Melbourne Wine School · Written Questions
Level 3 Wine Written Questions
The written section is where most candidates lose marks, and it is the one part of studying that cannot be done by reading. Timed practice against the clock, with the model answer and its full mark allocation revealed the moment your time runs out.
Choose a region below. Every sitting draws a different set of questions, so you can return as often as you like and sit a fresh paper each time.
How it works
Write, then mark yourself
Marks are awarded for explanation, not for lists of nouns. Learning to read the mark allocation and shape an answer to fit is worth as much as the knowledge itself.
I
A question appears
With its mark value, and a eight-minute countdown.
II
You write
In full sentences, as you would in the exam. Finished early? Reveal it sooner.
III
The answer reveals
Your box locks and the model answer appears, broken into its mark points.
IV
You mark yourself
Tick what you actually wrote. Not what you meant to write.
About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Examiner’s note
Marks are given for the mechanism, not the noun. “Steep slopes” earns nothing; “steep slopes, which maximise sun interception in a cool climate” earns the mark.
About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Examiner’s note
Read the mark allocation before you write. A six-mark question wants six developed points, not one long paragraph and not twelve short ones.
About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Examiner’s note
If a question says "state and explain", it is two instructions. Candidates who only state lose half the marks available.
About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Examiner’s note
An unanswered question cannot be recovered elsewhere. Write something on every part, even if it is thin.
Disclaimer - About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Getting the most from this
Three things worth knowing
Be strict with the tick boxes
If the mark is for explaining why gravel soils suit Cabernet Sauvignon and you wrote only "gravel soils", you did not earn it. Marking yourself generously feels better and teaches you nothing.
Watch the mark allocation
A six-mark question wants six developed points, not one long paragraph or twelve short ones. Read the marks, then shape the answer to fit them.
Come back and draw a fresh set
The gap between a first and a third sitting is usually not knowledge, it is fluency. Nothing is saved between sittings, so finish one before you close the page.
Disclaimer - About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Examiner’s note
Climate questions want a number and a hazard. "Continental" on its own is one mark out of four.
About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Examiner’s note
Ageing categories are pure recall. If you are dropping marks on minimum months in oak, that is revision, not technique.
About these questions
These practice questions have been written by Melbourne Wine School for the purposes of study and revision. They are not official WSET examination questions, they are not produced, approved or endorsed by WSET, and they do not form part of any WSET assessment.
Model answers, mark allocations and pass marks are our own teaching interpretation, offered as a guide to the standard expected. They are not an official mark scheme, and a score here is not a prediction of a result in the examination itself.
WSET and the WSET logo are registered trademarks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Melbourne Wine School
Keep going
Written practice works best alongside the multiple choice quizzes, where the recall questions live. Between the two you cover both halves of the theory paper.