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Tastings
No. Well, we do ask that you are dressed – obviously. All our events are informal.
No. Just bring yourselves and a sense of fun and adventure. We supply the wine, glasses, nibbles, pens and your own copy of tasting notes to take home with you as a memento. You don’t need to bring the tickets or confirmation either – we have a list of attendees we check off as you arrive.
Not at all. They are designed to be for everyone – if you are an expert, come along anyway, you might well learn something and your host will be up for the challenge of any questions you may have.
Of course – we won’t split anyone up (unless you request that we do!) Tables are normally for four or six people – if you’ve booked separately, then let us know and we’ll put you together. If all the tickets are in one name, you’ll be together anyway.
If there are more than ten of you, you might be interested in a private tasting.
Enough to make it an event, but not too many so you don’t get to make friends and ask your host questions.
For Cheese and Wine, Gin, Burns Night Whisky Dinner and Discovery courses, there will be a maximum of 24 people.
For Steak and Red Wine, Gin and Afternoon Tea and the Saturday lunches, there will be a maximum of 18 people.
For private tastings there’s a minimum of ten people and up to one hundred. It depends entirely on what you want.
For the Thursday and Friday wine events, it’s six 50ml samples. If you’re attending the Saturday lunch, around ⅔ of a bottle per person: A welcome glass of fizz, then nine 50ml samples.
For spirits, you get six standard measures of 25ml plus mixers and garnish for the gin events.
Sometimes we have guest appearances from producers too, who may have some extra exciting things for you to try!
Cheese and Wine, standard Gin and Whisky tastings and Discovery courses are usually Thursday or Friday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. Steak and Red Wine is usually a Friday from 7pm to 9pm.
Gin and Afternoon Tea is on a Saturday from 2pm – 4pm and the Saturday lunches take place between 11am and 3pm.
Please arrive ten minutes before the start so we can get everyone settled and ready to start on time.
Unfortunately tickets are not refundable, however if you give us at least 2 weeks notice we will be able to offer a date transfer or credit note. A notice period less than two weeks will be at our discretion, and only in exceptional circumstances.
We rarely need to cancel events; we hate to disappoint our guests. However, we need a minimum number of attendees per event to make them viable, and for a great atmosphere. We will endeavour to give as much notice as possible to guests if this is necessary. In the event WE need to cancel, a full refund or date transfer will be offered.
Courses
No matter how you choose to study with us, you get the following included in the price: the student pack or workbook, access to our online study guides and revision resources, help from a WSET Certified Educator when you need it during office hours, all postage costs, your first attempt at the exam and certificate and pin badge on successful completion.
Resits are not included, and will be subject to an additional charge based on current WSET rates for your level.
Everything you need to pass! The workbook and textbooks are designed to help guide you study and contain all the information you will be assessed on. Wider reading is encouraged, but if it’s not mentioned in the official text, then you won’t be expected to know it.
You do not need to have completed the Level 1 qualifications to study the Level 2. If you have some knowledge and interest in wine already, you may find it more fulfilling and useful to start with Level 2. However, the Level 1 is a nice, gentle introduction to the theory of winemaking and the most popular grape varieties.
Level 3 is much more demanding and includes a tasting exam. You therefore must have studied Level 2 already or have good working knowledge of wines or spirits already. We reserve the right to refuse enrolment, so please do get in touch with us to discuss this first if you do not currently hold the Level 2. If it has been some time since you completed Level 2, it would be beneficial if you revisited the coursework first to remind yourself of the fundamentals.
If you have done the required self study (and also made good use of our study guides) you should be fine. Worrying is natural, but do try not to worry too much: you’ve got this! The higher the level, the more detailed the syllabus and the more knowledge and understanding expected of you. However, if you don’t pass then we can arrange a resit subject to an additional fee.
If you have passed the same level previously, or a higher one, unfortunately you will not be able to sit the exam again to obtain a higher score. You are welcome to attend the classes or buy the latest student materials to refresh your skills, but please get in touch with us first to discuss. Unfortunately, we are unable to partially refund the cost of any course once you have registered. The WSET will check their records to verify you, and charge for this.
Yes, so long as you have completed the course and done the required private study for it. We will check with your previous educator, and reserve the right to refuse if we feel your level of knowledge isn’t sufficient. However, the course is universal no matter where you study it in the world, so you can take the re-sit so long as you have already done the course and on payment of the current resit fee.
The WSET was founded over 50 years ago with the mission to create a universal skill set and level of knowledge and understanding. Their courses are now regarded as the industry standard, and taught by accredited schools like Northern Wine School (known as APPs/Approved Programme Providers) around the world in almost every country. They are essential for anyone considering a career in wines, spirits or Sake and help keen enthusiasts develop their appreciation to the next level.
With a WSET qualification, you are an expert! In addition, most are also recognised by the UK government on the national qualification framework and Northern Wine School and the WSET are regulated and monitored by OfQual. They count towards your continuing professional development.
If you are booked onto a classroom-based course your exam will be on the last week, or at the end of the day for the Level 1. If you are opting for self study, or the online versions, we need 15 working days to book the exam for you. Please make sure you can attend the date, as papers cannot be cancelled once dispatched by the WSET.
We need to order the papers 2 weeks before the course starts. Unfortunately, once they are dispatched by the WSET we cannot defer your exam sitting, except in exceptional circumstances. We need to send all papers back to the WSET whether they have been used or not for security and to protect the integrity of their qualifications. We cannot hold onto unused papers. If you are unable to sit the paper, then we will have to order another one at additional cost.
Study Guides
As long as your account is active, you can take the tests as many times as you like – improving your knowledge each time you do.
Yes, you can. The resources are free to our students; however you can still access them if you’re studying elsewhere for a small fee.
No, they’re not. The WSET does not publish past exam papers, nor are we allowed to copy questions from actual exam papers and reproduce them.
However, we know how useful exam-style questions can be when revising, which is why we developed these extra resources which include question sets based on each course’s specification. These detail what will be examined and where the WSET place the most emphasis.
We can’t guarantee they will be exactly the same, or as difficult as you may find the actual exam, but we have developed them from our extensive knowledge of teaching the courses.
Although WSET courses are taught all over the world in many different languages, the syllabus is universal. As we are UK-based, all the content we provide is in English.
No. These are only practice questions designed by Northern Wine School to help you learn and test your understanding. Don’t worry if you get some things wrong, that’s how you learn and gives you focus on what to improve on before the real thing! The WSET do not see your results – you won’t be penalised.
We make sure that the questions are always updated when an update or completely new course is introduced. This sometimes means we have to delete whole courses and start again! However, this also means that you have access to up to date resources that represent what the exams currently assess.
Access is allocated to the email account and username you created at check out. To view it, navigate to My Account. Your study guide content is stored under the ‘memberships’ tab.
Gifts
Yes, you can exchange it for another event of equal value or in part payment of a more expensive one. Just get in touch and let us know so we can arrange it for you.
Of course, simply purchase an extra place on the same event. We recommend you do this as soon as possible to guarantee your preferred date.
Gift vouchers are valid for up to a year. As long as the voucher is redeemed by the one stated on your voucher, it doesn’t matter if the date of the event you want to attend is after. Validity dates can be extended for a small admin fee of £7 per voucher or set.
Our vouchers can be redeemed against any of our products, no matter the value. If you would like to use it in part payment of a more expensive event, once you enter the code the voucher value will be deducted. You just need to pay the balance.
It will be emailed to you – you can then send it on to the recipient however you wish (email, print it out…). There will be a copy in your account area to view as well, should you need it.
Unfortunately, gift vouchers are not refundable. Any remaining balance can be credited towards another event or course though.
A unique code will be generated and displayed on the voucher. This can be applied to any of our events or courses. Simply enter the code at checkout, and the amount will be deducted from the balance. If there is any credit remaining, the voucher code can be used again for another item.
