Congratulations to Mark Capra, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Mark:
I have over a decade’s experience in finance. It was during a career break that took me to Latin America for almost a year that my passion for wine was ignited, eventually leading to a career change to wine in 2016. Since this time, I have worked in roles as both a branch manager of high street chains & a sommelier at a silver service restaurant in London. Having just returned from South America again, I have most recently taken up a role as an Account Manager with a South American wine importer & distributor to the UK trade.
I obtained my WSET Level 3 Wines & Spirits in February 2017. Although not specifically being examined on the food element of the course, the French Wine Scholar really aided my wine / food pairing in addition to vastly improving my understanding of differing soil types and how history (such as the impact of phylloxera) has influenced grape growing and winemaking today.
For this reason, I am currently studying Unit 1 of the Italian Wine Scholar programme with West London Wine School and enjoying some of the overlap with the FWS course, which I loved. I aim to commence the WSET Diploma in Autumn 2019 after my completion of IWS Unit 2 in the Summer.
I have been advised by colleagues in the industry, that the Wine Scholar Guild courses (FWS & IWS) will put me at a distinct advantage not only on the still wines but also on the fortified, the sparkling and wine production units of the WSET Diploma. But even if you are not in the trade, I highly recommend learning about the history, culture, regions, grapes & enjoying tasting some of the wines from these huge wine producing regions. It is highly likely that I will also take the Spanish Wine Scholar course when it is released to students.
