The flash cards

The ladder

Start on the first level

Every card here comes from my own notes. You read the question, answer it in your head, turn the card over and say honestly whether you had it. The drill keeps the score and brings back what you missed, and the levels are named for the 1855 ladder: Cinquième Cru is what everyone at the table is expected to know, Premier Cru is where the examiner goes to find out who did the reading. Whether you are heading for the WSET, the French Wine Scholar, the Master of Bordeaux or a long dinner with people who know their wine, this is the ground to have under your feet.

1. 1 Level 1 of 5 · 92 cards Cinquième Cru The ground. The names, the shapes and the plain answers a candidate should never lose.
2. 2 Level 2 of 5 · 181 cards Quatrième Cru Working knowledge. The appellations, the grapes and the practices you are expected to have at hand.
3. 3 Level 3 of 5 · 237 cards Troisième Cru The systems. How the rules work, who writes them and what they change.
4. 4 Level 4 of 5 · 235 cards Deuxième Cru The detail. Figures, dates and the smaller names, where most candidates start dropping points.
5. 5 Level 5 of 5 · 109 cards Premier Cru The exceptions. What catches people out, and the figures almost nobody remembers.

20 questions, drawn from the ones you know least. 85% or better and the next level opens.

The question first

The answer stays hidden until you ask for it. Say yours first, out loud or in your head; that is the whole point.

Your record

Right, wrong and when, kept in your browser.

Keyboard

Space shows the answer, then 1 if you missed it, 2 if you got it.