16 multiple-choice questions from across the syllabus — plus two real open questions with full model answers, the exam section everyone underestimates. Answers and explanations included.
Train open questions free →The Level 3 theory paper has a written section that you must pass separately — four open questions marked point by point against key facts. Write your answer before opening the model answer, then count honestly: one mark per distinct fact.
Write your answer first — out loud, on paper, anywhere. Then compare.
Marking logic: one mark per key fact — 6 distinct facts score here. Naming a hazard is a fact; explaining its effect is another. That's why "write everything you know" answers underscore: they repeat one fact in five ways.
Write your answer first — out loud, on paper, anywhere. Then compare.
Marking logic: one mark per key fact — 5 distinct facts score here. Naming a hazard is a fact; explaining its effect is another. That's why "write everything you know" answers underscore: they repeat one fact in five ways.
Want the technique behind these — command words, key-fact marking, reasoning chains, and a weak answer dissected? Read How to answer WSET Level 3 open questions. In the trainer, you write your answer in the app and it's graded against the key facts instantly — with 610 more open questions where these came from.
Answer: A — Dijon gets about 650 mm against Bordeaux's 890 mm, but Burgundy's cool, wet autumns still bring grey rot and hail risk
Its continental climate brings severe winters, hot summers, spring frost (notably in Chablis) and autumn rain; the Massif Central shelters the best sites.
Answer: A — It is built into the AC system and can be revised roughly every ten years
Saint-Emilion Grand Cru splits into Grand Cru Classe and Premier Grand Cru Classe (A and B); unclassified chateaux may apply yearly for the Grand Cru appellation.
Answer: B — Its red must be made from 100% Syrah, with no white grapes permitted
Other northern appellations still allow a little white grape as a vestige of field blends; Cornas is the exception. Many consider it the Rhone's most underrated wine.
Answer: D — They were made to be drunk socially rather than with food
Germans drank French wine with meals; from the early 1980s many growers turned to dry (trocken) and off-dry (halbtrocken) styles, now about half of domestic consumption.
Answer: D — Aglianico, whose thick skin retains acidity, letting complex aromas develop
With Nebbiolo, Aglianico is one of Italy's latest ripeners, giving full-bodied, tannic wines of black plum and smoky spice needing three years' ageing (one in barrel).
Answer: D — Its wines spend many years in small barrels, oak vats or cement tanks before bottling, giving intense complexity
Long Spain's most prestigious and expensive wine, Vega Sicilia now faces competition from Priorato and 'high expression' Riojas; Bordeaux varieties have grown there over a century.
Answer: D — Encruzado
On the Dao's sheltered granite plateau, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz build the reds while Encruzado gives the finest whites; Jaen gives fruity, softer reds.
Answer: C — The injected gas gives large bubbles that disappear quickly
Carbonation is the only method not using fermentation CO2; it is the cheapest and it shows. French labels must state vin gazeifie; in the UK such wines appear only as Sparkling Light British Wines.
Answer: C — Leaves fall, halting photosynthesis so no sugar is generated
Downy mildew (peronospora) prefers humid conditions and was first treated with Bordeaux mixture; powdery mildew instead favours warm, shaded sites.
Answer: A — Sterile unfermented grape juice added to a dry wine after fermentation to give sweetness and balance acidity
Common in Germany, the juice is filtered or dosed with SO2 before fermentation, then added later; a cheaper alternative uses concentrated must, avoided for the best wines.
Answer: D — Enrichment raising alcohol by up to 4.5%, plus de-acidification
In warmer zones tartaric acid may be added, but both enrichment and de-acidification are prohibited — the reverse of the cold zones.
Answer: C — About 50
Grand Cru wine must come from a listed vineyard, use a noble variety, and meet much lower maximum yields; each cru has its own committee that may tighten rules.
Answer: B — The wine spends the winter on its lees before bottling
Sur lie Muscadet rests on its lees over winter and is bottled with little handling, keeping freshness, body and a slight prickle and yeasty note.
Answer: B — Dalmatians who had come to work the gum plantations of the North Island
Settlers from Dalmatia, originally working the North Island plantations, planted vineyards; their family names still appear on great wineries. James Busby had planted the first vines in 1833.
Answer: A — These are the areas where irrigation water is available
Australia's viticultural landmass is limited; vineyards cluster near the coast or in the great river valleys where irrigation water can be had, though cooler, higher sites and Tasmania are expanding.
Answer: D — Asti, some Vins Doux Naturels and the sweet Muscats of Samos
The most aristocratic Muscat gives the widest aromatic range; oxidatively aged versions turn dark with raisin, fruitcake, toffee and coffee notes while keeping their perfume.
The full trainer covers every Level 3 chapter with MCQ drills, real-format mocks, 612 open theory questions graded against key facts, and the written tasting-note module. First chapters and one mock free, no account needed.
Try Level 3 free →No — official past papers aren't published. Everything here is an original work written to mirror the syllabus and question style, including the model answers.
Against a points-based scheme: examiners look for specific facts, correct terminology and complete reasoning. Our open questions work the same way — one mark per key fact, which is exactly how the trainer grades your written answers.
Yes — the theory exam has a multiple-choice part and a written part, and you must reach the required standard in both. A strong MCQ score cannot compensate for a weak written paper, which is why we train it specifically.
612 open questions with instant key-fact grading, plus the full MCQ bank and tasting-note trainer.
Train open questions free →