Hi, I’m Daisy, and I recently started working at Amsterdam Wine Academy. Now you might think, “She must know a lot about wine,” but that’s not the case. That doesn’t mean I don’t like wine, but to be honest, when someone asked me what I thought of a wine, I often only knew how to say “delicious” (or not delicious). So when I started working at AWA, I wasn’t exactly trained in systems and processes, but my colleagues did say, “Daisy, get your WSET!”
Well, there are worse things, so I immediately seized that opportunity. My expectations were that it would be quite a challenge because I do know some names of regions and grapes, but if you asked me about the characteristics, I would get stuck pretty quickly. I also wondered if it would be a bit fun. After all, it’s two lessons plus an exam, so three evenings dedicated to it.
The first evening was about the winemaking process, different types of wine, and the characteristics of wine. We dove right in, but with the enthusiastic guidance of our instructor Monique, it was all easy to follow, and the group was serious but not too serious, so there was definitely some laughter. In addition, we tasted 6 wines, and the spittoon (spit bucket) wasn’t used much, which also contributed to the great atmosphere.
The second evening focused on applying and testing the knowledge. We did this through an exercise with the wine list and practicing wine and food pairings. During the exercise with the wine list, I immediately noticed that I didn’t just stare at it endlessly but knew right away which direction (type of wine, country of origin) I wanted to go. That felt like a small win! Then came the wine and food pairings, which I found the most surprising part of the course. It was really fun and incredibly educational to see what food does to wine. Finally, we went over the theory because the following week was time for the last session: the exam!
After thoroughly reviewing the theory at home during the week, the moment arrived — the exam. I took it very seriously because, as an Amsterdam Wine Academy colleague, I couldn’t fail! So I was well-prepared for the exam. But no matter how prepared I was, I was still nervous! That really wasn’t necessary, as I had been told, and it turned out to be true. Besides getting a chance to ask our final questions, we did a mock exam. By then, the worst nerves were gone! It was time for the real exam: 30 multiple-choice questions with 45 minutes to complete, but after about 25 minutes, everyone was done.
But the evening didn’t end there because we were asked to each bring a bottle of wine for the “Bottle Party.” I had picked a nice bottle of Chardonnay from South Africa, carefully chosen because, yes, now I know what I like! Monique lined up the 16 bottles from light to heavy and from white to red, and we all had a really fun conclusion to an educational and very enjoyable course!
A few weeks later, the long-awaited phone call came, and I had passed! Luckily, I don’t have to look for another job. 😉
