Jenny van Lieshout, SWS
It is good to have a specialism and thanks to the SWS program that could certainly become Spanish Wines. 
Congratulations to Jenny van Lieshout, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Jenny:
I am a wine professional and as so many other wine professionals I initially didn’t plan to work in the wine industry. After completing a Master in Business Communication, I started working for an editorial that published food and wine related magazines and books. That’s where I developed an interest for learning more about grape growing and wine making. The taste for wine was acquired long before that!
I soon followed the WSET Level 2 in Wines&Spirits and directly after the WSET Level 3 in Wines& Spirits. I then found myself at a crossroad. I would either keep wine as a hobby, or I would continue studying about wine and change career. I opted for the latter. I started the WSET Diploma Level 4 in Wines&Spirits, and began working in a wine shop, for I felt I had to work my way up the wine ladder. During my Diploma studies, a Dutch Master of Wine asked me to do him a favour and cover for him teaching a WSET Level 2 session. Slightly nervous I decided to help him out and taught about wine for the first time. I loved it! For a short time I taught for other Approved Programme Providers. I then went to WSET in London to join the Educator Course and opened my own APP in the Netherlands. In the meantime I had quit my job at the wine shop and had started importing wines from southern France and northern Spain. I was interested in learning about all aspects of the wine industry and felt I had to live and work in a wine producing country for a while. I moved to Barcelona and worked three years as Export Manager for premium Cava (now Corpinnat) producer Gramona. A very interesting period during which I learned more about the production side as well as international sales, travelling the world. During that period I successfully completed my Weinakademiker thesis (The future of premium Spanish sparkling wine). Back in the Netherlands I returned to teaching, working both for my own APP as well as for the Belgian APP WineWise, assisting the Diploma students of the Benelux. Currently I still run my APP in the Netherlands, offering mainly online courses. I combine this with the position of Export Manager for winemaker Oxer Bastegieta, a Basque producing both Txakoli and Rioja wines. Now, having completed the SWS, I hope to be teaching some classes for WineWise soon.
Currently I have no plans for following any other specific certification programs, although I am certainly not done learning about wine yet.
During my Diploma studies I learned about wines of the world. Although I have a broad interest, I think it is good to have a specialism and thanks to the SWS program that could certainly become Spanish Wines. To be able to combine my love for Spanish culture and teach about wine, would be ideal.
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