Congratulations to Sean Norton, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar program with highest honors!
About Sean:
I moved to California 20 years ago and immediately became a wine enthusiast. I was making my living in enterprise software sales but found myself spending the bulk of my time outside of work learning about wine. I started with tasting groups, a course at UC Davis, a weekend tasting room job at Ridge Winery, and used most of my vacation time to visit wine regions such as Champagne, Burgundy, Tuscany, Cataluña, País Vasco, & Andalucía. The next thing I knew, I had started a Sherry pop-up called ¿Por qué no? in San Francisco and started working on a plan to leave corporate life and work fulltime in wine. I now work as the National Sales Director for Alexander Jules Spanish Wine Imports where I get to combine my business experience with my love for wine and I could not be happier!
Prior to completing the Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) program, I achieved the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines & Spirits and became a Certified Sherry Educator thru the Consejo Regulador in Jerez. The SWS program was extremely comprehensive and has helped me in my job as a Spanish Wine Importer. Further, the SWS materials were of the highest quality and the curriculum was very well organized.
I really appreciated the level of depth provided by the Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) program. I am a visual learner and often use the wonderful maps to provide context and a sense of place when talking about our imported wines. I am absolutely in love with Spain, its wine, its food, and its people. The SWS program brought all that together for me.
