Earn your WSET Diploma with Commonwealth Wine School
Commonwealth Wine School merged with Grape Experience, one of the oldest and most knowledgeable providers of the WSET Level 4 Diploma program, in September 2021. Our successful track record of offering WSET Diploma has made us experts in the best ways to succeed in this challenging program. Redesigned in 2019, the new Diploma program is focused on helping candidates build critical knowledge and skills to be a thought leader in wine.
The WSET Diploma
Diploma is a two-year program for anyone who has achieved the WSET Level 3 Certificate in wine. It is one of the most respected and admired wine certification qualifications in the world. Diploma is incredibly rewarding but also highly challenging and will take your wine education to an elite level. The WSET Diploma program is also universally viewed as a pre-requisite to the Master of Wine qualification.
The WSET Diploma is comprised of six individual course units, each with their own exam or written assessment. Students need to pass all six Diploma program units to achieve certification. Students have three years to complete all segments, but extensions are possible for a fee should more time be needed. The WSET estimates a minimum of 500 study hours over this period are required to pass and acquire your Diploma.
WSET Diploma is ideal for people in or outside of the wine industry who wish to advance their skills and knowledge base. The program offers in-depth study of the business, winemaking, and consumption trends in the world’s wine regions. Graduates will have the product knowledge and analytical tasting skills to confidently explain and to accurately evaluate wines.
What makes Diploma with Commonwealth Wine School unique?
Our more than a decade experience of being one of the few organizations privileged to offer the Diploma has enabled us to understand the best way to achieve program success for a diverse group of students, each with their own learning styles, needs and preferences. We provide students several ways to study:
In-person classes
Online study
A combination of in-person and online study
Our Diploma graduates have the knowledge and confidence to analyze and evaluate the trends and structure of today’s wine and spirit industry and to use this in leadership. Diploma is ideal for people in or outside the wine industry who wish to advance their skills and knowledge base.
As part of their tuition, students who enroll with us get access to:
Feedback tasting and theory exams which are reviewed by examiners so that they never go into an exam unprepared
A diverse faculty including several Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, wine makers, importers, retailers and other industry experts
Individual attention to help plan and schedule the Diploma program with the rest of their personal and work life
An opportunity to combine for each/any unit the weekly study plan and support of the WSET Online Classroom with in-person traditional classroom attendance
WSET DIPLOMA PROGRAM UNITS
The Diploma is broken into two Foundation and four Product Knowledge Units taught at various times and locations (including online) over two years. Units D1 and D2 are sold together and must be taken first. You are not required to pay for all six units at once which allows you to spread out the cost of the Diploma. We offer payment plans.
The fee for Units D1 and D2 also registers you for three years with WSET and grants access to the proprietary Global Campus—a unique site with critical study support and special offers. WSET Diploma Units D3 through D6 are not always taught in numerical order.
Foundation Units
Students learn about the business factors of the wine industry, including the economics of grape growing, winemaking, transportation, importation, and sales and marketing strategies, that contribute to the price of wine. Social and economic factors, production, legislative (tax, duty, minimum pricing & labelling laws, etc.) and political factors affecting supply and demand, and options for getting wine to point of sale are covered. Assessment requires a 1-hour short written answer exam.
Cost is $2150 for our D1 & D2 Combination Online Hybrid Course
UNIT D2: WINE BUSINESS
Students will gain further understanding of what the vine requires to produce grapes for wine production and grape growing options. You’ll learn how natural factors in the vineyard influence the vine’s ability to produce grapes for wines of different styles, quality levels and prices, as well as winemaking and post fermentation options. Assessment to pass D1 is a 90-minute short written answer exam.
UNIT D1: WINE PRODUCTION
Product Knowledge Units
This unit enriches students in understanding how grape growing, winemaking, maturation, wine law and wine business influence style, quality and price of wines around the world. You will learn the ability to taste and evaluate the quality of wines from the principal wine regions accurately. The exam happens over two days. Day 1 requires three hours and 20 minutes of essays to a range of theory questions. Day 2 requires three hours of blind tastings of 12 wines.
Cost is $2600 for Online study; $3000 for Traditional Classroom and $3600 for a combination of Online and Traditional classroom study.
UNIT D3: WINES OF THE WORLD
This unit covers how grape growing, winemaking, maturation, wine law and wine business influence the style, quality and price of the principal sparkling wines of the world. Ranges cover Australia, Europe, South Africa, South America, UK and USA. Students learn to demonstrate the ability to taste and evaluate sparkling wines accurately. Assessment is a 90-minute exam combining blind tasting and short answers.
Cost for the Unit is $1025 for Online study; $1150 for Traditional Classroom and $1275 for a combination of Online and Traditional classroom study.
UNIT D4: SPARKLING WINES
This unit is a thorough review of the production techniques of the major types of Fortified wines, as well as an in-depth examination of the major producing countries and regions. Assessment is a 90-minute exam combining blind tasting and short answers.
Cost for the Unit is $1025 for Online study; $1150 for Traditional Classroom and $1275 for a combination of Online and Traditional classroom study.
UNIT D5: FORTIFIED WINES
This unit requires students to demonstrate understanding and analysis of a specific subject based on source materials. Two topics are available to choose from each year and students will be required to submit a 3,000-word research paper which develops ideas and arguments to reach an informed conclusion.
Cost is $425
UNIT D6: INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
Exam Schedule: All exam dates are set by WSET and cannot be adjusted.
Prerequisite: Candidates are required to hold the WSET Level 3 certificate in Wine to study for the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine.
Online Courses: Students may choose to do some units online and others in person or a combination of both formats. The online D1 course requires participation in an induction day seminar that covers Diploma basics.
Note: Prices are subject to change. There are no refunds for Diploma courses.
Questions? Please contact WSET Director Adam Chase with further queries. For more information on the Diploma program from a global perspective, browse the WSET website.