WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting: Grids Side by Side

The WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) is the grid Wine & Spirit Education Trust students fill in for every wine: appearance, nose, palate, then conclusions. WSET's own SAT page lists a wine grid for Levels 2, 3 and 4. The order stays the same at every level; the scales get finer at Level 3 and the conclusions get longer.

The WSET Tasting Grid by Level, Side by Side

If your course is Level 2, practise on three-step scales and stop at the quality call. If it is Level 3, add the half steps, the development line and a readiness call. At Level 4, add written evidence under the quality and ageing calls. Where WSET lists two issues of a grid, its SAT page tells students to ask their course provider which one the course runs.

Where Can You Download the Official WSET SAT PDFs?

WSET posts each wine grid as a free PDF on its Systematic Approach to Tasting page. The current files are the Level 2 grid (Issue 2, valid from August 2023), the Level 3 grid (Issue 2, 2022) and the Level 4 grid (Issue 1.2, 2023). Page two of each PDF is the Wine-Lexicon, a list of aroma words.

A 2019 Level 2 copy is out of date: WSET kept it valid only for first-attempt exams until January 2024. The grid may be reproduced only with WSET's written permission, which WSET says is usually free, so print it from WSET's own page.

The Four Sections of the WSET SAT

Every grid line is one of two kinds, and the notes printed under the Level 3 and Level 4 grids say how to treat each. On a scale line, such as acidity, the taster picks exactly one option. On a line that starts with "e.g.", such as aroma characteristics, the words are prompts to consider, and not every one needs a comment for every wine.

Section 1: Appearance

Tilt the glass over a white surface and read clarity, depth of colour and the colour itself. A hazy wine gets a question mark for a fault before anything else. Colour shifts with age: whites move from lemon-green towards amber and brown, reds from purple towards tawny and brown. The wine appearance guide covers each colour word.

Section 2: Nose

Check condition first, because an unclean smell, such as wet cardboard or vinegar, flags a possible fault before any other note. Then rate intensity and sort the aromas into three groups: primary (from the grape and fermentation), secondary (from winemaking, such as oak or lees) and tertiary (from age). Level 3 adds a development call, from youthful to tired, based on how far tertiary aromas have taken over from fresh fruit.

WSET's note on the Level 3 and Level 4 lexicons says students do not need to memorise the list, and examiners accept other descriptors so long as they are accurate. A loose word like rustic needs a feature behind it, such as earthy aromas or coarse tannin, and the same goes for polished-sounding praise words. The wine tasting vocabulary cheat sheet and the guide to primary, secondary and tertiary aromas cover the words themselves.

Section 3: Palate

Take a small sip and rate structure before flavour. Start with sweetness, acidity (the tartness that makes your mouth water), tannin (the drying grip on your gums), alcohol and body. Then rate flavour intensity, flavour characteristics and finish, which is how long the flavour lasts after swallowing. Understanding tannins, acidity and body and what wine body means explain each scale.

Calibration is the slow part. Telling medium from medium(+) acidity takes reference wines tasted side by side, ideally with a tutor confirming the call.

Section 4: Conclusions

The conclusions draw on the lines above: quality on balance, finish and intensity, readiness on structure and development. Level 2 stops at quality, Level 3 adds readiness, and Level 4 wants a written reason for each call.

How Do You Judge Quality on the WSET Grid?

Every WSET wine grid includes a six-step quality call, running from faulty at the bottom to outstanding at the top. Tutors and study guides commonly reach that call with the shorthand BLIC: balance, length, intensity and complexity. The acronym appears on none of the grids, though the Level 4 grid asks for a written explanation of the quality call.

• Balance: sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol and fruit sit together, with none sticking out, such as hot alcohol over gentle acidity. See wine balance explained.
• Length: the finish line on the grid, from short to long. What wine length means shows how to time it.
• Intensity: the flavour intensity line, rated apart from length, so a wine can be intense and short.
• Complexity: the number of distinct aromas, whether from one of the primary, secondary and tertiary groups or from several.

The I and the C are the pair beginners mix up. A loud wine with two aromas is intense but simple; a quieter wine with eight aromas in layers is subtle but deep.

What Does Readiness for Drinking Mean?

Readiness for drinking is a Level 3 conclusion with four options, running from too young, through ready now with room to age and ready now but not for keeping, to too old. The Level 2 grid has no readiness line. Level 4 swaps it for one yes-or-no question, suitable for bottle ageing or not, with a written explanation.

The call rests on structure, fruit and the development line. High acidity, firm tannin and fresh primary fruit point to potential for ageing. Soft structure with tertiary aromas crowding out the fruit points to drinking now. Tasting young vs aged wine shows what each stage tastes like.

WSET SAT vs the Sommelier Deductive Method

Sommelier exams from the Court of Master Sommeliers use a deductive grid. It works from the same look, smell and taste toward a conclusion about the wine's identity. The deductive wine tasting method walks through that grid, and what a sommelier is explains the job behind it. The wine certifications guide compares the two bodies' levels. If the goal is restaurant service, start with the deductive grid; if it is a WSET exam or a structured note at home, start with the SAT.

How to Practise the WSET SAT at Home

Practise one scale at a time before running the full grid. Taste two wines that differ on one line, such as acidity, until the call comes quickly, then move to the next line. Once a week, run the full grid on one wine and write every line.

Pour two wines blind now and then: blind wine tasting tips covers the setup, and common wine tasting mistakes lists the habits that skew a note. How to taste wine like a sommelier adds a quicker everyday routine, a wine tasting notes template gives each note a fixed layout, and more guides sit in the how to taste wine hub.

The Sommy wine-education app is independent, with no link to WSET, and it is not a prep course. Its AI-guided tasting mode walks you through look, smell and taste after you photograph a label, and saves each note to a tasting journal.

Tonight, print the Level 2 grid, pour one glass and fill in every line in order before reading the back label. Then pour a second, different wine and see which lines changed.

Sources

1. WSET: Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT)
2. WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine, Issue 2, 2023 (PDF)
3. WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine, Issue 2, 2022 (PDF)
4. WSET Level 4 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine, Issue 1.2, 2023 (PDF)