Congratulations to Irving So, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Irving:
I am an instructor at Académie du Vin Tokyo teaching WSET Level 2 and Level 3 courses. As a wine consultant too, I help local wineries in exporting their wines, and I have held masterclasses for various Consorzios (e.g. Lugana, Valpolicella) in Tokyo starting 2017. Before 2013, I had another life as a senior executive in the finance industry. Wine is my passion. I obtained my DipWSET in 2006 and Wine MBA (Kedge Business School) in 2012. Since then, I decided to quit my "salary-man" job and devote myself to teaching wine. I hooked on Italian wines after attending the Wine Ambassador course organised by Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) in Verona in 2016. Last month, I achieved my Italian Wine Expert (VIA) qualification, shared by only 15 people in the world. I am planning to offer various Italian wine courses at my school starting 2020.
Apart from DipWSET, Wine MBA (Kedge) and Italian Wine Expert (VIA), I am a first edition Langhe Wine's Ambassador (2019, Barolo & Barbaresco Academy) and a second edition Valpolicella Wine Specialist (2019, Corsorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella). Of all of these qualifications, the Italian Wine Expert was most challenging, it demands detailed knowledge of native grape varieties, soils and geology, appellations and the wines. The IWS course has helped me tremendously in passing the exam. At the WSG, I currently have signed up for other Master Level courses as well as SWS. The Master level courses (Alsace, Champagne etc) have provided me with excellent detailed information of the wines and the regions, which helps me in my daily teaching. I am aiming at SWS next. I would like to teach SWS in my school in 2020 too.
The IWS has really helped tremendously in my studies towards the Italian Wine Expert qualification. I certainly would like to teach IWS too at my school next year.
