Congratulations to Alexandre Ma, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Alexandre:
My wine dream was taking off from my dear hometown Ningxia, where you can find some pretty iconic Chinese wines. After almost a decade of studies and works from Rhone Valley to Bordeaux, London, etc., I decided to devote myself to the wine education industry, particularly for Chinese-speaking wine lovers who live in France. Therefore, I created my wine education school AMA Education in Bordeaux, with my wife Phydiasse REN. One year later, we cooperated with the most influenced Chinese wine school Grapea Co. to develop WSET courses in Europe.
Each year, I spend at least four months in China for an abundance of education courses and tasting events. For the rest of the time, I stay in Bordeaux.
In 2016, I was lucky to win RVF World Blind Tasting Championship in the name of China. It was the first time for a non-European country to achieve this title. In 2017, the oldest wine magazine La Revue du Vin de France (RVF) invited me to be a part-time wine journalist and wine critic. It was my great honor to be the first Asian wine critic since the creation of RVF.
After three years of impressive cooperation, I launched my wine critic media Alexandrema.com, a bilingual online media for Chinese-speaking wine lovers worldwide. And I hope my website can provide an educational and indispensable wine media for helping the development of China’s wine market.
My other certifications include:
Italian Wine Scholar – with Highest Honor
Spanish Wine Scholar – with Highest Honor
WSET Diploma Level 4
Master degree Wine Marketing and Management - INSEEC, Bordeaux International Wine Institute – Bordeaux
French National Diploma of Sommelier - Université du Vin - Suze La Rousse, France
I have spent three years learning IWS, SWS and FWS; these wine study programs helped me to have a more open mind and let me think the same question in a different approach. I must thank all of the people who have been working so hard for these programs. Thank you sincerely.
I don't plan to register for other wine certification programs for the next few months, but I will continue to offer FWS and SWS programs for our students in Bordeaux. I wish more wine lovers would join the family of the Wine Scholar Guild. Besides, if you launch Germany Wine Scholar in the future, I am sure I will register for it as soon as possible.
As a wine student who has been learning and working in France for ten years, I didn’t mean to register for the FWS program at first. But one day, when I was waiting for a friend in his home, I flipped over his FWS study manual; I was surprised there were several details that I hadn’t heard before. Besides, I was fascinated by those well-detailed wine maps and captivating histories about each wine region. So I registered immediately for this program as soon as I had finished my SWS program.
Now I have to say it is absolutely a correct decision. This program helped me reformulate and recombine my French wine knowledge, and I never felt tired during the entire study process.
From my point of view, the FWS program is the best study program for all wine lovers who want to learn French wine deeply. No matter which level we are at, we must acquire something interesting we need.
I have made a plan to organize the first FWS program for our wine school. When version 7.0 is available, let’s rock and roll...
