WSET Level 3 Wine Harvest Bootcamp | Napa, California
Napa ValleyOct 6–10, 20275 days in Napa + 10 weeks online
Everyone reads about harvest. You’ll spend one in it.
Ten weeks of guided online study before you fly. Five days in Napa Valley during crush — vineyard rows, crush pad, cellar floor, winemaker’s table. Then the official WSET Level 3 exam, sat right here, on day five. The same qualification everyone else earns. Not the same way of earning it.
8 of 14 places remain for October 2027 · every cohort we have run has sold out
The same WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. The same exam, the same papers graded in London. Everything between enrolling and sitting it is different.
Interactive modules, custom study trackers and mock quizzes, guided week by week by a dedicated NVWA educator who answers your questions. Access opens the day you enroll.
WSET sets a Total Qualification Time of 84 hours for this qualification — 32.5 guided learning hours and 51.5 hours of private study. Most of that private study lives here.
Five days, 9 AM to 5 PM Pacific. Two days of structural tasting and theory workshops, two days of active harvest immersion in estate vineyards and production cellars plus the winemaker dinner, and the official examination on day five.
Book travel around all five days: arrive the evening before day one, and depart no earlier than the evening of day five, because the exam occupies that final day.
You have read that canopy management influences ripeness. Then you are standing in the row with the grower who made that call this season, looking at the fruit it produced. One graduate put it better than our marketing ever has: the hands-on time made all of the concepts come alive.
Vineyard and cellar days: 2
What you do depends on where the vintage has got to that week — sorting and pressing on the crush pad, barrelling down finished wine, testing brix, a pump over or a punch down. Grapes are an agricultural product. We schedule inside the harvest window and tell you honestly that the rest is the vintage’s call.
Guaranteed: the access, not the task
In our teaching experience it is the theory paper, not the tasting, where Level 3 candidates lose marks — and inside it, the four short written answer questions. So they get dedicated workshop time: live, iterative drafting, marked in the room, with the techniques that earn top marks.
Both components must pass independently
Two days calibrating, two days working, one day sitting the exam. Dates shown are the October 2027 cohort.
You arrive having done ten weeks of theory. Day one is about making your palate agree with an examiner’s.
The theory paper is where most Level 3 candidates lose marks. Today is spent entirely on it.
Out of the classroom. Row orientation, canopy architecture, ripeness calls — with the people making them this week. Estates visited on previous Bootcamps have included Corison Winery, Stony Hill, Lamb Vineyards, Smith Madrone and Holman Cellars.
Cellar work, whatever the vintage is doing that day: sorting and pressing, barrelling down, brix and temperature checks, a pump over or a punch down.
Two independently graded components, professionally invigilated, here in Napa. No second trip, no separate booking.
Daily timings are indicative — field days follow the vintage, and winery assignments are confirmed in your pre-arrival email.
Plan travel around all five days: arrive the evening before Day 1 and depart no earlier than the evening of Day 5.
Published here rather than buried in an accordion, because at Level 3 this is what people want to know before they book.
A blind tasting of two unlabelled wines, assessed and described using the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting®.
Closed book, in two parts: 50 multiple-choice questions and 4 short written answer questions covering viticulture, vinification, wine styles, regions and wine law.
DipWSET · IWP · WSET Certified Educator
Vice President of Education
Catherine is co-owner and Vice President of Education at Napa Valley Wine Academy, overseeing WSET course delivery, the instructor team and the creation of new courses. She earned her WSET Diploma in 2010 and teaches at advanced level — Level 3 and Diploma units.
On this programme she runs the palate calibration and the short written answer drills — the two days that decide whether ten weeks of theory survives contact with an exam paper.
DipWSET · AIWS
Winemaker and Instructor, Napa Valley Wine Academy
Csilla holds a Masters in Fermentation Science and Post-Harvest Technologies and has worked harvests in California, Italy, Hungary and New Zealand. She spent years making wine in Napa — most recently as an Associate Winemaker at Beringer Vineyards, with several labels under her supervision — before joining Napa Valley Wine Academy full time.
She holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma and teaches across our advanced programmes. On the harvest days, the person explaining the punch-down is the person who spent a career doing it.
Both of them lead the October 2027 cohort. You get the certified educator and the working winemaker across all five days — not one standing in for the other, and not a rotating bench of guest speakers.
“The hands on time in the vineyard and in the winery made all of the concepts come alive.”
IMPORTANT: Don't use your own account's email address for other students.
Each student must have its own email address for course access and communication purposes.
The WSET Level 3 Award in Wines — the required entry qualification for the Level 4 Diploma, and the point at which the trade starts taking your palate seriously.
The Systematic Approach to Tasting, applied under pressure and corrected in the room, on wines you tasted a short drive from the fruit they came from.
Not a tour you watched. Rows you walked, a cellar you worked in, and a dinner at a winemaker’s table during the busiest week of their year.
A cohort of fourteen, plus the growers and winemakers who taught you. This is how wine careers actually get built.
Group pricing applies when you book together: 5% off for two, 8% for three, 10% for four.
The ten-week online phase works through these in order. Napa is where they get tested against real fruit and a real exam.
“By the way, I found your September Harvest Boot-Camp course very helpful and very human. It was great to get one’s hands into the vats and one’s palate onto so many wines. To be honest, I came not expecting to pass the exam. Your course made the difference.”
Ian W. · Honolulu, HI · WSET Level 3 Graduate
“I tookn Level 3 in Napa Valley learning from actual winemakers in the Harvest Bootcamp, a real-world learning program unique to the Academy. The instruction is top-notch — hands down the best WSET prep option you’ll find anywhere.”
Richard Hoy · Tampa, FL · WSET Level 3 Certified, with Merit
“My proudest moment was getting the two wines correct in the tasting part of the test. I thought you guys did an amazing job on how to write a correct note.”
Amy B. · Auburn, AL · WSET Level 3 Graduate
Sent to instructors on results day, held unattributed
You need five days in Napa. The Bootcamp runs in two phases: a ten-week online preparation phase you complete from home before you travel, then five consecutive days in Napa Valley from 9 AM to 5 PM Pacific, with the official WSET Level 3 examination sat on day five. Book travel to arrive the evening before day one and depart no earlier than the evening of day five, since the exam occupies that final day.
Bookable dates are shown in the date selector on this page. Places are strictly limited to fourteen and awarded first come, first served. Every cohort we have run has sold out, usually a long way ahead — so the next open cohort may be a year or more out. If the date you want shows as unavailable, email support@napavalleywineacademy.com to ask about a waitlist rather than assuming nothing is possible.
Yes to both. Your exam registration and fee are included in the price, and you sit the exam in Napa on day five in a professional invigilated testing environment. This is a real advantage over studying Level 3 online: because the Level 3 exam can only ever be taken in person, online students must arrange a separate trip to an exam location, whereas here the exam is built into the week you have already travelled for.
Your course registration and WSET exam fee, the ten-week online preparation course with a dedicated instructor, the WSET digital textbook with two years of access, the five-day in-person Bootcamp with its workshops and estate visits, lunches on course days, and the winemaker dinner. Group pricing applies when several of you book together: 5% off for two, 8% for three and 10% for four.
Travel and lodging are not included, and you should budget for them separately: airfare or ground travel to Napa, your accommodation for the week, breakfasts, and dinners other than the winemaker dinner. Transport is arranged for the scheduled vineyard and cellar visits during the programme. A printed textbook and our Complete Exam Prep Package are optional extras rather than inclusions.
Two days of structural tasting and theory workshops, two days of active harvest immersion in vineyards and production cellars plus the winemaker dinner, and the official WSET Level 3 examination on day five. The workshop days are where palate calibration and short written answer drills happen; the harvest days are where the concepts you studied online become physical.
It is the academic foundation of the qualification and it is not optional — it is the reason your Napa time can be spent in vineyards rather than in a classroom covering the syllabus. You get immediate access on enrollment to interactive modules, study trackers and mock quizzes, guided week by week by a dedicated NVWA educator who answers your questions.
It depends on what the vintage is doing that week, and we would rather be honest about that than promise a fixed itinerary. Depending on timing you may be evaluating row orientation and canopy management in premier vineyard sites, observing sorting and pressing on the crush pad, or working in the cellar — barrelling down finished wine, testing brix levels or fermentation temperatures, or taking part in a pump over or punch down.
Cohorts are deliberately scheduled inside the Napa harvest window, and the winery access is arranged either way, but no wine school can guarantee which specific operations will be running on a given day. An early or late vintage shifts what is happening in the cellar. What is guaranteed is the access itself: working estates, real production cellars, and the winemakers and grape growers who run them.
The qualification and the exam are identical — the difference is everything around them. Our standard Level 3 courses teach the syllabus online or in a Napa classroom; the Bootcamp adds hands-on harvest participation on working estates, vineyard and cellar time with winemakers and growers, a winemaker dinner, dedicated short written answer drills, and the exam sat on site. If your goal is purely the certificate at the lowest cost, take the online or in-person course.
WSET sets no mandatory prerequisite, but it recommends the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines or an equivalent level of wine knowledge, and given what this programme costs we would encourage you to be honest with yourself about your starting point. Level 3 assumes you already recognize the major grape varieties and classic regions. All attendees must be at least 21 years of age. If you are unsure, contact us before booking and we will help you assess it.
Two independently graded components sat on day five: a two-hour closed-book theory paper of 50 multiple-choice questions and four short written answer questions, and a 30-minute blind tasting of two unlabelled wines assessed using the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting®. You must reach the pass mark in each component separately.
You must score at least 55% in each of the two components independently — a strong tasting result cannot rescue a failed theory paper. Merit is awarded for an aggregate of 65 to 79%, and Distinction for an aggregate of 80% or above with no individual paper below 65%.
73.8% of our WSET Level 3 candidates passed at the first attempt, from 859 candidates in the 2024–25 academic year. In our teaching experience theory is what fails most Level 3 candidates, which is precisely why this programme devotes dedicated workshop time to short written answer drills rather than assuming the tasting is the hard part.
You are eligible to resit and you do not need to repeat the Bootcamp, and there is no deadline on the resit. Because the components are graded independently, a partial pass means you only resit the one you failed. Resit fees are $225 for a single component and $280 for both, and resits are sat at any of our in-person exam locations rather than requiring another trip to Napa.
Results are issued approximately 10 to 12 weeks after the exam date, because all Level 3 papers are graded at WSET’s headquarters in London rather than locally. For exams taken after 17 August 2025, WSET issues digital certificates and badges instead of paper certificates and physical pins. On passing both components you are entitled to describe yourself as WSET Level 3 Certified and to use the WSET logo on your professional materials.
Bootcamps carry stricter terms than our standard courses because we commit to winery access and hospitality on your behalf well in advance. You may cancel up to 90 days before the start date, but a $1,500 deposit is non-refundable, as are study materials and exam fees already committed; the remaining balance is issued as store credit. Within 90 days of the start, or once the programme has begun, no refunds are available without documented medical evidence. Bootcamps cannot be transferred to another person or another date. Please read the full terms on our General Policies page before booking travel.
Expect real work rather than a spectator tour: you will be on your feet on vineyard ground and wet cellar floors, and cellar work can be physical. Bring closed-toe shoes with grip that you do not mind staining, clothes you are happy to work in, sun protection for vineyard time, and something smarter for the winemaker dinner. Your pre-arrival email confirms the specifics for your cohort. Spitting is standard practice throughout, and we recommend planning transport rather than driving after tasting days.
Yes, and at this price with a non-refundable deposit we would much rather you did. Email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and our team will talk you through the two phases, whether your current knowledge suits Level 3, what the week actually asks of you, and whether the standard Level 3 course would serve you better.
Cohorts are capped at fourteen because that is what a working cellar and a winemaker’s table can absorb during crush. Every cohort we have run has sold out. Both 2026 dates are gone, and October 6–10 is the only 2027 date open.
Not sure Level 3 is the right step? Email support@napavalleywineacademy.com and we will tell you honestly.
Cancellation. Cancel up to 90 days before the start date and a $1,500 deposit is non-refundable, along with study materials and exam fees already committed; the balance is issued as store credit. Within 90 days of the start, or once the programme has begun, no refunds without documented medical evidence. Bootcamp places cannot be transferred to another person or another date. Full terms on our General Policies page.
Eligibility. All attendees must be at least 21 years of age. WSET recommends the Level 2 Award in Wines or equivalent knowledge before enrolling; it is a recommendation, not a mandatory prerequisite.
Exam and results. Exam registration and fee included. Results issued approximately 10–12 weeks after the exam, graded at WSET headquarters in London. Digital certificates and badges are issued for exams taken after 17 August 2025. Resit fees: $225 single component, $280 both. We prepare you thoroughly; we cannot and do not guarantee an exam result.
Harvest activity. Cohorts are scheduled inside the Napa harvest window. The specific vineyard and cellar operations available on any given day depend on the vintage and are not guaranteed. Winery and estate assignments are confirmed in your pre-arrival email.
Pricing. $3,995 per person. Group pricing 5% / 8% / 10% for two / three / four students booking together. Travel, lodging, breakfasts and non-programme dinners are not included.
Oct 6-10, 2027 in Napa Valley, with ten weeks of guided online study before you travel
Exam registration and fee included - secure checkout and dedicated student support