The Level 2 exam tests nothing outside the course book — so a good study plan is simply the book’s 25 chapters, in blocks, with drilling and timed mocks in the right places. Here is that plan.
Start studying free →The Level 2 course book has 25 chapters, and they cluster neatly into five blocks: skills (tasting and evaluating wine, pairing wine and food, storage and service — chapters 1–3), how wine is made (grape-growing and label terms, winemaking — chapters 4–5), the grape varieties (chapters 6–23: whites like Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chenin Blanc; reds like Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Grenache, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo — each with its classic regions), and finally sparkling (24) and fortified wines (25).
The exam is 50 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, pass at 55%, and it tests nothing outside the book. That has a happy consequence: a study plan is just the book, in order, with enough repetition.
Week 1 — foundations plus baseline. Read chapters 1–5 and drill their questions. Then sit one full mock exam cold. The score will be humbling and extremely useful: it maps which variety chapters need the most work.
Weeks 2–3 — the varieties. Work through chapters 6–23 in blocks of two or three per day: read, then immediately drill that chapter's questions until the explanations stop surprising you. Whites one week, reds the next works well. Finish each week with a timed mock and drill every mistake.
Final week — sparkling, fortified, simulate. Chapters 24–25, then two or three mocks under strict exam conditions. You're ready when mock scores sit comfortably above 85% — the distinction line, not just the 55% pass.
Skipping the "boring" chapters (service, food pairing, label terms — easy marks lost); learning varieties without their regions (the exam loves "which region makes X from Y"); cramming the night before instead of spaced daily drilling; and never sitting a timed mock, so exam pacing comes as a surprise. All four are avoidable with the plan above.
Get a feel for the question style with the 25 free Level 2 practice questions — one per chapter — then sit your free real-format mock. The first chapters of the full trainer are free too, no account needed.
Most candidates prepare in 2 to 4 weeks with steady daily practice: read a chapter, drill its questions, and sit one timed mock exam per week.
It is very passable with systematic preparation: 50 multiple-choice questions, a 55% pass mark, and nothing tested outside the course book. Most failures come from skipped chapters and no timed practice.
Chapter-by-chapter drilling plus weekly real-format mocks, with every mistake re-drilled until it sticks.
Three weeks of that beats three months of highlighting. Start with the free chapters today.
Try Level 2 free →