Congratulations to Bart Crols, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Bart:
I only got the wine “virus” when I met my wife. My late father-in-law had a real interest in wine and several books, a.o. Hugh Johnson’s World Atlas of Wine. As I learned to appreciate the product and read about it, I gradually became truly hooked. As with many (all?) other things, once you understand more about it, you appreciate and love it even more. And gathering knowledge about something you love is addictive, so… Furthermore, the wine world is so incredibly diverse, so you can learn forever, always discovering new things, and deepening your knowledge!
I always thought studying wine (as opposed to just reading books, magazines and reviews about it) is impossible to combine with a full time (non wine) job, until I discovered online courses. I got the WSET Level 3 award in Wines last year, and as Level 4 really seems impossible to do unless you follow classroom sessions (incl guided tastings), I chose the Wine Scholar Guild to continue my studies. FWS builds further on the vini/viticulture basis laid out in WSET, and deepens your knowledge of France in a very structured way.
I am currently enrolled in the SWS online course and look forward to learning about this exciting country and its wines during the coming winter months.
FWS raised my interest in French wine regions, grapes and processes I had hardly heard of. Good examples are Jura and Die, grapes like Fer Servadou and Altesse, microx and transversage. All these new things entice you to explore and deepen your knowledge further. That’s why it is addictive: you can never stop learning !
