Each year, Wine Scholar Guild honors outstanding professional accomplishment by giving awards to the best program providers and instructors for the French Wine Scholar™ and Italian Wine Scholar™ programs. (Program providers and instructors for the newly launched Spanish Wine Scholar™ program will be awarded as of 2021.)
In 2019, WSG salutes Eno Cultura (Brazil) as FWS Program Provider of the Year and Monica Marin (Los Angeles) as FWS Instructor of the Year; and Caplan Wine Academy (Tokyo) as IWS Program Provider of the Year and Mimi Martin (Portland) as IWS Instructor of the Year.
Wine Scholar Guild takes great pride in its high-caliber program provider network, which now spans 90 schools in 30 countries. Julien Camus, president and recent winner of a “Future 50” award from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and the International Wine & Spirit Competition, recognizes the critical contribution of the schools and notes, “Our instructors are extraordinarily educated wine professionals. They stand out from their peers and are key to the continuing success of our programs.”
For the first time in 2019, top-scorers for French Wine Scholar™, Italian Wine Scholar™ and Spanish Wine Scholar™ programs were also eligible to receive a gift from WSG Friends & Partners.
Congratulations to Bruno Ferrari-Diaz on winning the first Decanter Premium Award for 2019 French Wine Scholar top-scorer; Luis Antonia-Silva on winning the first Riedel Award for 2019 Italian Wine Scholar top-scorer; and to Lyndall Harrison on winning the first Coravin Award for 2019 Spanish Wine Scholar top-scorer.
WSG is also honoring Nancy Reynolds, instructor at IWEG Drinks Academy in Toronto, as WSG Alumni of the Year 2019. Nancy is the first recipient of this annual award. She receives this distinction for having passed ALL of the WSG programs currently offered and passing every course with honors or highest honors.
WSG’s Master-Level program students must demonstrate an incredible depth of knowledge and expertise in the chosen region of study. Erika Frey became the first top scorer for the Loire Master-Level program, launched in 2019. Congratulations to Erika and the other top master-level scorers: Keith Coulter (Bourgogne Master-Level), Bruce Smoller FWS, IWS (Bordeaux Master-Level), Jane Owen (Champagne Master-Level), Andrew Belcher FWS, IWS (Rhône Master-Level), Mike Dutch (Provence Master-Level), Richard Milot, FWS (Alsace Master-Level).
The WSG community includes many exceptional students who are driven by a passion for wine and an incredible thirst for knowledge. Achieving top marks is an incredible achievement. Congratulations to everyone on this list. Bravo!
All awards: https://www.winescholarguild.org/news/latest-news-4/2019-wine-scholar-guild-awards.html
About the Wine Scholar Guild: The Wine Scholar Guild (www.winescholarguild.org) is the leading provider of specialized certification programs on the wines of France, Italy and Spain for the professional development of wine industry members and committed students of wine.
