After over a year of extensive research & writing, Wine Scholar Guild (WSG) is thrilled to announce the launch of the Italian Wine Scholar Prep (IWS Prep) course on November 2, 2020.
IWS Prep is a foundation-level course created for the passionate consumer and aspiring wine professional. It takes students on a virtual journey through Italy, introducing them to a curated selection of Italy’s most famous wines and wine regions. Rich in cultural, historical and culinary content, the course aims to educate consumers about the wines of Italy in an informative, entertaining and immersive way. The 125-page landscape-format, full-color course book covers 39 of Italy’s most well-regarded wines and regions in visually stunning detail.
Upon successful completion of IWS Prep, students will be ideally positioned to pursue professional certification via the Italian Wine Scholar (IWS) program, the global wine industry’s most respected certification course on the wines of Italy.
Online delivery will begin November 2, 2020 and will be taught by Wine Scholar Guild’s Italian Wine Program Director, and co-author of IWS Prep, Andrea Eby. Classroom sessions will be held around the world via a dedicated network of program providers composed of 90+ schools in 30 countries as safety regulations allow.
“We saw that there was a need for a foundation level course focused on the wines of Italy and began the process of developing IWS Prep over a year ago,” stated WSG President, Julien Camus, “Little did we know that Covid-19 would quickly come to change the landscape of wine education in 2020. Never before has the need for online instruction been as important and we are fortunate to be primed to deliver our programming in this format.”
“As our program providers re-open, they will be able to offer wine lovers an exciting new learning opportunity,” Camus continued. “The social, cultural aspects of this program will be exactly what the wine consumer will want when they can break bread and drink wine in good company, in public, once again.”
A pioneer in online wine education, WSG has created a wealth of e-learning resources to enrich the IWS Prep student’s experience, including online e-learning modules and quizzes. A foundation-level program on the wines of Spain is currently in development (projected launch early 2022) to be followed by a similar program on the wines of France (projected launch late 2022).
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.
WSG membership provides an array of benefits including educational webinars, panel discussions, online learning games, blank wine maps for study, pronunciation exercises and discounts on wine-related items and WSG study programs.
