Congratulations to Allison Hupp, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Allison:
As a member of the wine trade, I constantly strive to learn. Wine is art, science, history, sensation and joy. It is always scintillating and never static. I have the pleasure of sharing my passion for wine in my role as the Northern California Wine Educator for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Before this position, I was a fine wine sales manager and prior to that worked in both on & off-premise channels of the wine industry (retail, bars and restaurants). Since I have been so fortunate in finding a position that I truly love, my aspirations are to continue to educate myself and influence those around me to explore wine from around the world and appreciate what is in our own backyard.
My current credentials include: WSET Diploma, Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine (CWE pending), Certified Specialist of Spirits, Italian Wine Professional, WSET 3 in Sake and California Wine Appellation Specialist. The French Wine Scholar forced me to dig deeper into each region of France than I had ever been required to do previously. It was immensely beneficial since France sets the standard, at least from a historical perspective, of so many international styles produced today. Having a deeper understanding of French wine regions impacts how one approaches study in other parts of the world. It also allows me to speak with more authority on historical perspectives and influences of French appellations.
I am currently a Master of Wine candidate. I plan to revisit my French Wine Scholar materials regularly to ensure my theory is finely honed. There is no room for ambiguity in the MW program.
For the reasons I have already stated, I have found the FWS program immensely valuable. I will encourage my colleagues to take part and use the course materials as a reference to keep my practical knowledge of French appellations up to date.
