WSET Level 3 Award in Wines | In-Person

Next cohort: Napa, Nov 17 - Nov 22, 2026 • 9 AM - 5 PM Pacific
Enroll Now – $1,755
WSET Level 3 Award in Wines | In - Person - Napa Valley Wine Academy
WSET Level 3 Award in Wines | In - Person - Napa Valley Wine Academy

WSET Level 3 Award in Wines | In-Person

$1,755
Most awarded WSET school in the US
Trusted by thousands of students

Ready to Master the World of Wine?

You’ve thought about Level 3 but heard it’s tough. Maybe you’ve hesitated, unsure if you’re ready for the challenge or worried about keeping up.

Now picture walking into the exam with confidence. You know the material, understand exactly what WSET is looking for, and can describe wines with precision. You swirl, taste, and analyze like a professional—guided by expert instructors and 80 benchmark wines.

The WSET Level 3 Award in Wines at Napa Valley Wine Academy, America’s most awarded wine school, gives you everything you need to succeed. You’ll learn to evaluate still, sparkling, and fortified wines using the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting®, and you’ll explore how grape growing, winemaking, and region all shape a wine’s style and quality.

Our experienced educators teach the “WSET way of thinking,” so you don’t just memorize—you understand. You’ll gain real exam confidence through guided tastings, group sessions, and insider preparation techniques developed over more than a decade of student success.

Join a community of passionate wine learners and take the step that separates enthusiasts from true professionals.

What is Napa Valley Wine Academy’s WSET Level 3 pass rate?

Level 3 is graded in two independent components, and our students perform very differently across them. From 3,016 graded sittings between 2023 and 2026, 60.2% passed the theory paper and 89.8% passed the tasting. Theory is what fails most candidates — weight your study accordingly. See our pass rates for every WSET level.

WSET Level 3 course facts

  • Price: $1,755, including the five-day in-person course, the online prep course, the WSET digital textbook, mock exams and your exam registration
  • Duration: five days in person plus an online prep course, with 40 hours of live classroom time. WSET specifies a Total Qualification Time of 84 hours for this qualification, which exceeds its 32.5-hour guided learning minimum.
  • Exam format: 50 multiple-choice questions and four short written-answer questions in two hours, plus a 30-minute blind tasting of two wines
  • Pass mark: 55% in each component. Merit is an aggregate of 65–79%, Distinction 80% or above with no individual paper below 65%.
  • Prerequisite: WSET recommends the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines or an equivalent level of experience. Candidates sitting in English as a second language are advised to have IELTS 6.5 or above.
  • Next step: Level 3 is the required entry qualification for the WSET Level 4 Diploma.

➡️ Download the Course Specification

What’s Included

Your Registration Fee Includes:

  • 40 hours of live class
  • Registration and exam fees
  • Tastings of 80 benchmark wines
  • Free access to the WSET eBook textbook via the WSET Global Reader (online, iOS, and Android) for 2 years from purchase
  • Upon enrollment, students gain access to their online course for preparation before the in-person class. Our online course study is self-paced and accessible 24/7 with videos, hands-on experiments, and interactive quizzes.

Optional Add-Ons:

  • Hardcopy version of the textbook may be purchased upon check out or later in this link
  • Study Tools: Complete Exam prep package for additional exam practice (Note: these are included in NVWA Membership)

Format & Exam

This course is offered as a 5-day intensives in-Person course in the following locations:

Napa - NVWA HQ - 2501 Oak St, Napa, CA 94559

Tampa - The Epicurean - 1207 S Howard Ave, Tampa, FL 33606

Next cohort: Napa, Nov 17 - Nov 22, 2026 • 9 AM - 5 PM Pacific

Limited seats available

COURSE LEVEL

Advanced

COURSE FORMAT

5-day in-person course with online prep course, 84 total study hours

Exam Format

An in-person exam is given at the end of the course.

What you will learn

SAT TASTING METHOD

The WSET Level 3 SAT prepares you to assess any wine accurately through structured analysis, covering appearance, aroma, palate, and quality to support confident professional tasting and clear written conclusions.

GLOBAL REGIONS AND STYLES

You will learn how key grape-growing and winemaking factors shape the major wine regions of the world and their classic styles, giving you the ability to explain why wines taste the way they do across global contexts.

EXAM PREPARATION

You will learn the knowledge, tasting skills, and exam strategies needed to understand wines in depth and succeed in the Level 3 qualification.

Enroll More Save More

2 Students $1,755 $1,667 5% OFF
3 Students $1,755 $1,614 8% OFF
4 Students $1,755 $1,579 10% OFF
Location

Student testimonials

Just got my results back, and I'm happy to say I passed with distinction! So really happy with the result of course and very thankful to you for helping me get there. 

I owe my WSET 3 award in wine (with merit) to you. There's no way I would have passed without your intensive course and the tasting calibration!

I was thrilled to learn I passed with distinction 😀 Thanks for the part you played in helping me do that.

I can’t speak highly enough about the crew at NVWA. Amy and Christian are hands-on and generous. I have had difficult times in my pursuit of the WSET Level 3 certification either due to unforeseen financial restrictions or time management while attempting to keep a simultaneous performing career going. Amy was demonstrative and reactive in helping me to reschedule any learning/exams. She also put me in touch with newer, updated materials for study so that I could do my best on the exams. I will sit the Level 3 Theory this summer. I know I’ll feel the most prepared I’ve ever felt for any exam in my collegiate career…..and I have a Master’s of Music Conservatory degree! Catherine Bugue is a special light in the staff of NVWA. This instructor knows her stuff and knows how to teach success. Armed with her guidance, you will feel confident to answer both the Multiple Choice and Short Written Answer Questions on any exam. If you are thinking of taking some classes and letting this team lead you, do NOT hesitate. The investment is returned and you make some lifelong friends along the way!

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