Congratulations to Marco Herrouz, FWS, for passing the French Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Marco:
Born and raised in Turin, capital of the Italian wine region Piedmont, I entered the world of wine during my student side-job at the renowned restaurant and “wine Mecca” Tre Galli. After several educational and professional experiences in France, Lithuania, Morocco and the UK, I landed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where I completed a Master of Science in Communication. Since then, I have worked as a researcher, analyst and director of communication with a focus on impact management and sustainability and collaborating with several international wineries and wine companies.
I wanted to get out of my comfort zone (namely an innate focus on Italian wines as you can expect) and have a broader, more holistic point of view on wine-making and wine styles. The WSET courses offered me the right balance and I have successfully completed the WSET 2 & 3 Awards in wines. The need to put in practice and improve my newly acquired knowledge, brought me to a six month experience at Dutch winery Betuws Wijdomein (yes, The Netherlands produce wine too!) where I assisted awardwinning winemaker Diederik Beker in both the vineyard and in the winery. As you might know, one wine experience leads to another and I had soon realised that my newly acquired passion for French wines needed to be put in the hands of experts. This is how I got to know the Wine Scholar Guild. The mesmerising journey through the French Wine Scholar Program and the completion of the course exam with Highest Honours are the reasons for this interview. Needless to say that the course is proving to be a priceless facilitation and support in the completion of my studies for the WSET Diploma. The WSG programs represent the perfect and unmissable bridge between the WSET 3 and the WSET 4 Diploma and offers a great alternative for those who are not ready to undertake the considerable amount of work required for the diploma.
The FWS program gave me the opportunity to explore those French wine regions and appellations that, for one reason or another, are not on the radar or mainstream. I still remember my astonishment when I tasted Vin Jaune from Jura for the first time! The cultural perspective, offered for a deep understanding of the various wine styles, is as topical as the technical information provided. I advise future WSG students to combine the course theory with classroom tastings as it is the best way to fully understand winemaking techniques combined with cultural and topographical aspects shaping the different styles. Additionally, the course is greatly supporting me in my work as a WSET educator. I am deeply honoured to have been approved as a French Wine Scholar instructor and I am looking forward to starting teaching the course in 2022 at Van Belle Academy in Amsterdam. My next goal will be the Spanish Wine Scholar Program and I am sure that the best is yet to come!
