Behind the Scenes of Wine Scholar Guild Membership

We recently caught up with Justin Martindale MW, our Membership & Community Manager, to find out what’s happening in the WSG Membership program and how it all gets put together.

So, Justin, for the uninitiated, what’s Wine Scholar Guild Membership all about?

Think of it as a vehicle for immersing yourself in the world of wine and continuing a perpetual journey of knowledge. If the study programs were the head of WSG, membership would be its heart. In a nutshell, my goal is to program content that gets members beyond just what’s written in the wine textbooks by adding life, color and real-life context. So, one week we might speak directly to a producer, or we’ll get a proper regional expert to help us understand what’s happening on the ground in a particular wine region and how it’s evolving. Another week we might invite someone who’s just published some interesting research, or who can help us understand some current issue. Essentially, we’re having conversations about what’s happening in the wine world, right now. The program revolves around our weekly, live online seminars that we call our “WSG Lives,” but there’s lots more to membership than that.

Tell us about your guest speakers, how do you decide who you invite to host a WSG Live?

Well, first of all, we really want the best experts available in the industry. So, our speakers will generally be renowned regional experts, winemakers, specialists in their field, or industry professionals with some serious credentials. For example, of the 16 webinars we’ve hosted so far this year, 11 have been by Masters of Wine. Having speakers of that stature and authority is one of the things that really sets us apart from other education programs. Promoting a diverse range of contributors that represents and embraces the modern wine world is also really important to me; it’s no accident that 9 of those webinars have been hosted by women. But most importantly, I look for great communicators who can enthuse, engage and inspire our members on a particular topic.

And what about the topics? How do you decide which subjects are covered?

In our WSG Studio we have over 300 recorded webinars available for on-demand viewing by members. It’s a pretty comprehensive library of wine content! So, when we’re asking speakers to introduce new content, it must serve a purpose within that context. For example, there’s only limited value in having more than one webinar addressing the same subject so we’ll only duplicate when something really needs an update, and I’ll often ask hosts to put together something that will fill in a gap. I also try to keep pace with the zeitgeist and schedule content which reflects the important conversations happening in the wider wine world. Examples from this year have included two great sessions on Regenerative Viticulture and Old Vines, and in the next couple of months we’re exploring the challenges facing women in the wine world and the new, emerging, modern face of Bordeaux.

What are you focussing on in Membership right now?

Well, my mantra at the moment is “content-on-the-go.” We love our WSG Lives and our members do too, but we also know that people have busy lives and not everyone has the time to put an hour aside every week to watch them. So this year I’ve introduced different streams of content that members can enjoy on the go. We’ve got high quality, monthly, email digests of all our webinars for those that don’t get a chance to watch everything, we’re about to launch our members-only blog, and are focusing more on recorded content initiatives such as the recently launched “WSG Tasting Room” for members to enjoy on the move.

What’s the WSG Tasting Room?

Think of it as our in-house wine YouTube channel! I launched it in response to our members’ appetites for quality tasting content and I try and share the skills I developed while studying for the MW through the videos. We explore blind tasting tips and techniques, producer focused videos and wines from a particular appellation or style to try and understand how they’re evolving beyond their textbook definitions. It’s lots of fun making them! In the last couple of months, we’ve covered how to blind taste Chardonnay and Syrah, as well as the problem with tasting grids, how Albariño is evolving, a deep dive into the wines of Viré-Clessé, highlighting some fantastic wines made by producers who farm regeneratively, and more.  There’s lots of exciting things planned in the coming months, so watch this space!

And what’s the vision for membership in the future?

Oh, I’ve got loads of exciting plans for this year and next! Given the popularity of the Tasting Room initiative, we’re going to try and take this on the road later this year and get into some vineyards to chat with producers and growers and put what should hopefully be some really exciting content together. I’m also going to invite some guests to join me in the studio and share their tasting experience and expertise. We’ve got some technical improvements coming around the way we host and present content that should bring some quality-of-life benefits to members. And there’s some other exciting new initiatives coming, but I’ll share more on those once we’re a bit further down the line!

Who is membership for and how does someone sign up?

It’s really for everyone who’s got the wine bug and wants to keep learning. We’ve got lots of industry professionals, but also a sizeable and growing number of wine enthusiasts in our ranks. It’s a natural home for students who have graduated from one of our study programs, or other ones such as the WSET Level Two, Three or Diploma and just want to keep their journey going. Getting a qualification or wine certification should be the beginning of the journey, not the end! We’ve got a vibrant, global wine community and everyone who’s interested in becoming part of it is welcome.