Congratulations to Alex Hawes, IWS, for achieving highest honors in the Italian Wine Scholar exam with San Francisco Wine School.
About Alex:
Previously, I was a long time Captain/Server in San Francisco. After spending nearly 8 years at Morton’s Steakhouse, a year long stint at Mourad opened my eyes to the world of wine outside of Napa Valley. Transitioning to Fiorella, my focus narrowed to Italian wine. I transitioned from serving at Fiorella Clement to opening the new Fiorella Sunset as a part of the management team. I’m open to several different career avenues: GM, Wine Director, Wine Educator, Winemaker.... Or some combination thereof.
Thanks to SF Wine School, the Glancy Wine Foundation and their donors, I was afforded the opportunity of a formal wine education. After passing IWS North last summer, I geared up my CMS studies through the Somm Essentials program at SF Wine School. I passed both Introduction and Certified CMS in July/August. Now, having completed IWS, my 2022 curriculum starts with California Wine Appellation Specialist (SF Wine School) and Napa Valley Wine Expert (Napa Valley Wine Academy). Future plans include CWS, French Wine Scholar and someday, CWE! When studying for CMS, I was extremely confident on my Italian Wine Theory thanks to IWS. That allowed me to focus on other countries/regions. IWS has excellent structure in their curriculum. When taking future courses, I plan on using the same study format that IWS employed.
IWS challenged me as a student; passing this program has made me confident in selling, buying and educating others in Italian wine. It also gives me confidence in furthering my wine education, as I know IWS is one of the most difficult programs out there.
