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What happens if you’re given a sweet white wine on the Level 3 tasting exam?

In Episode 63, Joanne shares a smart (and easy to miss) strategy for the order in which you taste the wines during the exam—especially if one of them is a sweet/luscious style like Sauternes or Tokaji.

Most students instinctively begin with the white wine, but if that white is sweet, it can completely overwhelm your palate and throw off your ability to assess the red wine accurately. That sugar will mute fruit, distort tannin perception, and make the red seem more acidic and bitter than it really is.

Joanne walks through:

• Why you should consider tasting the red before the white in some cases

• Clues to help you identify a sweet wine without tasting it

• How to avoid tanking the red wine analysis due to a sugar-loaded first impression

• What to look for: deep gold color, honeyed aromas, and slow, viscous legs

This is the kind of small but powerful exam-day detail that can save you critical points. Whether you’re weeks away from your Level 3 tasting or just starting to prep, tuck this tip in your back pocket—you’ll be glad you did.

Next week, we kick off a brand-new series on Wine Laws, starting with Germany. If you’ve ever struggled with understanding European labeling or regional classifications, this one’s for you.

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