Congratulations to Cassandre Paquet, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Cassandre:
My dad has always been a big wine enthusiast and as this was one of the many interests we have in common, I now too share this passion. But as this was truly a passion for me, and as I had little concrete knowledge when it comes to the intricacies of wine and wine production, I started enrolling in wine classes to learn more and have a better understanding of the labels I was reading and the wine I was buying. As I am from Québec, Canada, and the wine scene is quite... limited... I also take every occasion that I have to travel to wine countries and taste their local products and pride. I have been doing so for many years now, as I am a real travel junkie, and visited numerous vineyards, wineries, wine festivals and wine bars across the world, including well-known ones such as some in France, Italy, Germany and Portugal, but also some that are more off the beaten path such as in Moldova, Romania and Armenia. And this, I hope, is just the beginning...
As an introduction, In November 2018, I took the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2. This gave me my first taste of a better understanding of the world of wines, and I immediately became hungry for more!
I then enrolled in the Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) program, but due to COVID classes were delayed and I graduated in October 2021. The thoroughness and comprehensiveness of this course really sparked my enthusiasm to follow more Wine Scholar Guild programs.
That's how the Italian Wine Scholar (IWS) program came into play. That course completely made me fall in love with Italian wines. It allowed me to discover so many new grapes I never heard of before, and the flagship grapes or wines of so many different region and sub-region. The IWS really took me on a trip throughout Italy, one wine at a time! I now not only have a solid knowledge of different Italian grapes, wines, and regions, but also their wine production techniques, geography, climate, soils, topography, history, culture, and everything else that came into play to allow each wine to taste like it does today.
I am currently enrolled in the French Wine Scholar program. I've always highly enjoyed French wines, from different styles and regions, but after following the IWS and the SWS, I feel like my knowledge on French wines is not up to par with the two others anymore. I can't wait to learn more about my all times favorite and to hopefully discover so many new hidden gems like I did with the IWS.
Now that I know a lot more about different regions or appellations flagship grapes and wine styles, I can rely more on the information presented on the labels to confidently choose my wines and continue my discovery journey of Italian wines and grapes. I've also added a few new Italian destinations on my bucket list and I can't wait to cross them off!
