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Wine Educate: Wine Lessons, Travel & WSET Study Prep

Wine Educate: Wine Lessons, Travel & WSET Study Prep

By: Joanne Close
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Summary

 Welcome to the Wine Educate Podcast, your ultimate guide to mastering wine through the lens of WSET wine courses and certifications. Whether you're a beginner exploring WSET Level 1 or preparing for the rigorous WSET Level 3 exam, this podcast is packed with insights tailored for every stage of your wine education journey. Learn wine tasting techniques using the Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT), discover expert strategies for excelling in WSET essay practice, and dive into topics like food and wine pairing and career pathways in the wine industry. With episodes on professional wine education, tips for online wine classes, and behind-the-scenes stories from WSET exam preparation, we'll help you turn your passion for wine into expertise. Whether you're pursuing wine certification for personal growth or advancing your career as a sommelier or educator, the Wine Educate Podcast is here to guide you—one glass at a time. Subscribe now to gain the confidence to ace your WSET courses and elevate your appreciation of wine! This podcast is for you if you are asking questions such as: How do I study for WSET classes? How do I pass WSET Level 3? How do I pass WSET Theory? How do I pass WSET Tasting? How can I take WSET Level 1 course online? Where can I take WSET Level 1 course online? Where can I take WSET Level 2 course online? Where can I take WSET Level 3 course online? What are the WSET Level 2 study materials? How can I prepare for the WSET Level 3 exam? What wine certification programs are available? What are the best wine education podcasts? Where are wine tasting courses near me? How can I take an online wine education class? What are Wine and Spirit Education Trust certifications? How can I become a certified sommelier? What is a wine appreciation course? What wine education is for beginners? What are advanced wine studies? Can I study wine abroad? Can I study WSET in France? Can I study WSET in Europe? What are the top wine regions to visit? How can I find wine tasting tours? What are some WSET exam tips? What are some wine industry certifications? What are professional wine qualifications? What are some wine courses for enthusiasts? What is the WSET diploma program? What are the benefits of obtaining a WSET Level 1 certification? How can I prepare for the WSET Level 2 exam? What topics are covered in the WSET Level 3 course? Are there online courses available for WSET certifications? What is the difference between WSET and sommelier certifications? How long does it take to complete WSET Level 1? What are the costs associated with WSET Level 2 courses? Can I take WSET exams online? What career opportunities are available with a WSET Level 3 certification? How do I find WSET-approved course providers near me? What study materials are recommended for WSET Level 2? Are there practice exams available for WSET Level 3? What is the pass rate for WSET Level 2 exams? How does WSET certification benefit wine professionals? What are the prerequisites for enrolling in WSET Level 3? Can I retake the WSET exam if I don't pass on the first attempt? What is the format of the WSET Level 1 exam? Are there scholarships available for WSET courses? How does WSET certification compare to other wine education programs? What are the best resources for WSET Level 3 exam preparation? How many wines do you taste in WSET Level 2? Is WSET Level 3 difficult? What jobs can I get with a WSET certification? What is the difference between WSET and CMS (Court of Master Sommeliers)? How can I memorize wine regions for the WSET exam? Do I need WSET Level 1 before taking Level 2? What's the difference between WSET Level 2 and Level 3? How does blind tasting work in WSET exams? Is WSET certification worth it? What are the hardest parts of the WSET Level 3 exam? Can you skip WSET Level 1 and go straight to Level 2? What are the key sparkling wine styles covered in WSET Level 3? How do I apply the BLIC (Balance, Length, Intensity, Complexity) method? What are the key wine regions I need to know for WSET Level 3? How does soil type affect wine for WSET exams? What are the essential fortified wines to know for WSET Level 3? How do I prepare for the WSET Level 3 short-answer questions? What is BLIC in wine tasting, and how is it used in WSET? What's the best way to practice multiple-choice questions for WSET? What's the best way to take notes during a WSET wine tasting? What wines should I blind taste for WSET Level 3? How do I taste wine like a professional? What's the difference between young and mature wines? How do I recognize wine faults like cork taint or oxidation? Why do some wines taste buttery? What's the best way to aerate a wine before drinking? How do I know if a wine is corked? How do tannins in wine interact with food? What wines pair best with soft cheeses? How does sweetness in wine affect food pairings? How do I pair wine with vegetarian dishes? What's the best way to store wine at home? What is the ideal serving ...2024 Art Cooking Food & Wine
Episodes
  • 111. True Wine Crime - The DRC Blackmail Scandal

    111. True Wine Crime - The DRC Blackmail Scandal
    May 14 2026
    Episode 111: True Wine Crime - The DRC Blackmail Scandal Host: Joanne Close Episode Length: 10:53 Release Date: May 14th 2026 Join the Wine Educate Newsletter Get wine tips, episode updates, and exclusive content delivered to your inbox. Subscribe at https://mailchi.mp/6648859973ba/newsletter Episode Description In this episode Joanne dives into one of the most audacious crimes in wine history - the blackmail attempt against Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Burgundy's most legendary and sought-after estate. In January 2010, the director of DRC received an anonymous package at his home containing a hand-drawn map of the vineyard with specific vines marked for destruction. It was the beginning of a criminal scheme that would shake the entire wine world. What followed was a story involving poisoned vines, a hidden bunker in the woods, fake ransom money, a graveyard sting operation, and questions that were never fully answered. Joanne walks through the full story from the initial threat to the arrest, and explains why this crime hit Burgundy so much harder than a stolen bottle or a counterfeit label ever could. The episode also looks at the broader implications - what the crime revealed about the vulnerability of irreplaceable old vines, why the fear spread beyond DRC to other elite estates, and what the wine world did in its aftermath to try to protect vineyards that are, by their very nature, wide open farming land. What You'll Learn in This Episode What Makes DRC So Significant Why Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is considered the Holy Grail of BurgundyThe scale of the estate - just 4.46 acres producing roughly 500 cases a yearThe other grand cru vineyards DRC farms beyond Romanée-Conti itselfHow rarity, history, and terroir combine to make these wines almost impossible to obtain The Crime - How It Unfolded The anonymous packages received by then-director Aubert de Villaine in January 2010How the threat was delivered and what the blackmailer demanded - 1 million eurosThe discovery that vines had already been drilled and injected with herbicideWhy roughly 80 additional vine sites were found to have been targeted Why This Attack Was Different The difference between stealing or faking wine and attacking the living source of itWhy old vines cannot simply be replaced and what is lost when one diesThe concept of attacking terroir itself - what that means in BurgundyHow this crime opened the door to a fear that had not previously existed Jacques Soltys - The Man Behind the Scheme His background in the wine world and criminal historyThe hidden bunker he built in the woods above the vineyardsThe evidence found - tools, vineyard clothing, syringes, weed killer, and a handgunThe involvement of his son Cédric as an accompliceThe sting operation in a cemetery using fake banknotesWhy so many questions were left unanswered The Aftermath How the crime shook Burgundy's sense of securityThe security measures that followed - and their limitationsWhy DRC was not the only estate targeted Joanne's comparison to the Tylenol tamper scandal and what it changed Episode Highlights and Quotes "If someone is to invite you to a DRC tasting, you run, don't walk. Go and taste all the things." "This was not like a bottle was faked or a case of wine was stolen. This attack was happening on the vine itself, at the very place where the wine comes from. And in Burgundy, this is an attack on the terroir itself." "Now, as de Villaine said, this was like - in the air. It felt like the door had been opened so that others could do this as well." The DRC Estate at a Glance Romanée-Conti vineyard Size: 4.46 acres (1.8 hectares) Annual production: approximately 500 cases Location: Côte d'Or, Burgundy Other grand cru vineyards farmed by DRC La Tâche Richebourg Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grands Échezeaux Échezeaux Montrachet Resources Mentioned Shadows in the Vineyard: The True Story of the Plot to Poison the World's Greatest Wine by Maximillian Potter - the full account of the DRC blackmail scandal and its investigation Connect with Wine Educate Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/6648859973ba/newsletter - sign up for wine tips, quizzes, and episode updates delivered to your inbox every week. Website: https://www.wineeducate.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wineeducate Never miss an episode. Subscribe on your favourite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and YouTube. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review and share it with fellow wine lovers. Reviews are the best way to help other WSET students find the show. About Wine Educate Wine Educate is a WSET Approved Programme Provider offering internationally recognized wine certification courses. Through the podcast, Joanne Close makes wine education accessible to everyone, breaking down complex topics into practical, easy-to-understand lessons. Whether you are studying for your WSET certification or simply want to learn ...
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    11 mins
  • 110. True Wine Crime - Counterfeit Yellow Tail and the Global Fake Wine Trade

    110. True Wine Crime - Counterfeit Yellow Tail and the Global Fake Wine Trade
    May 7 2026
    Episode 110: True Wine Crime - Counterfeit Yellow Tail and the Global Fake Wine Trade Host: Joanne Close Episode Length: 13 minutes 10 seconds Release Date: May 7th 2026 Join the Wine Educate Newsletter Get wine tips, episode updates, and exclusive content delivered to your inbox. Subscribe at https://mailchi.mp/6648859973ba/newsletter Episode Description Wine fraud is not just about rare bottles and billionaire collectors. This episode kicks off the True Wine Crime series that newsletter subscribers voted for, and Joanne starts with a story that is equal parts fascinating and unsettling: the global counterfeiting of Yellow Tail, one of the most recognisable wine brands in the world. Yellow Tail was never trying to be anything other than what it is. An everyday, fruit-forward, widely exported Australian wine that twelve million cases of are sold annually across more than fifty countries. It is precisely those qualities, the brand recognition, the accessible price point, the easy-to-replicate style, that made it such an attractive target. When China imposed a 218% tariff on Australian wine in 2020 and exports dropped by over 90% between 2021 and 2023, organised criminal networks spotted a gap in the market and moved into it quickly and efficiently. Joanne walks through the economics of the fraud in detail, from the cost of bulk wine and fake packaging through to the profit margins per bottle and the scale of production across multiple warehouses. She also covers how the counterfeiting spread from China to the UK, how it was eventually detected, and what Yellow Tail has done in response. The lesson at the end of this episode applies well beyond the brand at the centre of it. What You'll Learn in This Episode What Yellow Tail Is and Why It Matters How Yellow Tail was created by the Casella family in Australia in the early 2000sWhy it was built for export and never intended to be a premium terroir-driven wineThe scale of the brand: twelve million cases annually, sold in over fifty countriesWhere Yellow Tail is produced: Australia's South East zone, specifically the Riverina region, warm irrigated high-yield vineyards producing high-volume everyday wines The China Tariff and the Gap It Created Why China accounted for approximately 40% of Australia's wine export value at its peakHow a 218% tariff imposed by China made Australian wine effectively uncompetitive overnightThe scale of the collapse: exports dropped over 90% between 2021 and 2023Why high brand recognition combined with sudden scarcity created a significant counterfeiting opportunity How the Counterfeit Operation Worked Why organised criminal networks already experienced in counterfeiting luxury goods, spirits, and cosmetics were well positioned to pivot to wineThe scale of the operation: large warehouse facilities with bottling lines, labelling stations, and teams of workers producing thousands of bottlesWhy Yellow Tail was an ideal target: globally recognised brand, easy-to-replicate style, low-end price point reducing consumer suspicion The Economics of the Fraud Bulk wine cost: approximately 50 cents to one dollar per bottlePackaging cost: approximately one to two dollars per bottle for fake bottle, label, and corkTotal cost per bottle: two to three dollarsResale price: approximately eight to twelve dollars per bottleEstimated profit per bottle: five to nine dollarsAt 50,000 bottles: estimated profit of 250,000 to 450,000 dollarsMultiple production sites running simultaneously: millions of dollars annually How Far It Spread The fraud was not isolated to ChinaUK incidents: Birmingham in February 2021 and a larger operation in May 2025The 2025 UK case: one criminal network invested 500,000 pounds in high-quality printers and label replicationCoordinated operations across Asia and EuropeTens of thousands of bottles seized in raids, likely representing a fraction of total production How It Was Detected and What Happened Next Packaging inconsistencies, quality complaints, and supply chain irregularities flagged by authoritiesWine retailers knowingly selling counterfeit bottles losing their licencesYellow Tail's response: a brand rebrand specifically designed to tighten labelling and make replication harderThe broader lesson: fraud is driven by volume and low detection risk, not by the prestige of the wine being faked Episode Highlights and Quotes "Yellow Tail was never intended to be a high-end, super fancy, terroir-driven wine. It was built for export. It is an everyday wine and it is not pretending to be anything it is not." "If you are going to make money it is driven by volume and low detection risk. The bigger the brand, the more trusted it is, the more global presence it has, the bigger target it is." "I would not be surprised if there are other examples of this right now sitting on our grocery store shelves. Buyer beware." True Wine Crime Quick Reference: The Yellow Tail Fraud Key Facts Brand: Yellow Tail, Casella Family ...
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    13 mins
  • 109. Cork Taint Explained - What Corked Wine Actually Means and How to Identify It

    109. Cork Taint Explained - What Corked Wine Actually Means and How to Identify It
    Apr 30 2026
    Host: Joanne Close Episode Length: 13 minutes 12 seconds Release Date: April 30, 2025 Join the Wine Educate Newsletter Get wine tips, episode updates, and exclusive content delivered to your inbox. Subscribe at https://mailchi.mp/6648859973ba/newsletter Episode Description Cork taint is one of those wine faults that everyone has heard of but very few people can confidently identify. In this episode Joanne finally tackles a topic she has been putting off covering, and it turns out to be one of the most practically useful episodes she has recorded. Whether you are a WSET student who needs to know this for your exam or simply someone who wants to know what to do when a bottle does not smell right, this episode gives you everything you need. Joanne starts by clearing up the most common misconception, which is the difference between a wine that has bits of cork floating in it and a wine that is genuinely corked. From there she walks through the chemistry of TCA, what it smells like, why some people detect it more easily than others, and exactly what to do if you suspect you have a bad bottle. She also covers where TCA comes from, why it is not just a cork problem, and what the wine industry has done over the past few decades to reduce its occurrence. This is also one of those episodes where Joanne's practical storytelling is at its best. You will hear about her parents' kitchen cabinet, baby carrots cleaned with bleach, a winery that lost an entire vat of wine to TCA contamination, and a surprisingly useful tip about what to do with a corked bottle if you cannot return it. What You'll Learn in This Episode What Corked Actually Means The difference between bits of cork in your glass and a wine that is genuinely corkedWhy finding cork fragments in your wine does not affect the taste and what to do about itWhy the term corked refers specifically to TCA contamination and nothing else Understanding TCA What TCA stands for and why we use the abbreviationHow TCA is described in the WSET textbook and why you need to know it for your examThe key aromas associated with TCA - wet cardboard, damp basement, wet dog, mouldy newspaper, and autumnal notesWhy the amount of TCA in a wine can vary from obvious to extremely subtleWhy a subtly corked wine can be particularly damaging because it dulls fruit aromas without being immediately obviousWhy some people detect cork taint more easily than others and why this is completely normal How Sensitive Is Your Nose Why the detection threshold for TCA is measured in parts per trillionHow to put that sensitivity into context - one second in 32,000 years, or a few drops in an Olympic swimming poolWhy CO2 in sparkling wines makes TCA easier to detect Where TCA Comes From Why TCA needs phenols plus chlorine to formWhy natural cork is the most common source but not the only oneHow wood pallets, barrels, and even the architecture of a winery can harbour TCAWhy wineries avoid bleach-based cleaning productsThe banned chlorophenol fungicide once used on cork trees and why its residues are still causing problems decades laterWhy TCA is not limited to wine, with examples from carrots and kitchen cabinets What to Do with a Corked Bottle Why leaving the wine in the glass for a while will make the fault more obvious rather than lessWhether you can cook with a corked wine and what David Bird says about itHow to return a corked bottle to the retailer and what happens next in the supply chainHow to find a corked bottle to smell for reference at your local wine shopWhy a corked bottle in a case does not mean the whole case is affected Episode Highlights and Quotes "If the wine doesn't taste like it did last time, it can just dampen or dull the fruit aromas and flavors just a little bit. And I think this can be perhaps sometimes the most damaging to a wine." "The threshold is in parts per trillion. To put this into perspective, it is like one second in 32,000 years, or a few drops in an Olympic size swimming pool." "If you're in a setting and you feel the wine may be corked, you say hey, this wine, I'm not sure, could you smell it as well. It is a dialogue. We are not going to do that to each other." Cork Taint Quick Reference Guide What Corked Smells Like Wet cardboard Damp basement Wet dog Mouldy newspaper Autumnal notes (David Bird's description) What Causes TCA Chlorine reacting with wood materials, converted by microbes into TCA Most commonly associated with natural cork Also found in wood pallets, barrels, winery architecture, and cardboard packaging Key Facts for WSET Students TCA stands for 2,4,6-trichloroanisole Detection threshold measured in parts per trillion More easily detected in sparkling wines due to CO2 Incidence of cork taint has reduced significantly since the 1990s as cork companies have worked to address the issue Still occurs and worth knowing how to identify What to Do with a Corked Bottle Leave it in the glass for 30 minutes and revisit - the fault will ...
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    13 mins
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A great source for WSET studies. Informative, relevant, entertaining and Joanne's newsletter is well worth the sub

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I came across this podcast by chance in between my usual audibook reads....what a pleasure. Joanne Close is almost bursting with knowledge and supportive energy. I've learned facts here that I'd never quite understood. For example, why acidity falls when grapes continue to ripen on the vine, the history of bubbles in wine and much more. I reached out from the UK to Joanne with a query and had a fast, helpful response. If you are serious about WSET 3 (I'm not there but am interested in studying further towards this) then there is a huge amount of practical information here to help you. The episodes are of an ideal length (10-15') to allow you to digest and process the information. I can unreservedly recommend this.

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