Forgive me if there are a lot of exclamation points in this post, but I have received word that I passed the Fortified Exam I took back in June! Whoo hoo!!! I wasn’t sure about this one. I even kept my big wall infographics in case I had to re-take the exam. But alas, I have passed! Here is where I stand: Unit 1: The Business of Wine and Spirits Case Study PASSED Research Paper PASSED Unit 2: Viticulture & Vinification PASSED Unit 3: Still Wines of the World SESSIONS BEGIN IN OCTOBER; EXAM JUNE 2017 Unit 4: Spirits PASSED Unit 5: Sparkling Wines PASSED Unit 6: Fortified Wines PASSED As you can see, all that remains to complete my Diploma certification is a passing grade on the Unit 3 exam, which is the most difficult one. This test is about 3x the size of the other exams I have taken. It consists of 12 blind tastings, about 4 short answer questions, and 1 long essay. The exam isn’t until June of 2017, so I have close to 10 months to study. Our classes begin in October, and from there, our tasting group and theory group will commence. I am also working one-on-one with a classmate and we are reviewing the entire viticulture/vinification unit in order to prepare for Unit 3. The viti/vini unit is the backbone of the entire diploma. The content in that unit is used to understand the ideas in each of the other units. So there you have it. I am now just one exam away from my Wine & Spirits Trust Diploma certificate. Just one little test! Have you taken on any wine certification? If so, from which school? Was it a doozy? Or a breeze? Post your comments below so we can compare notes! Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!
