How to Describe Aromas and Flavors in the WSET Level 3 Wine Tasting Exam

Updated October 2026

In the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines tasting exam, WSET’s published advice is that each wine carries five marks for aroma characteristics and three for flavor characteristics. To earn them, record specific, accurate descriptors that the wine actually shows, including secondary and tertiary characteristics where they are present, and assess the palate on its own rather than repeating the nose.

Identifying aromas and building your aroma vocabulary is one of the most satisfying parts of wine study. In an exam setting, though, it can quickly become one of the most stressful parts. This guide is written for students preparing for the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. (A note for other levels: WSET Level 2 Award in Wines courses teach the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting®, but the Level 2 exam has no practical tasting component. Diploma candidates should follow the assessment guidance for their own units, which differs from Level 3.)

Below are practical techniques for finding aromas methodically, along with ways to keep your own impressions from being swamped by expectations.

What Earns Marks for Aromas and Flavors at Level 3

WSET’s guidance on how to ace the Level 3 tasting exam is the best place to start. A few points matter most for the nose and palate:

• Be specific. WSET advises at least five specific aroma descriptors and at least three flavor descriptors per wine. Vague terms cost marks: “raspberry” is more useful than “berries,” and “black pepper” more useful than “spice.”
• Include secondary and tertiary characteristics where relevant, but only when the wine shows them. Don’t invent oak or bottle age to fill a category.
• Keep intensity and characteristics separate. Aroma intensity (light, medium(-), medium, medium(+) or pronounced) is a different assessment from the aroma characteristics you list.
• Assess the palate independently. WSET notes that writing “same as nose” earns no marks. Record the flavors you actually find in your mouth.
• Complete the whole note. Aromas are only part of the SAT. Leave enough time for structure and conclusions, comment on every line, and choose a single option rather than a range (for example, not “medium(+) to high” acidity).

Step 1: A Quick First Sniff (Optional)

When you first receive your wines, a technique I recommend is to sniff each one quickly, without swirling, and immediately jot down any obvious characteristics. This is not a slow, methodical nosing; it is a brief inhale for each wine. Whatever you smell on that first approach, write it down.

This is an instructor’s suggestion, not an official WSET requirement. Its value is that it captures your spontaneous impressions while your nose is fresh, before you start searching for what you expect to find. It cannot remove bias altogether, and you are unlikely to pick up subtle or hard-to-get aromas this way, but you will often catch the most dominant ones.

Don’t be perturbed if nothing obvious jumps out at first. A single brief sniff of a still wine doesn’t tell you its aroma intensity; reassess after swirling before you decide.

Step 2: The Full Nosing

Once you have worked through the appearance, return to the nose. Swirl the wine and smell it again. You hopefully already have a few characteristics written down from your first sniff; now confirm them and add any other obvious aromas. Then assess the nose in order: condition, intensity, aroma characteristics and development.

Use the Clusters as Prompts

The clusters in the WSET Level 3 Wine-Lexicon can help you find more aromas. Moving through them in a set order prompts you with possibilities, rather than leaving you trying to pluck individual characteristics from the glass. You are less likely to miss something, and more likely to put a name to a scent.

For primary characteristics, consider the fruit clusters first. In a white wine, think through green fruit, citrus fruit, stone fruit and tropical fruit. You’re not writing down the cluster names; you’re using each cluster to tease out specific characteristics. For example, think of citrus fruit, then ask whether you can smell lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit. If you can, write it down. Do the same for stone fruit (peach, apricot, nectarine) and the other fruit clusters, then move to the non-fruit clusters such as floral, herbaceous and herbal.

Your first-sniff notes can be a starting point: if you noted lemon, check whether you also smell other citrus. Once you have covered the primary clusters, look for secondary and tertiary characteristics, and record them only if they are present.

A lexicon supplies vocabulary, but it can also tempt you to “find” characteristics because they appear on the list. Keep a descriptor only when the wine supports it. Our guide on how to identify wine aromas covers this habit in more detail, and for a reminder of which grapes tend to be most perfumed, see our guide to aromatic white wines.

Step 3: Don’t Forget the Palate

One of the great things about wine tasting is that you get two (figurative) bites of the cherry. When you taste wine, volatile aroma compounds reach the smell receptors high inside your nose through the passage connecting the back of the mouth and throat with the nasal cavity. This is called retronasal olfaction, and it contributes to the flavors you perceive. (NIDCD on how smell works)

You may notice different characteristics on the palate than on the nose, so assess the palate independently. Move the wine gently around your mouth, holding it for a few moments rather than spitting or swallowing straight away. Then record the flavors you perceive alongside sweetness, acidity, tannin (for red wines), alcohol, body, flavor intensity and finish. Don’t assume that every aroma you found on the nose will be equally apparent on the palate; a very floral wine, for example, may show less floral character in the mouth.

Write Your Own Notes Before You Check

When you practice, record your independent observations before you look at the practice wine’s tasting notes, read the label or discuss it with classmates. Expectation shapes what we smell: in one well-known study, tasters described a white wine colored red with an odorless dye in the language of red wine. (Morrot, Brochet and Dubourdieu, 2001) Independent notes won’t guarantee objectivity, but they show you which observations were truly yours, and make the comparison afterwards far more useful.

Practice the Full Exam Under Time Pressure

A methodical nose is only useful if it leaves you time for everything else. Practice complete tasting notes for two wines under timed conditions, covering every line of the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®, from appearance through to your conclusions on quality and readiness for drinking. Check afterwards that you gave a single answer on every scale and didn’t leave any line blank.

For more on exam technique, see our articles on mastering the WSET tasting exams and the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting. To rehearse under realistic conditions, our WSET Level 3 Wine full mock exam covers both theory and tasting.

Go Forth and Use Your Nose

Finding aromas and flavors in your WSET Level 3 exam doesn’t need to be intimidating; with practice, it can become one of your strengths. A methodical approach gives you enough cues to assess the wine fully and keeps your notes grounded in what is actually in the glass. Practice won’t guarantee a result, but practicing smartly, with a plan, will put you in a much stronger position on exam day.

Napa Valley Wine Academy offers the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines online and in person, with guided tasting practice throughout. If you’re still deciding whether you’re ready, compare the levels in WSET Level 2 vs Level 3.