Congratulations to Igor Soloshenko, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Igor:
Wine is certainly a complex subject which requires passion, time and resources. However, it gives back a lot more - it starts with a new breathtaking perspective on the world. I’ve commenced my wine studies being not a spring chicken. Certainly, it’s taken a while to become confident to say a word of wine and not being worried that you might be overthrown for a fib. It will take a bit more to become a true professional of the industry.
I studied my very first intensive wine course with Chris Mercier, back to the times when he represented wine studies in the renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in South-East Asia. It’s curious to see how the industry and your peers develop and evolve. He’s recently established the Wine IQ school in Bangkok, the only WSG-provider in the country. Indeed, Asians wish to know more about the Old World customs and traditions, including wines.
I personally believe that Wine Scholar Guild courses address professionals of the industry or folks wish to become ones. And that’s what I truly love about the courses - profound and precise details of each and every small and large appellation presented. Each course is chef-d'oeuvre of accuracy and I eagerly await the Spanish part coming.
As Fanny Darrieussecq from Bordeaux Wine Campus (en passant, a French Wine Scholar instructor) once said to me “In case you don’t feel comfortable with wines from a country - go for a Guild course”. How right it was to follow the advice and reinforce the Italian knowledge by joining the online class.
Nowadays, it’s even more exciting to be a part of her study group aiming at WSET Diploma. As some say “WSG courses provide such in-depth insight which goes beyond the DipWSET requirements, but in case if you feel on shaky grounds with France or Spain - don’t hesitate to join the program and cement your knowledge”. And now, I definitely share the same opinion.
