Top Exam Scorers

Richard Milot, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • SWS provided quite an educational challenge and fuel for passion. Gracias senor Rick !!!
  • Consultant-sommelier, Importation Vins Sélects Privée (IVSP)
  • Certified Sommelier, WSET Level 3, French Wine Scholar, Alsace Master Level
Congratulations to Richard Milot, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Richard: Having transited from professional soldier to wine professional six years ago I quickly realized how critical it was to go beyond the enthusiasm and to establish a modicum of...

Sachiko Kaitsuka, IWS

Andrea Mcewan IWS
  • Through studying IWS, I got the motivation to study more.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 3
Congratulations to Sachiko Kaitsuka, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Sachiko: I’m not a professional,but just a wine lover. The more I know about wine, the more fun it is to drink wine. I enjoy reading books about wine, watching TV, and searching the...

Natalie Valdez, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • I absolutely love the attention to details that SWS brought about.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 3, French Wine Scholar
Congratulations to Natalie Valdez, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar with highest honors! About Natalie: I am a Pilates instructor by trade and a serious wine enthusiast. The world of wine amazes me; the more I learn the less I realize I know. Every day I learn something new and continue...

Yitian Zheng, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The exploring of each fabulous sub-region in Spain is considerably detailed.
  • Sales and Marketing Manager, Royal Orchid Wine
  • WSET Level 3, French Wine Scholar
Congratulations to Yitian Zheng, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Yitian: I am a WSET Level4 Diploma candidate, with one last unit to go, of course the most difficult one LOL. I fell in love with wine from the moment I tasted a bottle of Central Oregon...

Oliver Budack, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The SWS program has given my passion for Spanish wine a massive boost and I am very eager to deepen my Spanish wine knowledge further.
  • Venue Manager, Maxwell Wines
  • Certified Somelier, WSET Level 3
Congratulations to Oliver Budack, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Oliver: My hospitality career spans over 35 years. I have worked in Germany, the South Pacific and Australia (my place of residence). Wine is my obsession and hospitality is my profession....

Christopher Assise, FWS

Andrea Mcewan FWS
  • I now have the confidence that I know what I’m buying, and can identify wines I am likely to enjoy.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 1
Congratulations to Christopher Assise, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Christopher: Eight years ago, I attended a work dinner with a food and wine loving boss. The first course was a mushroom and burrata bruschetta. My boss insisted that I put down my...

Jenny van Lieshout, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • It is good to have a specialism and thanks to the SWS program that could certainly become Spanish Wines.
  • Business Owner, Little Big Wines
  • WEST Level 2, Level 3 and Diploma
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...

Shreen Ahmad, FWS

Andrea Mcewan FWS
  • I can’t wait to approach France and other countries with my deeper fervour and newfound confidence.
  • Wine Enthusiast
Congratulations to Shreen Ahmad, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar program with highest honors! About Shreen: I am a wine enthusiast. A weekend trip to Yarra Valley, Australia more than 20 years ago first sparked my fascination with wine. I’ve always lived in a big city and every holiday...

Ricardo Luis Santiago, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The quality and depth of the SWS program is unmatched. It is a unique opportunity to learn about wine from all regions of Spain.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • CSW & CSS (Society of Wine Educators), WSET Level 3, French Wine Scholar
Congratulations to Ricardo Luis Santiago, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Ricardo: I am a wine enthusiast constantly searching to expand my knowledge about wine. I value any opportunity for tasting new wines and learning about wine producing regions. It is...

Seana Yee, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The SWS course did an amazing job at summarizing the history of Spain... I was very impressed and learned so much.
  • Certified Sherry Educator and Writer, Sherry Sips
  • Certified Sherry Educator, Introductory Sommelier Certificate, WSET Level 2,
Congratulations to Seana Yee, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Seana: I’m Seana Yee, from Portland, Oregon. I worked in the industry with boutique wineries helping with production and as a tasting room associate. This led eventually to working as a...

Patrick Kelly, IWS

Andrea Mcewan IWS
  • I was able to uncover a depth of learning about the Italian wine world like never before.
  • Assistant Sommelier, Buca Osteria & Bar
Congratulations to Patrick Kelly, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar with highest honors! About Patrick: I started my wine career kind of by accident. I took an intro wine class, knowing nothing about wine (like, I thought Burgundy was a colour…) to try and break into fine dining as a...

Kurt Garbars, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The SWS program (along with the other programs (FWS, IWS) have better prepared me to pursue the DipWSET program.
  • Educator, Wine Education Institute
  • CSW & CSS (Society of Wine Educators), WSET Level 3, Italian Wine Scholar, French Wine Scholar, Bourgogne and Bordeaux Master Level
Congratulations to Kurt Garbars, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Kurt: My passion for the wine industry began when I went on my honeymoon to Europe and started drinking wines from Germany, Italy, France, and Austria. I realized there was more to wine than...

Olga Verchenko, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The SWS program contributed to my deeper understanding of Spanish wines.
  • Wine professional in wine export & communication, @vinicomm
Congratulations to Olga Verchenko, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Olga: I am a Barcelona-based wine professional with a focus on export & communications. My wine journey began in 2011 when I moved from Ukraine to France and graduated as MSc in wine...

Trace Acres, FWS

Andrea Mcewan FWS
  • The French Wine Scholar program drilled more deeply into France’s regions, terroir and unique wines than any course I have taken before.
  • Tasting Room Host, Spearhead Winery & Publisher, Vinsights.ca
  • WSET Diploma
Congratulations to Trace Acres, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Trace: I’ve been a wine enthusiast for decades, and in 2018 I turned my passion for wine into vineyard and winery positions in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. I also publish a wine blog...

Tom Martin, IWS

Andrea Mcewan IWS
  • It gave me the skill to learn and retain both basic and curious facts about geology, history, and culture.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 3, French Wine Scholar, Alsace Master Level
Congratulations to Tom Martin, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Tom: I am an enthusiast and former “Professor” at the Fox School of Wine in Park City, Utah. Google it. When the Coronavirus pandemic spread across the US, I decided to enroll in the intensive...

Jonelle Gingrich, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • There is no comparable program that gives you such a depth of knowledge on Spanish wines as the Spanish Wine Scholar.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 3, FWS
Congratulations to Jonelle Gingrich, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Jonelle: I am a wine enthusiast! Someday maybe I can enter the business side of the wine world. My husband and I enjoy travel to various wine regions all over the world. Some of our...

Leslie Lim, FWS

Andrea Mcewan FWS
  • It was also great to understand the history behind so many of the various French wine regions!
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 3
Congratulations to Leslie Lim, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Leslie: I am a wine enthusiast and started my wine journey 6 years ago, and have never looked back since! I’m eager to learn as much as I can, and I’m thinking of potentially working in the wine...

John Lord, FWS

Andrea Mcewan FWS
  • The FWS has raised my passion to try different wines, and to apply the logic and technical detail learned
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • WSET Level 2
Congratulations to John Lord, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About John: I am a wine enthusiast who first tasted wine many years ago. Very few drank wine in those days, and if they did, it was generally vin ordinaire and as part of a fad. After many decades of...

Patricia Maffetano, FWS

Andrea Mcewan FWS
  • It has definitely enriched my knowledge of French wine appellations, industry, culture and history.
  • Wine Enthusiast
  • Certified Sommelier, WSET Levels 1, 2 & 3
Congratulations to Patricia Maffetano, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar with highest honors! About Patricia: Part of my family is Italian and wine has always been part of my life. However, it was in 2010, when I made my first trip to Europe (Portugal) and visited a vineyard for the first...

Gavin Cameron, SWS

Andrea Mcewan SWS
  • The SWS program...emphasized the unique characteristics of each wine region – and gave me a thirst to visit each one!
  • Principal, Crusader Wine & Spirits
  • International Sommelier Guild Diploma, French Wine Scholar
Congratulations to Gavin Cameron, SWS, for passing the Spanish Wine Scholar exam with highest honors! About Gavin: Starting out as a wine enthusiast, I transitioned from hospitality to becoming a wine professional. I recently retired from wine sales on Vancouver Island, and will continue to learn,...