Laurie McGinnis, IWS

  • IWS has significantly broadened my knowledge of Italian wines and nests perfectly with my other courses of study.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 2, FWS with highest honors, Society of Wine Educators CSW
Laurie McGinnis, IWS

Congratulations to Laurie McGinnis, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!

About Laurie:

Although not a wine professional, I am an enthusiast with aspirations to work in the wine industry.  As a military spouse, I have lived in multiple locations over the past 20 years and as a result,  held a couple different jobs to include an elementary school teacher, commercial airline pilot and the education programs manager at an aviation museum on Pearl Harbor.   I am currently enjoying raising my 1 year old daughter and studying wine.  Several years ago, we were stationed in Monterey, California where my love for wine began.  While living there,  I had the opportunity to visit several wineries in the Monterey, Santa Barbara, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino appellations.  While I loved tasting wines and visiting different vineyards, I developed an interest in learning more about wine from other regions and the industry as a whole.  So I began taking classes.   

Other wine certification programs I have followed and passed are the WSET2, Society of Wine Educators CSW, California Wine Appellation Specialist (CWAS) through San Francisco Wine School, and Wine Scholar Guild’s FWS program taken at Capital Wine School in Washington DC.  I am currently enrolled in the inaugural Instructor-led online Spanish Wine Scholar program.
 
IWS has significantly broadened my knowledge of Italian wines and nests perfectly with my other courses of study. The study material is thorough and provided several incredible resources to help make learning the information of this challenging program fun.  The wine tasting suggestion list for each region has been an invaluable resource that further deepened my understanding and appreciation for Italian wines. IWS also provided an opportunity to not only learn about all aspects of the Italian wine industry but also about the rich history and culture of Italy.  
 
The more I learned through each session, the more motivated I became to continue my wine education.  While I am currently enrolled in and loving the SWS program, I look forward to taking some of Wine Scholar Guild’s Master-level courses of both Italy and France once I complete SWS. 

Andrea Mcewan

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