The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, often referred to as WSET, is a global organisation which arranges courses and exams in the field of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

spirits Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

and

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

. WSET was founded in 1969, is headquartered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and is generally regarded as one of the world's leading providers of wine education. In 2016, it opened its first international office, WSET Asia Pacific, in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in response to high demand for wine and spirit education across Greater China.

History and management

WSET grew out of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association Education Committee and was set up with the financial assistance of the

Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is ''Vinum Exhilarat A ...

. The management of the WSET reports to a Board of Trustees made up of 8 members: three from The Worshipful Company of Vintners, three from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, one from the

Worshipful Company of Distillers The Worshipful Company of Distillers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Distillers' Company was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1638 as proposed by Thomas Cademan and Theodore de Mayerne, physicians to Queen Henrie ...

and another one from the Institute of

Masters of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional know ...

Courses

The courses given by WSET were originally intended for people in the wine & spirit trade. The WSET programmes have increasingly been attended also by non-professional

connoisseur A connoisseur (French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator o ...

s. The WSET offers professional certification in more than 70 countries worldwide, the courses are delivered by Approved Programme Providers.

WSET Awards in Wines

* Level 1 Award in Wines * Level 2 Award in Wines * Level 3 Award in Wines * Level 4 Diploma in Wines In the past 50 years, there have been over 10,000 WSET Level 4 Diploma graduates. Those who successfully complete the Diploma are able to use the post-nominal “DipWSET” after their name.

WSET Awards in Spirits

* Level 1 Award in Spirits * Level 2 Award in Spirits * Level 3 Award in Spirits

WSET Awards in Sake

* Level 1 Award in Sake * Level 3 Award in Sake

Notable alumni

Notable DipWSETs include: * Gerard Basset * Jancis Robinson * Jasper Morris * Lisa Perotti-Brown

References

External links

Wine & Spirit Education Trust official site

Wine Business Formation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wine and Spirit Education Trust Education in the London Borough of Southwark Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom 1969 establishments in the United Kingdom Hospitality industry in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark Organizations established in 1969 Professional titles and certifications Wine industry organizations Wine tasting Wine terminology