Congratulations to Luis Antonio Coutinho Silva, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar program with highest honors!
About Luis:
I am a wine enthusiast, but my real passion is Italian wines. I am particularly interested in the grapes and styles diversity and I love to taste unique new grapes from all the regions of Italy. I have a database of importers in Brazil with their portfolios of Italian wines where I am always looking for new releases and unusual appellations. I have visited several wineries in Piemonte (Vietti, Pio Cesare, Fontanafredda, Montalbera), Trentino-Alto Adige (Elena Walch, Foradori, Cantina Toblino), Veneto (Masi), Lombardia (Ca’ Mayol, Costaripa, Bellavista), Toscana (Castello di Brolio, Castello Banfi, Castello Vicchiomaggio), Umbria (Arnaldo Caprai) and Sicilia (Donnafugata, Planeta, Florio) and I have plans to visit many others in the future.
I am WSET Level 2 certified. After the general overview given by WSET Level 2 program, I was looking for a program focused on Italian regions, grapes and wines and IWS fulfilled my expectations completely. I would say that the WSET Level 2 prepared me for what I was really interested that was Italian wines and the IWS coverage and depth was exactly what I was looking for.
I believe IWS program helped me to better understand the Italian wine scenario and the acquired knowledge complemented by wine tastings and visit to the wineries will open new opportunities for potential consultancy activities in Brazil. Maybe I can even cooperate with the implementation of IWS Classroom Learning program through the Brazilian provider EnoCultura, which offers only the FWS program in Brazil, maybe even becoming an instructor in the future. Meanwhile, I will continue to taste and enjoy new and great wines from Italy with friends, now understanding much better the traditional techniques and regional unique grapes that are behind each label.
