Jim Gore's Global Wine Academy Avis 

I can’t recommend Global Wine Academy highly enough, Jim Gore is hugely knowledgeable, his teaching style is professional but fun and so understandable. I can’t remember any other time I had so many ‘lightbulb’ moments!

Jim’s Wines of the World Masterclasses have been invaluable in helping me to prepare for my WSET Diploma exams. The sessions made the prospect of the tasting exams far less daunting. The classes were filled with tips on how to work out what you are tasting and also how to write a succinct tasting note. I highly recommend Jim’s classes and am positive that, whichever grade I achieve in my tasting exam, it will be much higher than it would have been without attending the Masterclasses.

Jim's Wines of the World masterclass for Diploma students really helped me to understand how tasting will be examined and judged. It's given me a good understanding of what kinds of wines might or might not be included in the exam, which will help me plan my revision and sharpen my knowledge.
Jim was really good at engaging with everyone in the room, and always took time to answer questions and ensure everyone had understood the points he was making.

Invaluable experience! I hold Jim personally responsible for my distinction in the Diploma Fortified exam! Really enjoyable day and so useful for honing in on how to maximise marks and getting one-on-one feedback. I actually can't imagine taking the exam without having done a day like this; the diploma sessions themselves seem so rushed. Will definitely attend the sessions for Unit 3.

Jim's courses are invaluable if you want to pass the WSET Diploma. I've now done fortified and sparkling wine with him, and the tips, tricks and tasting techniques are excellent. Not only does he give you the right wording for tasting notes, but he also shows you how to spot different grapes, styles and the corresponding structure of the wine.

Highly recommended for now and your future career.

I recommend Jim's Unit 3 masterclass unreservedly. You cannot fail to come out a better and more confident taster, and better equipped to succeed at the WSET Diploma.

I attended three of Jim's masterclasses over a single bank holiday weekend. (I was in the UK for two weeks - I live in Hong Kong - so I thought I would make the most of my time there). I mention this because my review effectively covers all three days - it's impossible to differentiate (or even remember) any single day precisely - so I appreciate that my learnings will have had more opportunity to embed, with the repetition.

There are two elements to studying for the Diploma: (i) becoming a better taster, and (ii) passing the actual exam. The two do not always entirely align. Jim's course is the perfect combination of both. He helps you to calibrate your palate and hone your tasting skills, but he also gives you practical insights into how to give the examiners what they're looking for. And who better to teach that than someone who's actually sat on the examination panel? I had attended a thorough five- or six-month Diploma course from a well-regarded WSET Approved Provider in Hong Kong, and regarded myself as fairly well-drilled in tasting, and I still learned a LOT of invaluable lessons in how to pass the exam from Jim.

The masterclass is extremely well designed, and flows and builds seamlessly through the day. It is designed very much as a piece, and each session grows organically from the previous one. It started so gently that I wasn't even aware at first that we had slipped from the introductory tea and chat into the first session! We started by chatting about the key elements of the main grapes that could be examined and how to spot them, then went into writing "dry" notes and how to hit the points that the examiners were looking for, before doing a range of tasting flights designed to calibrate specific skills and cover specific grapes and styles, all against the clock, before ending the day with a full timed mock exam, which Jim marks and on which he sends you written feedback afterwards. The elements flow so seamlessly from one to the next that you are not aware of how much you have been pushed during the day, until you get to the end and realise how exhausted you are!

Having attended three classes, I can also see how Jim subtly adapts each day's activities to what that day's group wants or needs. Having suffered from some shocking teaching in my time, it was an absolute pleasure to be in the reassuring hands of an expert. We even finished on time, which might seem a small point, but it's something I hugely appreciate, and it shows just how on top of things Jim is as a teacher (after eight or nine hours of teaching, including making us a tasty lunch).

As well as invaluable tips on how to write for the examiners, Jim gave many highly practical tips on how to improve one's tasting and how to approach tasting in an exam context. He also chooses a set of wines (15 or 18 for the day) that cover many of the main styles that get examined.

I took my exam yesterday, and I can say confidently that Jim's teaching helped enormously. There were a couple of sections in the exam that threw me completely, but by thinking along the lines that Jim taught, I managed to write something sensible. It may not be right, but it won't be entirely foolish, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do that before. This to me was the most valuable part of the whole masterclass: gaining confidence in my own tasting ability. Yes, the practical tips are invaluable, but Jim is such an encouraging and skilled teacher that you can't help but come away not just a better taster, but a more confident taster too.

The only exam preparation I can think of that would be better than attending one of Jim's masterclasses is attending two of Jim's masterclasses. Or three.

world of wines ( Diploma)

This is the course to do if you want to do well on those tough exam questions on the tasting. If you didn't know how to approach these at the beginning, you'll definitely be better equipped by the time you have finished with Jim's tuition , go for it book him !

I attended a Fortified Wines Masterclass (which was led by Jim) in order to help me prepare for my Diploma exam on that subject. I found Jim to be an excellent tutor who taught with great clarity on the key aspects of the subject matter. Furthermore, there was a high-level of focus on exam technique which I found to be very helpful. In essence the Masterclass was very well organised, presented, delivered and importantly for me taught in an engaging manner with lots of time for questions and clarification on specific points as necessary.

Im so glad I attended this course! It really helped me understand what was expected from me in the WSET diploma tasting exam and I can see where I was missing out on marks previously. Jim explained the tasting technique with such clarity, in a relaxed and open environment which made the day enjoyable. We tasted a wide selection of wines, giving specific attention to those that may be similar, and Jim gave us tips on how to differentiate them. Thoroughly recommended, I will be back for U3!

Jim's Diploma masterclass was excellent. The examples for blind tasting were very good and it was really useful to try so many different wines and go through calibration with the group. Jim's tips and hints for studying and passing the exam were also invaluable. A brilliant course for anyone about to sit their Unit 3 exam for the Diploma.