Congratulations to Eugene O'Brien, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Eugene:
I am a wine enthusiast. I was always interested but intimidated by the wine lists at restaurants when I used to entertain clients so I would usually end up ordering a Chardonnay or a Cab. The worst was when a client would ask me to recommend a glass or bottle of wine! When I moved to Southern California I finally had an opportunity to start taking wine classes. First, I was motivated by fear to learn, now I am motivated by passion!
After I passed the WSET Level III course, I wanted to dig deeper and someone recommended the wonderful courses offered by the Wine Scholar Guild. I first passed the FWS course. After that, I was hooked. The course layout was great: not only were we learning about the wines, but also the geography, geology, culture and history of the different wine regions! I followed up my FWS certificate with the IWS certificate, and now, my SWS certificate.
Next, I would like to start taking the French region-specific courses offered by the WSG. I think what I learned about the exchanges and influences shared between France and Spain over the years will help me as I move forward in delving deeper into the various French wine regions.
The course study manual and website continue to get better and better. Rick Fisher and the WSG put together a great study manual that made learning, at my pace and my preferred way of learning, a pleasure. Having passed the SWS course gives me confidence that I can tackle the next level!
