Vindict & Wine Lab

De WSET is een Engelstalige wijncursus, vandaar dat de onderstaande tekst en uitleg in Engels wordt gegeven:

In collaboration with Wine Lab, Vindict now also offers the English WSET courses.
Founder of Wine Lab, Jody Pollara, teaches the courses in our Vindict wineshop in Amsterdam-Noord: Docklandsweg 5.

Which level suits you?

SDEN & WSET

SDEN
SDEN stands for "Stichting Dranken Examens en Normering". This Dutch Institute that offers exams for wine, beer and distilled alcoholic beverages. There are 5 different levels:

SDEN-niveau 1: Wijnvignet
SDEN-niveau 2: Wijnoorkonde
SDEN-niveau 3: Wijnbrevet
SDEN-niveau 4: Vinoloog
SDEN-niveau 5: Magister Vini

WSET
WSET stands for Wine & Spirit Educational Trust and is an Internationally recognised wine course. There are 4 levels:

WSET – Level 1: Beginner level qualification
WSET – Level 2: Beginner – intermediate level qualification
WSET – Level 3: Advanced level qualification
WSET – level 4:  Expert-level qualification

After WSET Level 4 you can continue with the qualification for Master of Wine, which is issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. In the wine industry this qualification is regarded as one of the highest standards of professional knowledge.

So what are the differences?

Language
At Vindict the SDEN courses are in Dutch, whilst the WSET courses are in English.

Recognition
The SDEN course diplomas are recognised within the Netherlands, whilst the WSET courses are recognised internationally.

The levels
Although the SDEN and WSET both have different levels, they do not really correspond. Vindict offers SDEN 2 & SDEN 3 and WSET 1 & 2 (WSET 3 will be offered next year). The order in which you can follow these courses is as follows:  

• WSET 1
• SDEN 2
• WSET 2
• SDEN 3
• (WSET 3)

Please note that for courses up to the SDEN 3 you do not need a qualification of one of these courses to be able to participate in  the other. You can for instance start with the SDEN 3, if you feel you have the knowledge or expierence to do so. When you start with WSET 3 or SDEN 4 Vinologen, there are certain requirements.

The approach
The biggest difference is probably the approach. The SDEN courses are more fact-driven, which provide a good basis for your knowledge of wine. For instance: you'll be able to name the region of a specific wine and the grape that is made from.

The WSET works with The Systematic Approach to Wine Tasting, a way in which you learn to describe the wine according to certain characteristics in the wine like colour, acidity, tannins and alcohol. For instance: you’ll explore the main types and styles of wine through sight, smell, and taste, while also gaining the skills to describe wines accurately.