The long journey to MW.

“The best thing I can tell you to “study” for the entrance application is to read as many wine publications as possible to keep up on current events and stats. Talk to viticulturists as well as winemakers to try to understand not only how they make wine but why they do what they do as opposed to what someone down the road does. Starting thinking in terms of this “why” concept and then you’ll start thinking like an MW student. For the actual exam, look at past exam questions which are posted publicly online (just google Master of Wine Exam). The entrance questions are usually past exam questions. When structuring your arguments always included real world examples. (so and so producer does this…) Try to pepper in examples for all over the world. Doing all of this will definitely get you far along in the application process.” – a current MW student

Diary of an MW Student by Richard Hemming

Master of Wine Studies by Nova Cadamatre

Vine Species (last update Jan 2015)

Vine Varieties

Clones (last update Jan 2015)

Development of new vine varieties (last update Jan 2015)

Vine Propagation (last update Feb 2015)

Rootstocks & Grafting (last update May 2015)

Growth Cycle of the Vine (last update June 2015)

Life Cycle of the Vine (last update September 2015)

Practical and economic issues of planting or re-planting vineyards.

Issues concerning the acquisition of vineyards through purchase or inheritance.

Climate.

Weather.

Soil.

Aspect.

Effect of these factors on wine style, quality, yield and cost.

The concept of “terroir”.

Types and Methods of Pruning and Training (last update November 2015)

Underlying principles and practical applications of canopy management (last update November 2015)

Irrigation (last update January 2016)

Application of fertilisers.

Use of herbicides.

Green harvesting.

Implications for yield of all of the above.

Bio-dynamic, organic, and other alternative cultivation of methods.

Vine pests.

Vine diseases.

Physiological disorders.

Prevention and control of the above.

Grape structure.

Chemical composition of grapes, e.g. sugars, acids, anthocyanins, tannins etc.

Analytical techniques.

Fruit ripeness.

Noble rot.

Timing of the harvest.

Picking options.

Grape transportation.

Quality and cost implications.

Grape reception.

Grape handling strategies, e.g. de-stalking, crushing, pressing and skin contact.

Must treatments.

Temperature control.

Alcoholic fermentation.

Role of yeast, enzymes, temperature and fermentation vessels.

Strategies for the extraction of colour, aroma, flavour and tannin.

Carbonic maceration, whole bunch fermentation and thermovinification.

Theory and practice of malolactic conversion.

Methods of stabilisation and clarification, e.g. fining, filtration, centrifugation etc.

Use of chemicals in wine making and wine handling – their function, action and application.

International regulations governing the use of chemicals.

Production techniques for sparkling wines.

Grape selection and pressing.

Temperature control.

Selection and blending of base wines.

The second fermentation.

Maturation.

Finishing.

Production techniques for fortified wines.

Selection of base wines.

Timing of fortification.

Practice and significance of blending and maturation.

Finishing.

Cold stabilisation and final filtration of wine for bottling.

Methods of packaging.

Different types of packages.

Ingredient labelling.

Closures.

Composition of wine and its faults.

Analysis of wines, its purpose, use and limitations.

QA and QC systems and structures for wine and dry goods.

Compliance with statutory regulations.

Effects of storage on wine after packing.

Methods of bulk transport.

Quality assurance before and during bulk transport and checking procedures on receipt of bulk wine.