The Master of Wine (MW) exam consists of two components: a Theory and Practical element, with the latter comprising three blind wine tastings on three consecutive mornings.

Each tasting exam (dubbed Paper 1, 2 and 3) contains 12 wines, and a series of questions regarding where they come from, what grapes they are made from, as well as how they are made, where they might be sold, and other things, like their abvs and sugar content.

Aside from the challenge of identifying the wines, and then answering questions about them – which involves carefully structuring a sensibly argued response – one has to be quick: candidates are given 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete the paper, giving them 11 minutes per wine.

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