Wine Scholar Guild honors Monica Marin of The Wine House (Los Angeles, CA) as 2019 French Wine Scholar™ Instructor of the Year!

FWS Instructor of the Year is an award of excellence recognizing creative and effective classroom instruction for the French Wine Scholar study & certification program. The recipient is selected based upon outstanding presentation skills, organization, congeniality and a genuine and spirited joie de vivre—all talents reflected in stellar student evaluations. 

Congratulations to Monica!

INTERVIEW WITH MONICA MARIN

Could you give us a bit of background on your personal history in wine and why did you choose to become a French Wine Scholar educator?

I was born in Europe , and my mother’s family are Swiss-French , so I am very familiar with the language and the culture for food and wine. After I graduated of. My WSET Diploma, which I started in London and finished in Napa, merging my love for European wines and teaching the French Wine Scholar seemed the perfect combination!

What type of education experience do you provide at The Wine House to your French Wine Scholar students (teaching methods, social components, support outside of class, etc) that sets you apart? 

I tend to teach smaller groups of 15-20 students, which allows more concentrated attention to each student. I am also generous with the diversity of wines poured in each class, where I try to offer a unique selection of ‘hard to find’ wines and top quality producers. In Los Angeles, thanks to The Wine House amazing offer of Classes & Events, FWS and SWS students are invited to specialized events concentrated on separate regions which further deepens their knowledge. When I teach FWS in Spanish, I have translated dozens of quizzes from examples in my California classes, in order to get Spanish speaking students ready for the exams . I am also a frequent participant in my student’s private tastings, where I casually encourage them to keep tasting new wines and keep up with their studies.

To whom do you recommend the French Wine Scholar program and why? 

The FWS is recommended for everyone interested in learning about French wines in an advanced and in detail level. Many of my students work in the trade (hospitality, importers, retail…) but I also have many others that join my classes because they are deeply passionate about French wine and French culture. If you have the passion and the time to study, you can do it!

2019 WSG PROGRAM PROVIDER AWARDS:

• French Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year: Eno Cultura (Brazil)
• French Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year: Monica Marin (Los Angeles, CA)
• Italian Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year: Caplan Wine Academy (Tokyo, Japan)
• Italian Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year: Mimi Martin (Portland, OR)

Previous Years WSG Awards:

• 2018 French Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year: Cru Consultancy (Vancouver, Canada)
• 2018 French Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year: Tanya Morning Star (Seattle, WA)
• 2018 Italian Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year: Asia Wine Service & Education Centre (Hong Kong)
• 2018 Italian Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year: Jimmy Smith (London, UK)
• 2017 French Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year: West London Wine School (London, UK)
• 2017 French Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year: Mr. Hwee Peng Lim, CWE, FWS (Singapore)
• 2017 Italian Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year: Independent Wine Education Guild - IWEG (Toronto, CAN)
• 2017 Italian Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year: Mr. Chris Miller (San Francisco Wine School, USA)
• 2016 WSG Program Provider of the Year: Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, CAN)
• 2016 WSG Instructor the Year: Sheral Schowe, M.Ed., FWS, IWS (Wasatch Academy of Wine, Salt Lake City, USA)
• 2015 WSG Program Provider of the Year: AWSEC (Hong Kong, HKG)
• 2015 WSG Instructor the Year: David Glancy MS, FWS (San Francisco Wine School, USA)