It helps you assess a wine and explain the reasons for your judgement, connecting what you taste to its origin and production choices. In your own wine choices, you’ll be better equipped to compare styles and quality and explore less familiar regions.

At work, these skills can help you select a wine range, explain recommendations to customers and communicate about wine precisely. The international perspective and study in English prepare you to engage with wines, clients and colleagues from around the world.

It is also a stepping stone towards the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines for those who want to pursue more in-depth, specialist study.

AIS and FISAR offer programmes leading to a sommelier diploma, covering tasting, wine service and food pairing. WSET Level 3 places an international, analytical perspective at its core: it compares wines from around the world and explores how environment and production choices shape their style and quality.

It is a standalone course with a standardised syllabus and exam, leading to an internationally recognised qualification. You must explain and justify your answers, as well as assess wines in a blind tasting exam. Studying in English on our course also develops your ability to communicate this knowledge internationally.

It does not confer the title of sommelier. It certifies advanced wine knowledge and tasting skills and provides a route towards the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines.

Before taking Level 3, it is advisable to have completed WSET Level 2 or have equivalent knowledge. The course requires a solid foundation in grape varieties, wine regions and wine production, on which to build more detailed explanations and reasoned assessments.

If your knowledge comes from another training programme or professional experience, contact us before enrolling. We can discuss your preparation and any preliminary study you may need.

At Atelier del Vino, WSET Level 3 is taught entirely in English, including the study materials and exam. The WSET Level 3 qualification is not currently available in Italian. Alongside following classes and studying the textbook, you will need to write answers explaining concepts and describe wines in the tasting exam.

You should therefore be able to express cause-and-effect relationships clearly, using wine terminology. Having studied Level 2 in English can help build this familiarity.

If you’re unsure about your language preparation, contact us before enrolling so we can discuss how best to approach the course.

Yes. We’ll send you the WSET textbook in advance, and it is important to begin studying before classes start, especially if you choose the intensive format. Level 3 requires you to connect your knowledge and explain why wines have particular characteristics, as well as recall facts.

In class, we’ll develop these connections through explanations, discussion and guided tastings. Independent study should accompany the entire course. The six weeks between the final teaching session and the exam are for consolidating your knowledge and practising written answers and systematic tasting.

The exam takes place in English, six weeks after the final teaching session, and consists of two assessments:

Theory: 50 multiple-choice questions and four multi-part short-answer questions, to be completed in two hours without consulting textbooks or notes.

Tasting: a blind tasting of two still wines, which you must describe and assess in 30 minutes using the WSET® Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine.

To achieve the qualification, you must score at least 55% in each of the two theory sections and at least 55% overall in the tasting assessment.

The next step is the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines, a specialist programme exploring wine production, the wine business and wines from around the world through more extensive study and advanced tasting.

If you’d like to continue, we can discuss your preparation and the commitment required, helping you decide when to undertake this programme at a provider offering the Diploma.