Congratulations to Bruce Smoller for passing the Champagne Masters exam with highest honors!
About Bruce:
I am a wine enthusiast, but not formally in the industry. I have had a passion for wine since my days living near Napa Valley. I have been seriously studying wine for the last 9 years and am currently working on the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET) level 4 (Diploma level). My goal for retirement is to live my passion, which is teaching about wine. I have been fortunate enough to develop teaching programs at a local university and several venues that allow me to teach a wide range of classes about wine. As part of this, I have worked with the New York Kitchen in Canandaigua, NY (Finger Lakes region) to become an Approved Program Provider (APP) for the Wine Scholar Guild and will be teaching the Italian Wine Scholar, part one, beginning in March, with plans to do part 2 immediately thereafter, and the French Wine Scholar in the autumn.
Along the way I have completed the Italian Wine Scholar and French Wine Scholar programs (Wine Scholar Guild), the Spanish Wine Expert course, along with master level courses in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace, Loire Valley, Rhone Valley and Champagne, all with honors. I have also taken shorter courses in in the wines of Portugal and Switzerland. My wine studies are not limited to Europe, however, and I have also successfully completed courses about wines California, Oregon and Argentina through the Napa Valley Wine Academy, China (and Germany) through the Asian Pacific Wine and Spirits Institute, South Africa, and Australia and New Zealand through the Sydney Wine Academy. I have been formally certified as an instructor for the WSET program, as well as for the Wine Scholar Guild. The Wine Scholar Guild series of courses provides a level of regional depth that is not covered by any of the other organizations that I have studied with. In addition, the associated tours are incredible. (I have been to Burgundy, Loire Valley, Rhone Valley and Catalunya with the WSG, and will be going to Champagne this spring).
The Master level certification in Champagne further adds to my list of credentials and body of knowledge that have enabled me to fill my days doing what really excites me. I love explaining details about the world of wine to interested people of all ages. As I continue to deepen my knowledge of the many faces of the wine world, the more equipped I am to share my passion, my goal for this stage of my life. The Wine Scholar Guild and its many programs have provided me an enormous opportunity and I am very grateful to the organization for its offerings.
