Organizing your Tasting Notes

One of the biggest challenges I had when I first started studying wine was how to taste and evaluate. Of course, I had plenty of experience drinking wine and most of the time knew if I had a good bottle of wine, but I didn't know why it was a good bottle of wine. One of the most rewarding parts of WSET2 was that it taught be how to taste and evaluate wine. There's not a blind tasting test for the level 2 certificate, but there definitely is one for level 3. Tasting and evaluating are more challenging for level 3 since there's a big jump in the amount of criteria you have to learn, especially when it comes to primary, secondary and tertiary aromas/flavors. 

The most important advice I can offer is to practice, practice, practice! Taste as many different varieties and styles of wine as possible. When I have a glass of wine, whether I'm at a restaurant, at a shop tasting, or at home, I take a few minutes to evaluate it and take down some notes. I even carry a set of tasting notes with me in my purse...you never know when you'll come across a chance to have a glass of wine. In the beginning, I wrote down my own notes, but after a month, it was too difficult to organize them into categories and keep track of my tastings. I then came up with my own stylized evaluation note taking system. Based on WSET's categories, I made up my own template that would only require me to circle my criteria. Such a time saver! Basically, I print out the double-sided template, cut it up, and staple 15-20 sheets into "tasting notebooks." When I do a tasting, I can take down my notes fairly easily and then snap a photo of the wine label. You can download and use my tasting sheets below!