Despite the five pounds I’ve gained in the last week, I feel much lighter these days. After a very stressful six-month period of preparing for the Diploma Unit 3 exam, I am thrilled to be able to say it is over. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I have successfully passed the exam. I won’t know that for about 3-4 months as the exam is shipped to London for grading, with all of the exams from all over the world.
The day itself was exhausting. The exam began at 10:00 AM with the first tasting paper. This consisted of two flights of three wines each, one of which we were asked to identify the common region and the other to identify the common grape. An hour later, we paused for a bathroom break before launching into the second tasting paper, which was similar to the first. Here, the challenge was to identify quality levels within three Pinot Noirs and then taste through a completely blind flight. While I am not confident that I correctly identified the flights, I did feel that I had earned enough points to pass the exam. We shall see.
After a brief lunch break, the clock started ticking for our three hour theory paper. This included a compulsory question for which we were presented with two wine labels (a German Eiswein and a Tokaji Azsu) and asked to describe their associated wines by climate, viticulture, vinification and maturation. We were then to choose another four questions from the remaining six. I chose questions regarding California, Syrah, various grape varieties and now can’t seem to recall the final selection. In any case, I was able to complete the five essays within the time allotted, at the conclusion of which I was mentally and physically tired (after typing all of the time you forget that writing for so long can cramp your arm).
With the exam submitted and behind us (at least for now), the members of my tasting group and a few other classmates headed out in search of….wine. Yes, after writing about wine for five hours, I could still enjoy a glass or two, although in celebration I switched to sparkling rather than still. In fact, after having a drink at a nearby bar, we upped the ante and ordered a very nice Champagne at Cru. I had to dash to dance class, so I missed dinner, but I was truly so much lighter as I headed out into the cool, damp evening with the weight of the exam having been lifted from my shoulders.