Congratulations to Wayne M Shennen, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors.

About Wayne: 

I’m a kiwi who’s been in Hospitality for over twenty years now, on a mission to spread the love for New Zealand wine here in Tokyo.  I'm also certified in sake, and love explaining that great beverage to the guests in the venue as well.

I’ve completed the French Wine Scholar, am certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers, and hold an Advanced Sake Professional certification.  I’m currently enrolled in the Bourgogne Master Level course that is due to start in October, and really looking forward to it.

At some stage I’ll apply for the Advanced Sommelier certification from the Court.  Spain has always been a weak point for me, so having a course that specifically focused on such an important and fascinating country is invaluable to my learning.

Spain is a powerhouse, so I think anyone who wants to be taken seriously in the industry needs to know as much as they can.  This is especially true for customer facing people.  If a guest tells me they love Monastrell from Murcia and I want to make recommendations based on what I have on my menu, it is really important I know what they mean.  How can I offer good service otherwise?

Congratulations to Juan Carlos Gallegos Happle, SWS, for achieving highest honors in the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with L'Attitude Wine School, Guayaquil,Ecuador.

About Juan Carlos:

I´m truly a wine enthusiast. What started as a curiosity has developed to a passion. I love to explore new tastes, new terroirs, new histories, new sensations. I started using the Vivino Application in 2013 and since then have tasted and reviewed almost 4.000 wines. Ranked No. 1 in Vivino Ecuador for 7 consecutive years!

My other certifications include:  WSET 1 – Passed with Distinction, WSET 2 – Passed with Distinction, WSET 3 – Passed with Merit

The Spanish Wine Scholar is a “must” not only for wine professionals, but also for connoisseurs and serious enthusiasts. Spain is undoubtedly one of the main wine-producing countries in the world. The culture of wine and its long history, has not stopped advancing and in recent years new Denominations of Origin, producing areas, wineries, and even well-known attempts to recover forgotten and almost disappeared grape varieties and areas have emerged. There is no doubt that Spanish wine is on the rise in projection, in quality and image, hence the importance of the SWS Program.

The SWS program is an open gate to other programs and wine trips offered by the Wine Scholar Guild.

I look forward to enrolling soon in the French Wine Scholar and the Italian Wine Scholar certification programs. FWS and IWS are on my “bucket list”.

Spain is a lot more than Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The SWS Program explores areas, wineries, climates, grape varieties, blends, styles from Spain´s 17 Autonomous Communities. The SWS Program includes valuable learning material, systematically put together in a 300-page colorful book and a computer program making the learning process interesting, fun and effective.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Tsai, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!

About Elizabeth:

I started my wine journey as a bartender in 2007. For the longest time, I only knew the common terms and a few names to get by. Thanks to COVID, I suddenly had free time and decided to expand my knowledge and that is how I fell into this rabbit hole.  I am a wine enthusiast and I have great passion in understanding the geography, history, viticulture and wine making process. I am definitely looking forward to expanding my interest.

Currently, I am WSET II certified and I had finished my FWS and SWS both with highest honors. SWS is a great way to expand my knowledge not just on wine but also a deep appreciation of this challenging industry. My favorite part of the course is sherry and because of that I took Certified Sherry Wine Specialist as well. My next adventure, no doubt, will be to enroll in IWS.

With the SWS, I’m able to incorporate my knowledge to my bar, not only my wine list but also expand my cocktail creation using sherry as a creative ingredient.  I’m also able to share my knowledge with my family, co workers and also my customers.  I am also open to any opportunities that come along the way.

Congratulations to Erika Nakaoji, SWS, for achieving highest honors in the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with Caplan Wine Academy.

About Erika: 

I organize sake workshops for foreign residents in Tokyo.  Participants learn the basics of sake, and enjoy sake tasting (and pairing with Japanese artisanal cheese!).  Now I am preparing to offer Japanese wine sessions.  I select sake, Japanese wine & cheese, as gift concierge for foreign residents.  I am a certified wine lecturer by Japan Sommelier Association (JSA) for entry level, and an official judge of Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition.

I first knocked on the door of Académie du Vin in 2003, when I came back to the Tokyo office of an investment bank from expatriation in New York HQ.  I just wanted to learn wine basics as a “hobby”, but eventually I went far beyond that…  I obtained qualifications of JSA wine expert, WSET Level 3, cheese professional, Le Cordon Bleu cuisine diploma, Chinese tea artist, WSET Level 3 in Sake (with distinction), and JSA Sake Diploma International.  When I lived in Melbourne in 2015, I obtained A+ Wine Australia, while in Hong Kong, I had many opportunities to go to wine trade fairs.  Visiting wineries, sake breweries, whisky distillers, cheese farms in Japan and abroad became my favorite activities.  So passionate about gastronomy, I switched my professional career from finance to good food guide.

As for Spain, I took a BA degree in Spanish studies in Tokyo, meanwhile I went to language school in Madrid and stayed with 2 Spanish families.  I pursued a 2-year MBA in Barcelona (IESE) with a scholarship from the Government of Spain.  I fell in love with food, arts, city, countryside, people of Spain, but its wines are complicated, because of the many indigenous grape varieties.  So, I opted to learn in depth with SWS.  I hope to have my shop in Spain someday, where local people can enjoy tasting of sake and wines from Japan. There I want to share my knowledge and passion with them.  For this objective and dream, I believe understanding the wine culture of Spain is vital.  I would like to take the Certified Sherry Wine Specialist.

SWS is good opportunity to learn, not only about wines, but also the unique wine “culture” in Spain, formed through its long history of mosaic of ethnic groups and religion, Age of Exploration, civil war, etc.