Congratulations to Shirley L. Paddock, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Shirley:
I suppose I would consider myself a wine enthusiast although I believe that there are varying levels of enthusiasm for wine. I didn’t set out to be an “enthusiast” I just liked to try good wines and found myself wanting more knowledge about the multitude of grapes and wine styles beyond the standard international varieties and the “California cab”. I love learning and have a tendency to try to learn as much as I can about a certain subject, in this case wine.
I am a Certified Wine Scholar (CSW) from the Society of Wine Educators and have passed the WSET Level 3 Award in Wine with Merit. The basics in both of these programs allowed me to focus on the key aspects of the Italian wine world vs trying to learn the basics of viticulture and winemaking at the same time I was studying for the IWS. I am currently enrolled in the FWS program (as the Spanish Wine Scholar program is not yet open to me ☹) Given my passion for learning, I am excited to learn more about French wines and eventually more about Spanish Wines. My journey through the IWS program will provide a wonderful foundation and perspective on Old World wines in general and will allow me to compare and contrast the different regions. At some point in the future I may consider studying for the DipWSET in Wine.
The IWS program has fed my love of wine and learning and will ultimately allow me to be able to compare and contrast each of the world’s wine regions based on their history, terroir, viticulture and wine making practices.
