Displaying items by tag: french wine scholar

Summary: 

Bordeaux has been one of the most important ports in all of Europe since Roman times, and it is no surprise that the wines of the area have inspired strategic political alliances, wars, wealth, and are among the old world’s most internationally influenced and sought after. Bordeaux is iconically French, but would not resemble itself without the impact of the English and the Dutch.

Join wine historian Tanya Morning Star Darling to uncover the essence of the greatest wine of trade, and explore the classifications and Chateaux that shaped the Bordeaux region as we know it today. 

Presenter: Tanya Morning Star

Tanya Morning Star is a full-time wine educator and writer with nearly 3 decades of industry experience. Her school, Cellar Muse is the approved program provider for Wine Scholar Certifications (French, Italian, and Spanish) in the Seattle area. She is also a Certified Wine Educator, an approved WSET instructor for L1-L4 curriculums, an official Ambassador of Bourgogne Wines, the Official Educational Ambassador of Orvieto Wines, the Educational Chair on the board of the Alliance of Women in Washington Wine, and she is very proud to have recently become a VIA Italian Wine Ambassador!

Tanya is deeply interested in the why and how of wine. Through her undergraduate studies at the Sorbonne and New York University, coupled with her love of travel, Tanya became interested in history and cultural identity, which guides her work, and research.

Summary: 

The history of Bourgogne wines is the story of a very specific collaboration, which defines the concept of Terroir. 

Join wine historian and Official Bourgogne Ambassador, Tanya Morning Star Darling to explore the Bourgogne region from the ancient, and dramatic geological events which created the soils, and Côtes, to the Romans, the Church, the Dukes, Napoleon, to the thousands of growers and producers that make up the diverse mosaic of wines that is Bourgogne.   

Presenter: Tanya Morning Star

Tanya Morning Star Darling is a full-time wine educator, and writer with nearly 3 decades of industry experience. Her school, Cellar Muse is the approved program provider for Wine Scholar Certifications (French, Italian, and Spanish) in the Seattle area. She is also a Certified Wine Educator, an approved WSET instructor for L1-L4 curriculums, an official Ambassador of Bourgogne Wines, the Official Educational Ambassador of Orvieto Wines, the Educational Chair on the board of the Alliance of Women in Washington Wine, and she is very proud to have recently become a VIA Italian Wine Ambassador!

Tanya is deeply interested in the why and how of wine. Through her undergraduate studies at the Sorbonne and New York University, coupled with her love of travel, Tanya became interested in history and cultural identity, which guides her work, and research.

Summary: 

Wine sits at the heart of French cultural identity.  Against the backdrop of religion, politics, trade, wars, pests, and plagues, wine can always be found playing a roll in the history of France throughout the ages.

Using wine as the protagonist, this WSG Live will journey through the arc of French history, from Roman times to the 20th century. Fashion, trends and spiritual and social norms govern people’s expectations of wine to shape the evolution of wine styles and customs. 

Join wine historian Tanya Morning Star Darling to discover the dramatic story of French wine and how understanding history can help us to appreciate more deeply our most beloved wines of the present day. 

Presenter: Tanya Morning Star

Tanya Morning Star is the owner of Cellar Muse Wine School in Seattle Washington where she teaches the French, Italian, and Spanish Wine Scholar certification courses, she is proud to have been named French Wine Scholar Instructor of the Year in 2018. Tanya is an approved WSET instructor for L1-L4 curriculums, and is faculty at South Seattle College where she is a professor of Wine History, and has developed many wines of the world curriculums. She is an Official Ambassador of Bourgogne Wines, the Official Ambassador of Orvieto Wines, and works frequently in both France and Italy.

Tanya holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts, is a Certified Wine Educator, has completed the WSET curriculums through Diploma Level, and has passed the Bourgogne Master, Provence Master, and Champagne Master Levels, all in the top scorer category.

Tanya brings joy into studying to help students find their path to success.

One could argue that France is the philosophical heart of fine wine. Much of what the world now does, from vineyard practices to winemaking techniques, can be traced back to the viticultural motherland. Here are some must-know terms for exploring the wines of France.

Every wine appellation in France has a cahier des charges, a set of regulations that delineates the production zone and specifies viticultural practices and production standards.

In many instances, a single cahier des charges references one zone of production and multiple wine styles within it (e.g. Lirac red, white, and rosé; Rasteau dry red, plus red, white and rosé Vins Doux Naturels). Some single cahiers also incorporate complementary geographic denominations or dénominations géographiques complémentaires (DGCs) such as Languedoc Montpeyroux or Bourgogne Hautes Côte de Nuits. Other times, very different wines can be grouped under one single cahier as is the case for Beaujolais, Beaujolais Supérieur, Beaujolais + Named Commune, and Beaujolais-Villages.

Summary: 

From vineyards on the best-exposed limestone slopes of the Prealps, Savoie wines are made from a plethora of grape varieties, which are proving to be ideal in the face of climate change.

Wink Lorch published her second book, Wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and beyond in 2019, and it has already received rave reviews from Eric Asimov, David Schildknecht and the team at jancisrobinson.com.

Wink, known for her knowledgeable and entertaining presentations, will help unpick the somewhat complicated appellations of the tiny French regions of Savoie and its neighbours Bugey and Isère. She will focus especially on the story of the grape varieties and why the fresh, ever-improving wines of Savoie are only now emerging from their Alpine homeland for us all to enjoy.

Presenter: Wink Lorch

Learn more about Savoie wine by joining our French Wines Study program.

Thinking about signing up for the French Wine Scholar program?  Be inspired by what our students are saying about the program and the top ten reasons they give for enrolling.

Annual WSG Scholarships for Master of Wine Candidates. Applications are now closed. 

Each year, the Wine Scholar Guild awards a full scholarship for each of the following programs to three students of the Institute of Masters of Wine: French Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Scholar, and Spanish Wine Scholar study & certification programs.

These scholarships are designed to allow students preparing for the Master of Wine exam to further strengthen their French, Italian, or Spanish wine knowledge.

The scholarships have been awarded on March 16, 2023:

French Wine Scholar: Alice Archer

Spanish Wine Scholar: Valeria Tenison

Italian Wine Scholar: Claudia Chamberlain

Congratulations to the scholarship awardees! Applications for 2023 scholarships will open in mid December 2023.