Congratulations to Albert Yau, FWS for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with honors with Taiwan Wine Academy!
About Albert:
"I have been a wine enthusiast for more than 13 years since my college days in the States. I have always enjoyed wines on its own or pairing with food. More than just a beverage to be enjoyed with, wine is also served as a social catalyst in all sorts of occasion whether in my personal life or professional career. My passion with wine started when I pursued a wine course at Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at Culinary Institute of America at Napa Valley in 2004. Inspired by Karen MacNeil, the renowned wine educator, I was amazed by the breath and depth of wine studies as a professional subject. I was exposed first hand to the viticulture in nearby vineyards, the various wine making processes from wine makers and owners as well as fundamental wine tasting techniques in a classroom, all in the vicinity of Napa, one of the best known wine regions of the New World. Subsequently, I have set my life-long goal to pursue wine studies to fulfill my passion and love for wine. Over the years, I have joined professional wine tours around the wine, participated in Vinexpo and professional wine fairs, blind tasting competition, various professional wine courses and certification programs and I even participated in the Marathon du Medoc, a vineyard race that run across 42 classified growths in Bordeaux. In my professional career as banker, I also got the chance to apply wine knowledge when organizing wine courses for colleagues, VIP wine dinners for clients and even as a in-house experts for both colleagues and clients. However, my wine journey does not stop here, one day I aspire to become a journalist and a wine educator, to be able to share my wine experience and knowledge to broader audience including novice and people that enjoy wine, and also to introduce and uncovered local wine producers with huge potentials to the world.
I have passed WSET Level 3 Advanced Certification and is currently pursuing the WSET Level 4 Diploma with Unit 3 as the last module to be completed. FWS program served as a perfect fit to bridge the knowledge gap from WSET Level 3 to WSET Level 4 and provide a structured program of wine studies focusing on France and its various wine regions. The modular approach is particularly useful as a complementary study to accompany my WSET study at Level 4. As the knowledge of French wines formed the biggest part of Level 4 exam, the meticulous knowledge on history, geology, climate, major grape varieties, winemaking techniques and detailed explanation of style and profiles of various AOCs are original and useful to help diploma students like me. FWS program has not only provided me with the most updated wine knowledge thru on-line tests, webinars and study guide, it has also given me the chance to taste first hands wines from all wine regions, some of which (e.g Jura and Savoie) are difficult to source locally. Last but not least, I have the privileges to be tutored by Mark Pygott, MW for the entire FWS program. His in-depth knowledge, sense of humour and useful guidance and advice has given every student a strong confidence and renewed excitement to advance wine studies to the next level.
I believe the completion of FWS will truly further my wine passion going forwards. First, I have equipped myself with a good body of knowledge, which I can always refer to in my pursuit of wine studies in future. Second, I can now connect to various professionals, tutors, alums of FWS across the globe which share the same level of passion and I know that there are always people to help me out and to consult with when I need further information, ideas and opinions in wine knowledge. Last but not least, I would like to participate various wine immersion tour around the world that have been arranged by Wine Scholar Guild to experience first hand knowledge by wine enthusiasts, industry experts and MWs that would surely sustain my continued passion in wine."
