One Foot in the Grapes has partnered with the Drinks Trust charity to make our courses available within the trust’s Develop bursary scheme.
- What is it:
If you’re a wine enthusiast, or starting out in the hospitality industry, this introduction to wine course gives you the basics for your wine journey. - Where and when:
This course takes place at the Waterfront Southport Hotel. Link here. - 2025 dates:
Monday May 12, 2025 - Entry requirements:
You don’t need any qualifications, or knowledge about wine. - What we’ll do:
This course begins with introductions at 10am. We will follow the session topics, as outlined below, with the exam at 5pm. - Wines and food pairing:
A fun part! You’ll taste at least seven wines in a two-hour workshop to discover food and wine pairing basics. - Don’t drink wine?:
The qualification can be gained just by theory. This is suitable for under-18s or others who do not wish to taste alcohol. - The study fee:
The Level 1 course with One Foot in the Grapes is £184 to the end of July 2025. WSET fees rise every August. The fee includes wine and food samples and the examination fee – but not resit exams. - Study guide:
This will be posted ahead of the course. - How to book: Select a date within the shopping basket. There will be an option to pay in three instalments (if eligible).
- To complete the booking: One Foot in the Grapes will request a form of photo ID.
WSET Level 1 Wines Specification
Click on the icon to see the full course details
How do you pass?
You will sit a 45-minute exam of 30 multiple-choice questions. You need 70% or more to pass and will receive a certificate and pin.
An Introduction to Wine: The WSET Level 1 in a day
Session One:
An Introduction to Wines:
- What is wine
- How grapes grow
- Where grapes grow
- Making wine
- Types of wine
- Principal grape varieties
- Via hands-on experiments, you’ll discover important factors in red winemaking; and a sweetness and acidity tasting test will hone your palate.
Session Two:
Understanding the Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine:
- We’ll taste three wines – a white a red and a rosé using the WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting.
- The aim is to experience and objectively describe wines with different notable characteristics e.g. high acidity, low and high tannins, and learn and discover different aromas and flavours.
Session Three:
Storage and Service:
- The ideal conditions for storing and methods for preserving wine.
- The recommended service temperature for the principal types and styles of wine.
Lunch Break
Session Four
Food and wine pairing (two hours):
There will be a tasting of four more wines with different notable characteristics e.g. high acidity, low and high tannins, high alcohol, sweetness
- We’ll then experience how all of our wines each interact with different types of food, using sweet biscuits, cheese, salt, lemon, and chilli-flavoured crisps
- Via a restaurant wine list excercise, we’ll interpret wine styles and suggest food pairing matches.
Revision break
Exam (5pm)