One original question from every chapter of the Level 2 syllabus — answers and explanations included. The real exam is 50 questions in 60 minutes; pass mark 55%. See how many of these you'd bank.
Train the full bank free →Answer: A — Short
When the desirable flavours disappear and only a structural component lingers, the finish is 'short'; a 'long' finish has pleasant flavours that persist. 'Pronounced' describes intensity, not finish.
Answer: A — One taste altering the perception of the next
It shows how the palate adapts to one taste (toothpaste) and changes how the next thing (orange juice) is perceived — the same adaptation underlies food-and-wine interactions.
Answer: B — Remove the top of the capsule
First remove the top of the capsule (with a capsule remover or waiter's friend), clean the neck, then screw the corkscrew into the centre of the cork and draw it out gently.
Answer: A — It provides warmth and frost protection
Rivers warm and cool more slowly than land, so in autumn they are warmer than the surrounding land, giving warmth, frost protection and extra ripening, and they can also reflect sunlight.
Answer: C — High acidity, with tannin or sugar where relevant
High acidity, plus high tannin in reds and high residual sugar in sweet wines, helps preserve a wine and lets it mature, provided it also has enough flavour concentration to evolve positively.
Answer: A — Cool to moderate
Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned black grape that requires a cool to moderate climate; in warm or hot conditions it loses its fresh red fruit. Warmer climates suit varieties such as Grenache or Zinfandel.
Answer: A — Primitivo from Puglia
Puglia's hot climate ripens Primitivo (the Italian name for Zinfandel) to high sugar levels, giving full-bodied reds with ripe and dried-fruit flavours and high alcohol.
Answer: B — Honey and petrol
With years in bottle, Riesling's high acidity keeps it fresh while it develops complex honey and petrol (gasoline) notes. Butter comes from malolactic conversion and vanilla from oak.
Answer: A — Vouvray AOC
Vouvray AOC in the Loire Valley permits only Chenin Blanc and makes dry, off-dry, medium, sweet and sparkling wines. Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis is Chardonnay and Pauillac is red Bordeaux.
Answer: D — Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet
Meursault AOC and Puligny-Montrachet AOC in the Côte de Beaune are renowned for high-quality Chardonnay. Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges are Côte de Nuits red (Pinot Noir) villages.
Answer: D — Grapefruit, passion fruit and green pepper
Often blended across sites and ripeness levels, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc shows a broad range of fruit (grapefruit, peach, passion fruit) with pronounced capsicum and asparagus.
Answer: C — Medium to full body, dry to medium, peach and mango
Alsace Pinot Gris is medium to full-bodied with pronounced peach and mango, ranging from dry to medium-sweet and able to develop honey and ginger; the best come from grand cru vineyards.
Answer: B — It is fashionable, for varietal wines and blending
Viognier has become very fashionable; its aromatic character and body suit single-varietal wines and make it a useful blending partner for adding floral notes and body.
Answer: A — Stellenbosch
Mountainous Stellenbosch, varying from moderate to warm by altitude and sea breezes, is known for complex, age-worthy Bordeaux-variety reds. Walker Bay, Elgin and Constantia are cooler white-and-Pinot areas.
Answer: D — Stellenbosch
Mountainous Stellenbosch ranges from moderate to warm by altitude, giving styles from fresh and herbal to full-bodied with cooked fruit and high alcohol. Walker Bay, Constantia and Elgin are cooler areas.
Answer: D — Barossa Valley
The warm Barossa Valley has very old Shiraz vines giving low yields of concentrated fruit, making full-bodied wines with high ripe tannins, cooked black fruit, black pepper and oak.
Answer: A — Beaujolais
Light body, high acid, low tannin, fresh red fruit and no oak is the classic Gamay/Beaujolais profile — Barolo, Zinfandel and Rioja Reserva are all fuller, more tannic or oakier.
Answer: C — Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale
South Australia's warm Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale have old Grenache vines producing concentrated red-fruit and spice wines, often blended with Shiraz in Châteauneuf-du-Pape–like styles.
Answer: C — Maturation in small new-oak barrels
Many Spanish regions traditionally mature Tempranillo in small new-oak barrels, which add vanilla, smoke and cedar and soften the tannins; the best are often bottle-aged before release.
Answer: C — Medium tannin and high acidity
Pinotage typically has medium tannins and high acidity, ranging from fruity medium-bodied wines to powerful full-bodied examples with concentrated red and black fruit.
Answer: B — Each is locally important in particular Italian regions
None of the four is a household name worldwide — instead each is a local speciality: Cortese in Gavi, Garganega in Soave, Verdicchio in the Marche and Fiano in Campania.
Answer: A — A dry to off-dry red from dried grapes, around 15%
Amarone is a dry to off-dry red made from appassimento-dried grapes: full-bodied, around 15% abv, high in tannin, with fresh red cherry and dried prune, raisin and fig, able to age well.
Answer: D — It sits higher, giving more concentrated, often oaked reds
Chianti Classico DOCG sits higher than the wider Chianti, giving medium-bodied wines with pronounced red fruit and dried herbs, often oak-matured (cloves, cedar), the best developing meat and leather.
Answer: B — In a sealed tank; by filtration before bottling
In the tank method the second fermentation occurs in a sealed tank, then the lees are filtered out and the wine is bottled under pressure, leaving the character of the base wine without autolytic notes.
Answer: D — From long oxidative ageing in small barrels
The best tawny-style Ports gain their tawny-brown colour and walnut, coffee and caramel notes from extended oxidative ageing in small barrels, often with age indications of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.
These are 25 questions from a bank of 718 — every chapter has a full drill set, plus timed 50-question mock exams in the real format, instant explanations, and mistake-drilling that re-serves what you got wrong. The first chapters and one mock are free, no account needed.
Try Level 2 free →No — official past papers aren't published. All questions here and in the trainer are original works written to cover the syllabus in the same style and difficulty, with an explanation after every answer.
50 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes. The pass mark is 55% (28 correct); merit starts at 70% and distinction at 85%. Our mock exams use exactly that format.
Yes — the first chapters and one full mock exam are free in the trainer, no account needed. Full access to all 718 questions is €9/month or €30 per 6 months, and includes Level 3.
Train every chapter, sit real-format mocks, and drill your mistakes until they're strengths.
Start practising free →