What a ride. I'm writing this as I am on the flight home from London now, one day out from finishing my third attempt at the Stage 2 MW exam and my second as a practical-only candidate.
The location of this year’s 4-day-long Master of Wine exam.
Everything was different this year, right down to the venue. It was held in Hackney, which I've decided is truly the Timbuktu of London. Our Airbnb was not nice, the area was not great, and the food and coffee options were grim. Just like seminar this year, the energy was very much "this is not meant to be a vacation, Claudia- get your shit together."
We made it work, though I did crash out halfway through the week and book us a stunning five-star hotel for Thursday, so we'd have something to look forward to.
Bella & I trekking with our cases of wine glasses (yes, you have to bring your own!)
So, the exam
To be totally honest, the last 6+ months have been devoted to learning my new role, and it has been nothing short of all-encompassing. I didn't have much free time, so I kept the early weekday alarms, usually waking between 4:30-5am to get some studying in before heading to the office. The reality, too, was that I didn't have much free space in my brain. I'd gotten some really good feedback on my writing throughout the year, so that was one positive. I cleared my schedule to attend tasting group for the two months leading up to the exam so that I was tasting regularly. I worked on hammering my systems. But the biggest and most impactful thing I did was enlist the help of a sports psychologist, Josephine Perry, who helped me sharpen my mindset and be ready to bring my A game.
Although I felt like I hadn't done enough, the truth is that when you're practical-only- and this year I didn't have the added weight of MS- there's only so much you can actually do. I built out my own guide to how I passed, and I'll share it if it gets me over the line. I worked with my mentor to nail down my style notes so I'd never have to waste time relearning them. The night before the exam, I wrote down all the reasons and evidence I had to believe I could pass this year, and looking at all the reps I'd been stacking made me feel a lot better.
I won't know how I really did until the wines are released in a week or so, and I won't have results until September. But I can say that I've never felt so good walking out of the exam room. I stayed calm. I trusted my instincts. I made myself slow down and really pay attention to the wines. I think I made very sound arguments, I funneled like a madwoman, and I answered the questions completely. If I have to repeat, I honestly don't know what I'd do differently, because I absolutely brought it. I feel the way I did the year I passed theory- like I left it all on the table- and now we'll just have to see if that's good enough or if there's more fine-tuning to do.
If I had to name areas for improvement, they'd be assessing quality and tightening up my winemaking notes. What I'm most proud of is how strong my commercial potential notes have gotten. I have a genuine love of wine that comes through when I get to talk about how to sell it. I've also been exposed to so many different sides of the industry that my understanding of where and how to bring different wines to life feels like a pretty full picture now.
The TLDR: I am so proud of my inputs, regardless of what my outputs (results) turn out to be. I feel a lot better than I did the previous two years, when I knew it wasn't going to be enough.
Post-exam
My post-exam game looked a lot different this year, too. I went straight to a meeting with Jancis Robinson herself, at her home… one of the wild exercises my sports psychologist had me do was to reach out to the icon and ask for a meeting- I didn't think she'd respond, let alone invite me over. From there I checked into the beautiful Kimpton Fitzroy, ordered room-service Champagne, relaxed, and then met up with Bella and friends at a nearby pub where we had ALL the beer. The next day, I just stayed at the hotel and soaked in the moment. I've worked so hard for years now, and all of that work- all those stacked hours of effort- was in the room with me, helping me push forward.
Up next
Now I'm ready to enjoy summer, catch up on some much-needed self-care, and take a break from hardcore studying. Although.. I did just purchase the WSG Burgundy Masters and German Wine Scholar courses while on this plane, so I'll start working through those over the summer as a warm-up before diving back into MS theory prep. I feel more motivated than ever to go forth and conquer!