WSET Certification Classes
On a Mission to Help You
Find Your Wine Palate in Paso Robles
Melanie has been teaching wine certification classes in the Central Coast and Paso Robles since 2018, helping over 300 wine industry professionals and wine enthusiasts achieve their certification, including winery owners, winemakers, chefs, tasting room managers and personnel, as well as those shifting their career paths into wine. She holds the Diploma in Wine and Spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, the French Wine Scholar and Spanish Wine Scholar credentials from the Wine Scholar Guild and has passed WSET’s rigorous Educator Training Program, certifying her to teach WSET L1, L2 and L3 Award in Wines. Melanie directs The MWWine School, which is an Approved Program Provider for WSET in San Luis Obsipo County, CA and in Asheville, NC, as well as for French Wine Scholar and Spanish Wine Scholar classes. Melanie also teaches in the Wine Studies program at College of the Canyons. See below for current classes.
MWWine School is a proud Associate Member of the PRWCA.
UPCOMING WSET CLASSES & OTHER TRAININGS
WSET classes are offered through the MWWine School WSET APP in San Luis Obispo County and the Central Coast
MWWine School will match any industry discount on comparable courses. Ask about our special discount for eligible wine/restaurant/hospitality industry and MWWS alumni. Email mwwineschool@melaniewebberwine.com for more info.
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WSET Level One Award in Wines
Perfect for Tasting Room and Restaurant Service Professionals, and Wine Enthusiasts
Course price: $350
Location: Paso Robles
Offering two classes in Paso Robles:
Tuesday, January 7th, 2025: Course & Exam - 9:30am - 5:00pm
Registration closes December 17th, 2024.
Tuesday, March 11th, 2025: Course & Exam - 9:30am - 5:00pm
Registration closes February 28th, 2025
A beginner level introduction to wine suitable for those starting a wine career or pursuing an interest in wine. You’ll explore the main types and styles of wine through sight, smell, and taste, while also gaining the basic skills to describe wines accurately, and make food and wine pairings, as well as wine service and etiquette.
The WSET Level 1 Award in Wines is a suggested prerequisite for the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines course. The WSET L1 Award is a 6-hour course and includes an exam with 30 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 45 minutes, printed study guide, tasting of 10 wines, food pairing exercises, and exam fee. Successful candidates receive a certificate and lapel pin for the internationally-recognized WSET Level 1 Award in Wines. Link to course specification.
You must be 21 or over to take the class. This class must reach a minimum number of enrollees to proceed. Registrants will be informed one week before the class if it is postponed or canceled.
Students may cancel up to 14 days prior to the first day of class, after that no cancellations except in cases where there is a need for special consideration. Please note for student initiated refunds a 5% transaction fee will be deducted from the refunded amount to cover processing costs.
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WSET Level Two Award in Wines
A Deeper Dive into Wine Styles and Regions, Winemaking and Wine Tasting
Course price: $850
Location: Paso Robles
Part 1 and Part 2: Monday/Tuesday, March 3rd/4th, 2025 9:30am - 5:00pm
Part 3 and Exam: Monday, March 10th, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Registration closes February 28th
For individuals seeking a core understanding of a wide range of wines, this qualification explores the major grape varieties of the world and the regions in which they are grown. Through a combination of tasting and theory, you’ll explore the factors that impact style and quality and learn how to describe these wines with confidence. The course includes tastings of over 30 wines.
It is intended as vocational training in product knowledge for those employed in the drinks industry. The qualification is suitable wherever a good level of product knowledge is required to underpin job skills and competencies. The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines course is also appropriate for those not employed in the drinks industry but who want a serious education in wine and wish to broaden their knowledge in a structured way. Link to course specification.
You must be 21 or over to take the class. This class must reach a minimum number of enrollees to proceed. Registrants will be informed one week before the class if it is postponed or canceled.
Students may cancel up to 14 days prior to the first day of class, after that no cancellations except in cases where there is a need for special consideration. Please note for student initiated refunds a 5% transaction fee will be deducted from the refunded amount to cover processing costs.
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WSET Level Three Award in Wines
An advanced level qualification for professionals working in the wine industry and for serious wine enthusiasts.
Course Price: $1,499
Location: Paso Robles
Part 1 and Part 2: Monday/Tuesday March 17th/18th, 9:30am – 5:00pm
Part 3 and Part 4: Monday/Tuesday March 31st/April 1st, 9:30am - 5:00pm
Part 5 and Part 6: Monday/Tuesday April 7th/8th, 9:30am - 5:00pm
Exam: Sunday, April 27th, 11:00am - 1:30pm
Registration closes March 10, 2025
For individuals seeking to delve deeply into the world of wines. Provides a detailed understanding of grape growing and wine making. Open to students with WSET Level 2 Award in Wines, or who can demonstrate knowledge at an Intermediate level through the completion of equivalent education courses, or who have sufficient wine trade experience. The course covers wines of the world in – depth (35+ hours) and tastings of 70+ wines - including blind tastings to help better prepare students for the rigorous Level 3 exam. This qualification has a minimum requirement of 84 hours of study time, including 30 hours of classroom time. Link to course specification.
You must be 21 or over to take the class. This class must reach a minimum number of enrollees to proceed. Registrants will be informed one week before the class if it is postponed or canceled.
Students may cancel up to 14 days prior to the first day of class, after that no cancellations except in cases where there is a need for special consideration. Please note for student initiated refunds a 5% transaction fee will be deducted from the refunded amount to cover processing costs.
A note from Melanie about WSET Level 3:
WSET Level 3 Award in Wines is one of the industry's most respected credentials, and, as such, it is a serious and challenging course that demands commitment – over 50 hours of private study is recommended. Please be sure to review the candidate specification before registering. Your work outside class hours is as important, if not more so, than your time in class. Successful candidates in my previous classes have formed tasting and study groups and practiced writing answers for the theory portion of the exam. The exam consists of a blind tasting exam and a theory exam consisting of multiple-choice questions and essay questions. The good news is that everything you need to know for the theory part is in your book, so if you know your book and are able to apply knowledge you should be fine. Students tend to be the most nervous about the blind tasting exam, but most students pass that, it is the theory exam that provides the biggest challenges. I make sure to space classes out so you have ample study time between sessions, provide homework with sample exam questions, and we taste all wines blind and I put you through many mock blind tasting exams.
Now that I have been a bit serious, I will also assure you that I do everything I can to help you pass the exam, to make the class fun, to ensure that we take the work, but not ourselves, seriously and that you will have the most extraordinary selection of wines from around the world, nearly 80 of them, sourced from top wine shops in Los Angeles. Challenging though wine study is, it can be deeply rewarding. Hope to see you there!
Melanie
Restaurant / Wine Bar Personnel
I am happy to come into your establishment to train your staff for a one day educational event including wine basics, service and food and wine pairing, or for an onsite one day WSET certification class for your staff (12 person minimum).
Wine Scholar Guild in Paso Robles
For more information and to register for the next:
Spanish Wine Scholar course, click here
Spanish Wine Essentials course, click here
French Wine Essentials course, click here
Melanie’s passion for wine shines through her teaching. I was in her WSET Level Two and Level Three Award in Wine classes and, combined, we tasted over 120 wines from around the world, many of which simply are not available in Paso. This has been a truly extraordinary wine journey which, coupled with Melanie’s tasting analysis, has broadened my palate.
The curriculum for WSET’s world class certifications is top notch and rigorous, but Melanie makes the learning accessible, fun and engaging, all while ensuring a depth of understanding. Melanie’s classes are essential learning for anyone who is serious about expanding their wine education as well as for those who love wine, but also want to keep it real.
NEETA MITTAL
Founder & Owner, LXV Wine
I was sixteen years old when I had one of those 'ah-ha' moments,..in that instant, making a decision to one day become a certified sommelier.
Cut to years/decades later, never having relinquished that dream, yet having been on a different career track, found myself in the wine industry in Paso Robles, California.
The burning passion and desire to learn more about World Wine led to classes, offered by the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET.) and an inspiring teacher/instructor named Melanie Webber, DipWSET/FWS.
Thanks to Melanie's natural and expert talents as a teacher, many of us succeeded in passing the Beginning, Intermediate and the somewhat more rigorous Advanced Level of Award in Wines.
Melanie takes the dense and highly complex subject of World Wine and breaks it down in to an approachable and interesting format. She presents the material with transitions between the evaluative and systematic approach to wine tasting, the theory components and visual tools. Melanie engages the students with questions on critical areas of study and this interactive participation promotes faster learning.
Melanie Webber's patience, encouragement, humor and dedication combined with her passion and enthusiasm for wine education set her apart as a teacher of the highest caliber.
I am immensely grateful to have had the fortune to be one of her students.
CLAIRE WESTAWAY
Asst. Winemaker,
RN ESTATE Vineyard & Winery
Melanie is a true authority on the world of wines and I am grateful to have been among her first students in WSET Level 3 along with my wife Sara. We learned so much and I especially appreciated how interactive the class was, and how well armed I became with the information needed to pass the very rigorous WSET Level 3 Exam. I have been able to leverage what I learned from Melanie into running the new wine bar at Neighborhood Wine, from meeting with distributors to tasting and deciding what to carry to starting a wine club featuring wines of the world
CHRIS PASCONE
Neighborhood WIne
Fort Worth, Texas