I passed the Stage 1 Masters of Wine (MW) exam in 2017, and I below I share my perspectives in a post from my Blogger archives. There are three stages of the Masters of Wine Study Programme, after one is accepted as a student. The Stage 1 exam is mostly to gauge readiness to proceed on to Stage 2, widely known as the "MW Exam" proper. This exam covers a series of blind tastings (12 wines each) in the morning, followed by theory essay exams in the afternoon, throughout the week. Stage 3 consists of the academic research paper. Students must successfully pass each stage to move on to the next. Needless to say, it is a multi-year endeavor. From my current perspective, I felt I ultimately was not as well prepared going into Stage 2, despite my success with the initial exam. Stage 2 is truly a beast, but we'll get into that in the next post!
I hope the following will be interesting and helpful to those who are curious about the program, or prospective and current students. Thanks for reading!
Stage 1 Masters of Wine Exam (August 2017)
Since having been accepted as a student of the MW Study Programme last September (see previous post), I had been head-down studying for the Stage 1 exam. I sat the exam in early June this year, which consisted of a 12 wine blind Practical paper and Theory papers drawing from any topic pertaining to the wine world.
What is the Stage 1 Masters of Wine exam?
The Stage 1 exam is the first of three milestones towards achieving the title of Master of Wine. (Actually, I consider there to be a “Stage 0”: application to and acceptance by the Institute’s Study Programme, which is not known for high acceptance rates.) The Stage 1 exam tests candidates to see if they have the mettle and promise to take on the multi-day Stage 2 exam, the “official” and full Master of Wine exam. I felt exhausted after the Stage 1 exam, and the next stage requires several days in a row of the same demanding conditions each day. If you make it past that exam you then reach Stage 3, the Research Paper (a dissertation, essentially).
My goal for Stage 1 was to finish the exam, whether I passed or not. There’s nothing worse than feeling like I’m running out of time while there are still more questions to address. While this was not an issue for me at the WSET Diploma level, finishing Practical blind tasting papers and Theory essays at the caliber of a Masters of Wine exam has been — and is — a real challenge. Thank goodness I met that goal when I sat the exam this past June. A challenging time limit has forced me to better focus, prioritize, and cut unnecessary thinking and writing. I’m still learning how to do this more effectively.
Happily, I found out that I passed the Stage 1 exam! My studying since last September has paid off. I am so relieved.
Up Next: The Stage 2 Masters of Wine Exam
I’ve been asked what’s next for me in the Study Programme. In a nutshell: working up towards nearly a week’s worth of exams. The mornings will consist of a blind tasting Practical Paper, followed by Theory Papers in the afternoon.
The Practical Paper: You are given 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete each 'paper', which consists of a series of varying questions pertaining to individual or groups of wines in the 12 wines presented.
Paper 1 (Still White)
Paper 2 (Still Red)
Paper 3 (Mixed Bag - anything goes - sparkling, still, sweet, fortified, any style)
The Theory Paper: You are given 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on the 'paper', for each essay, and you write two to three essays per 'paper' on any topic within a certain area of the wine industry.
Paper 1 - Viticulture
Paper 2 - Vinification and Pre-Bottling Procedures
Paper 3 - Handling of Wine (e.g. QA/QC, packaging, supply chain logistics, bottling, etc.)
Paper 4 - The Business of Wine (financial, commercial, marketing aspects)
Paper 5 - Contemporary Issues (candidates need to know what’s going on in the wine world, what’s at stake for all parties involved, and be able to take a well-reasoned stance on the issue at hand)
Time is already running out as I study for the Stage 2 Masters of Wine exam. I need to focus and prioritize as never before. My studies since last September have greatly (re)shaped my knowledge and understanding of various aspects of the wine world, but that was just the start of my journey. There are many gaps in my knowledge that I need to address before I can even begin to demonstrate the “mastery” needed to pass Stage 2.
Demonstrating “Mastery”
Through the Study Programme, I’m slowly learning, step by step, that the ability to demonstrate “mastery” of a subject is about all (not one, not two, but all three) of the following:
Having breadth and depth of knowledge
The ability to synthesize the disparate aspects of that knowledge and understand how they impact one another other
The ability to apply this knowledge to any area of the wine industry and beyond
What does this mean for the exam?
Practical Papers: You can correctly identify every wine on the Practical (blind tasting) exam and still not pass. The goal is to lead to your conclusion like a lawyer. You need to prove that the wine is what you say it is in a cogent and logical manner, based on what is in the glass. The Masters of Wine who mark the exams will be able to sense when you’re making things up. Happily, even if you don’t get every wine correct, you can still accumulate enough points to pass if you've made a really sound argument (again based solely on evidence in the glass). The caveat: the probability of not passing a Practical Paper increases upon missing truly “classic” examples such as for Burgundy or Bordeaux. That said, the examiners try to look for other ways the candidate shows breadth and depth of knowledge in his/her answers, and there is no one hard or fast rule about this.
Theory Papers: It's not sufficient to regurgitate everything you know about a particular subject (e.g. pH, oxygen, water management, bulk wine supply chain logistics, etc.). You have to define your parameters, state your definitions, lay out why the subject at hand matters and when it matters, when it doesn’t matter and for whom, with varied, global, and specific examples for each aspect you write about. You have to be able to organize your essay, write it, and tie it up neatly in a bow within 1 hour or 1.5 hours, depending on the paper topic. Most of all, you need to answer the question. It's shockingly easy, I've found, to have written a practice essay and realized 1 hour later that I didn't actually answer the question posed.
I’m still struggling greatly with this, my biggest problem being knowledge gaps. I can’t write about what I don’t know! I’d rather have the reverse problem of having too much to write about, and being forced to define parameters for the essay to best answer the question. I have my work cut out for me.
The Long View
Statistically speaking, very few candidates pass both components of the Stage 2 exam on the first try. We’re talking about really focused, intelligent, driven individuals, too. I’m trying not to let this get to me, and I am working on re-structuring my study plan so that I stay focused on the learning process. I need to hone my ability to take what I learn and connect the dots between them, and to be able to write and speak cogently and logically about all these engrossing topics. And if I'm not ready, I'm not ready. The learning will continue.
That, after all, is the reason I am continuing to step up my wine studies. I have already gained so much from Stage 1 of the program. No matter the stress and frustration I have yet to encounter in this next leg of the journey, I will try to remember that I work to meet my goals of continued learning. I also take comfort in knowing that in the process, there will always be the ineffable fascination and joy of greater understanding.