Q: What does on-demand actually mean here?
A: It means the whole course is waiting for you the moment you enroll, and nothing about it is scheduled. There is no cohort, no start date, no webinar you have to be awake for. You open your laptop when it suits you - before work, after the kids are down, on a Sunday afternoon with a glass of Chablis in front of you - and pick up exactly where you left off. Video lectures, interactive activities, quizzes, graded tasting and theory assignments and a full mock exam are all unlocked from day one. If you want to finish the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines in three intense weeks, you can. If it takes you eight leisurely months, nobody will chase you.
Q: Am I completely on my own?
A: No - independent is not the same as alone, and this is the thing most people get wrong about on-demand study. Your tasting and theory assignments are graded with instant automated feedback, so you find out what you have misunderstood immediately rather than at the exam. You have access to our student discussion community, where people working through the same material compare notes. And if you hit a wall, you can book a one-to-one mentoring session with an educator for genuinely personalised help - email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and we will tell you what is available. What you do not get is a live instructor teaching to a timetable. That is the trade, and for a lot of people it is the right one.
Q: Should I buy this or the instructor-led online course at $679?
A: The gap is only $84, so decide on how you learn rather than on price. Choose on-demand if fixed dates are the thing most likely to derail you, if you travel, work shifts, or simply want to move faster than a cohort would let you. Choose the instructor-led course at $679 if you know in your heart that a scheduled class is what gets you to open the book - it runs over five weeks to fixed dates, with four live 90-minute webinars and a cohort moving alongside you. Both award the identical WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and both use the identical remotely invigilated exam. The certificate does not record which one you took. Be honest with yourself about deadlines: self-directed study rewards discipline, and the students who struggle with on-demand are almost never the ones who found the wine hard.
Q: How long do I have access to the course?
A: A full 12 months from enrollment. That is a generous window - four times the 28 hours WSET says the qualification takes - and it is also your exam deadline, so treat the two as one clock. Most students are comfortably done long before it runs out, but the year is there if life intervenes.
Q: How quickly can I get access after I buy?
A: Immediately - this is one of the quiet pleasures of on-demand. Your course login and your WSET eBook arrive by email after checkout, so you can be watching the first lecture on the evening you enroll rather than waiting weeks for a cohort to open.
Q: How long will it actually take me?
A: WSET specifies a Total Qualification Time of 28 hours for the Level 2 Award in Wines: 17 guided learning hours plus around 11 hours of private study. At four or five hours a week that is a comfortable six or seven weeks. Determined students working evenings have done it in three. It is a modest commitment for a real, internationally recognised qualification - and considerably lighter than Level 3, which asks for 84 hours.
Q: What is actually inside the course?
A: You work through the principal grape varieties of the world and the styles they make, the wines of Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, sparkling and fortified wines including Sherry and Port, how growing conditions and winemaking shape style and quality, how to read a label and what it tells you about price and quality, and wine service and storage. The spine of it all is the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting®, which is the part that changes how you drink for the rest of your life. Delivery is video lectures, interactive activities, quizzes, graded tasting and theory assignments with automatic feedback, and a full mock exam before you sit the real one.
Q: Do I need to buy wine, and how much?
A: You need wine in the glass to do this properly - tasting is not an optional extra at Level 2 - but you do not have to buy it from us. We publish a list of the twelve styles the course tastes through, by name and region: Chablis, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, Beaujolais, Rioja Reserva, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Soave, Mosel Riesling Spatlese, Late Bottled Vintage Port, an oaked Australian Chardonnay, Oregon or South African Pinot Noir, a Merlot-based Bordeaux and Chianti Classico. Source them locally if you enjoy the hunt. If you would rather not open twelve bottles, our partner Small Lot Bottles sells a curated 12 x 100 mL sample kit that lines up exactly with the course.
Q: Is the wine kit included in the $595, and how long does it take to arrive?
A: The kit is a separate optional purchase - a link comes with your registration confirmation email - and it is not included in the course price. Allow 7 to 10 days for delivery. Because the course is on-demand, this matters far less than it would on a fixed-date course: simply work through the theory modules while your wines are travelling, and start the tasting modules when the box lands.
Q: Is the textbook included?
A: Yes. The official WSET eBook is included free through the WSET Global Reader on web, iOS and Android for one year from purchase. If you prefer paper - and plenty of people annotate better on paper - the printed textbook is available separately for $69. Note that the eBook year and your 12-month exam window run roughly in parallel, so do not leave the exam until the very end of the window or your textbook access will be expiring at the same moment.
Q: What exactly does the $595 cover?
A: The complete on-demand course for 12 months - video lectures, interactive activities, quizzes, graded assignments and the mock exam - plus the WSET eBook for a year, access to the student discussion community, and your online exam registration and fee. Costing extra: the optional 12 x 100 mL wine kit, the printed textbook at $69, and our Complete Exam Prep Package at $79, which is included free with NVWA membership. Group discounts apply automatically when you book together: 5% for two students, 8% for three and 10% for four.
Q: Do I need a qualification before Level 2?
A: No formal prerequisite, but be realistic: Level 2 assumes you already have some basic wine knowledge and does not start from what a grape is. If you are beginning from scratch - and there is no shame in it - take the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines online at $329 or our TasteCoach™ Wine Fundamentals course at $99 first, and you will get far more out of this. All students must be at least 21 years of age, and WSET advises candidates sitting the exam in English as a second language to have IELTS 6.0 or above.
Q: Is an on-demand qualification taken as seriously as a classroom one?
A: Yes, and this is worth being unambiguous about. The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines is a single global qualification set by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in London, delivered against one published specification, examined by the same paper and graded to one standard worldwide. Your certificate does not say on-demand on it. What differs between formats and providers is the teaching and the preparation, not the credential - which is why the trade recognises it internationally regardless of how you studied.
Q: Who built the course, and who is behind it?
A: Napa Valley Wine Academy is the largest and most-awarded WSET Approved Programme Provider in the United States, and a multiple winner of the WSET Educator of the Year award. The lectures you watch were written and recorded by our own faculty - WSET Level 4 Diploma holders, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and working Napa Valley winemakers - and more than 6,000 students a year start their wine education with us. You are not watching generic licensed content; you are watching Napa.
Q: What is Napa Valley Wine Academy's WSET Level 2 pass rate?
A: 96.1% - that is 3,061 passes from 3,186 graded exam sittings between 2024 and 2026, across all our Level 2 formats. Level 2 is a genuinely achievable qualification if you do the reading, and that number reflects it. Published pass rates for every WSET level we teach are on our pass rates page.
Q: What system requirements do I need for the course?
A: For the course itself, a computer with a current version of Chrome, Firefox or Safari, JavaScript and cookies enabled, Adobe Reader or equivalent, and broadband internet. The WSET eBook works on iOS 16 and above or Android 13 and above, on reasonably recent tablets and phones. The exam has stricter requirements than the course - see below.
Q: Can I get a refund if I change my mind?
A: Because your course access and digital textbook are issued immediately on purchase, this course is non-refundable once those credentials have been sent - there is no cohort to transfer out of. Please make sure Level 2 is the right level for you before you buy, and email support@napavalleywineacademy.com first if you are unsure. Our General Policies page carries the full terms.
Q: The course is on-demand - is the exam on-demand too?
A: No, and this is the one genuine catch, so read it before you buy. The course has no schedule; the exam does. WSET Level 2 exams are taken online with remote invigilation at pre-scheduled sitting times, so you choose from a published list of dates rather than sitting whenever you feel ready. Your registration and fee are included in the $595, and you must book your sitting within 12 months of enrolling. Look at the available exam times before you enroll if your calendar is tight.
Q: How do I book the exam, and what happens if I leave it too long?
A: You register through the Exams Management page inside your course, choosing from the published sitting times. The deadline is 12 months from enrollment. Do not let it drift: if that window closes unused, your included exam registration expires and you would need to pay a fresh exam fee. This is the single most common way self-paced students come unstuck - not the wine, the calendar. Pick your exam date early and work backwards from it.
Q: Can I sit the exam in person instead?
A: Not as standard, but it is not impossible. In-person sittings are available only by prior request, and additional fees may apply. If sitting in person matters to you - because of a disability, an accommodation, unreliable internet or simple preference - email support@napavalleywineacademy.com before you enroll rather than afterwards, so we can tell you what is possible and what it would cost. It cannot be arranged at short notice.
Q: What equipment do I need for the online exam?
A: A laptop or desktop computer - tablets are not permitted as your primary device - with a working webcam, microphone and speakers, plus a mobile phone to act as a secondary camera. You will also need government-issued photo ID, a reliable broadband connection and a quiet room where you will not be interrupted and cannot be overlooked. A proctor observes you for the full hour, so test your setup in advance rather than on the day. Our help centre has a remote exam quick start guide and a walkthrough video.
Q: What is the exam format, and what do I need to pass?
A: Fifty multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes. The pass mark is 55%, which is 28 correct answers out of 50. Merit is awarded for 70 to 84% and Distinction for 85% or above. There is no separately assessed tasting exam at Level 2 - the twelve wines you taste build your palate and your vocabulary, but they are not examined.
Q: What happens if I do not pass?
A: You can resit without retaking the course. A Level 2 resit costs $220 and is booked the same way as your first attempt, through the Exams Management page. With a 96.1% pass rate this is not the common outcome, but it is worth knowing the route exists before you sit.
Q: When will I get my result and certificate?
A: WSET releases Level 2 results roughly four weeks after your exam. As soon as you pass you receive a digital certificate and badge - WSET no longer ships paper certificates or physical pins - so you can put it on LinkedIn or send it to an employer the same day, and describe yourself as WSET Level 2 Certified.
Q: What can I do with it, and what comes next?
A: Level 2 is the qualification the trade generally treats as evidence you can talk about wine credibly - useful in retail, hospitality, sales and tasting-room roles, and the level many employers ask for by name. It also feeds directly into the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines, the required entry point for the Level 4 Diploma. If you already know Level 3 is the destination, look at our Level 2 and 3 Wine Path bundle, which pairs this course with Level 3 instructor-led and saves $195 against buying them separately.
Q: Can I speak to someone before I buy?
A: Please do. Email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and our student support team will help you judge whether Level 2 matches your starting point, whether on-demand or instructor-led suits how you actually work, what the exam sittings look like over the next few months, and whether Level 1 or TasteCoach™ Wine Fundamentals would serve you better first. We would rather talk you into the right course than sell you the wrong one.
