Puchapong Puttarak, FWS

Congratulations to Puchapong Puttarak, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Puchapong:
I grew up in Thailand, and wine was not part of my culture growing up - however, great food and entertaining people has always been my passion. I studied hospitality business in Thailand and learned how to appreciate different cultures and different tastes.  I recently relocated to the US. My partner, who is European, enjoys French food and wine on a regular basis. At times, when I was walking into wine stores and looking for some wine for everyday drink or for special occasions or looking at the wine menu in restaurants, I was amazed by the vast variety of wines available - thousands of bottles with complicated labels. I realized I knew very little about wine. At the same time, I started a new job as host in a very popular DC restaurant. I began to learn more about wine by watching YouTube and reading wine labels and menus. One day, I decided to take wine courses in order to gain more proper knowledge. During the courses, wine gradually became my new passion. It was fascinating to see how my palate gradually became sensitive to the nuances of smell, taste, and feel of different wines. The knowledge I gained about wine making process, influence of terroir and climate, grape varieties and many other factors gave me much more confidence to select a wine appropriate for an occasion, a meal, or a certain price range.


I passed WSET Level 2 with Merit and Intermediate Level Master Class on Sherry Wine (Lustau). Currently, I am waiting for the result of WSET Level 3.  The WSET covers the important wines in every major region of the world including France, but the FWS gave more detail and the opportunity to know about and taste a broad variety of French wines.

    I plan to enroll into WSET Level 4 Diploma , Italian Wine Scholar, and Master Level Programs (Wine Scholar Guild). I feel that knowing French wine in depth is a crucial foundation that helps me appreciate, categorize and understand wines from other regions as well. Having in-depth knowledge from the FWS program, I feel more confident in taking WSET Level 4 Diploma and Master Level Programs in the future.

Now, it is already helping. As we all know, French wine labels can be complicated and confusing. I feel much more confident in selecting the wine I am looking for and what to expect in the bottles. I know why some bottles are more expensive than others. With great in-depth information on the wine and the wine regions of France, I continue to gain knowledge and motivation to further pursue my new passion. Next step: A trip to the Burgundy region later this fall - looking forward to see the region I read so much about first hand!