Congratulations to Alexander Lopez-Wilson, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Alexander:
I have been an enthusiastic student since I was 14 and I first started looking at the World Atlas of Wine, 5th edition. My family was involved in the hospitality industry, so I had an idea from that early age that I wanted to focus myself on a career in wine. My studies of history in college focused on the Eastern Mediterranean which became entwined with the wines of Greece when I had the opportunity to take a semester abroad in Athens.
After college, my family dissuaded me from pursuing a career in wine, much to my detriment. I worked in a variety of industries until riding my bicycle to work one day I was involved in a hit-and-run accident with a pickup truck. The injuries from the accident triggered a genetic nerve pain condition which bound me to the couch or bed for nearly three years. When healthy enough to begin working again, my wife challenged me on what I truly wanted to pursue as my career after recovery. The only path that was apparent to me was wine.
In addition to my FWS, I am currently an Intro Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Concurrent with my studies of France, I was taking the Certified Specialist of Wine course offered by the Society of Wine Educators whose test I am taking this June. Following the CSW, I am registered to begin my WSET III in July.
I am looking forward to taking more classes through Wine Scholar Guild, especially the Spanish Wine Scholar, Certified Specialist of Sherry Wine, and Master Scholar Programs for the Loire, Rhone, and Burgundy. With that educational background I’m hoping to achieve my Master of Wine in addition to pursuing a Masters-degree program in France in the future.
I believe that the French Wine Scholar program will be invaluable in providing me with the foundation of wine knowledge to pursue a career that I hope will lead me to France.
