marking and no tasting component in the assessment itself.

The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines is the second rung on the four-level ladder run by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the world's leading wine and spirits education body. The ladder runs Level 1 → Level 2 → Level 3 → Level 4 Diploma, with each level assuming progressively deeper prior knowledge.

Level 2 assumes little or no prior knowledge of wine. You do not need to hold Level 1 first — Level 2 is where most wine professionals and serious enthusiasts start, because it's the first level detailed enough to be recognized across the trade (retail, hospitality, distribution, export) and it's the required entry ticket for WSET Level 3, which providers will not enrol you in without a Level 2 pass (or equivalent).

Courses are delivered through Approved Programme Providers (APPs) — independent schools, colleges, and online academies licensed by WSET, not WSET itself — and can be taken in-person, via live online classroom, or as self-study with a tutor available for support. Whichever route you take, the final assessment is identical: the same 50-question, closed-book, 60-minute exam, taken under exam conditions and marked to the same national grade boundaries.

Exam Format

Because there's no penalty for a wrong guess, never leave a question blank on exam day — an educated guess costs nothing, while a blank answer guarantees zero marks.

Study Time and Grading

The qualification carries a Total Qualification Time (TQT) of 28 hours, of which 17 are Guided Learning Hours (GLH) — time spent with a tutor in a classroom or live online course. The remaining roughly 11 hours are expected independent study: reading the course book, reviewing the Systematic Approach to Tasting, and working through practice questions.

Results are reported at four levels:

• Fail (unclassified): 44% or below
• Fail: 45%–54%
• Pass: 55%–69%
• Pass with Merit: 70%–84%
• Pass with Distinction: 85% or above

The Six Content Areas (Learning Outcomes)

WSET publishes an official exam weighting by Learning Outcome (LO), so you know exactly where to invest study time:

Notice that LO3 and LO4 together make up 62% of the exam — the eight principal grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Grigio/Gris) and their key regions are the single biggest lever on your final mark. If your study time is limited, prioritize grape-variety-and-region chapters over any other topic.

How to Study for Level 2

1. Learn the vocabulary first. Every LO — from viticulture to labelling — is described using the same handful of structural terms (sweetness, acidity, tannin, body, alcohol, flavour). Master that vocabulary before memorizing regions; it's the language the entire exam is written in (see section 1.2).
2. Weight your revision to the exam. Spend roughly 60% of your study time on LO3 + LO4 (grape varieties and regional wines), since together they're the majority of the paper.
3. Use practice MCQs, not just re-reading. Recognizing a wrong answer is a different skill from recalling a fact, and the exam only tests the former.
4. Learn labels alongside grapes. Many questions pair a variety with the correct Geographical Indication (GI) or quality term (e.g., DOCG, AOC, Prädikat) rather than testing the grape alone — study them together, not separately.
5. Don't skip the "foundational" chapters. LO1 (grape growing) is only 10% of the exam, but its concepts — climate, ripeness, yield — reappear as the explanation behind why a grape variety tastes a certain way in a cool region versus a warm one. Treat Chapters 2 and 3 as the grammar the later, grape-by-grape chapters depend on, not as a low-priority topic to rush through.

Passing Level 2 qualifies you to progress to the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines, which adds a blind-tasting paper and short-answer questions on top of multiple choice — so the vocabulary and structure you build here is the direct foundation for that next step.