Congratulations to Karin Rockstad, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors with Vine Lab Wine & Spirits Academy.
About Karin:
I am a Spanish to English translator and editor specializing in wine. My passion for wine started out as stolen sips of my parents’ Riunite Lambrusco when I was a teenager, and then turned into a full-blown love affair when I was a student in Spain and France in the 80s and 90s. I’ve studied six languages and travel extensively, with wine always in mind. Wine words are the first ones I learn in the new language, and wine-growing areas are the first places I go!
I am also a Spanish Wine Scholar (with highest honors) and hold WSET Level 3. I did SWS first, so knowing the course structure helped a lot with FWS. I am impressed with how much the WSG discusses soil and geography in its courses. Why certain grapes are grown where made much more sense after learning that.
I am planning to take the IWS course this year. I also want to take WSG’s master classes. They look really interesting and fun. All of this will help solidify things when I go on to do the WSET Diploma sometime in the future.
Because I’ve passed both SWS and FWS with highest honors, Vine Lab has asked me to join them as an instructor. I couldn’t be more thrilled! The founders, Nikki and Lisa, are excellent teachers and I owe them nearly everything in how well my studies have progressed.