Congratulations to Mike Dutch, IWS, for passing the Italian Wine Scholar exam with highest honors!
About Mike:
I suppose it is inevitable that I would have an interest in wine having lived in London between 1987 and 1996 and traveling frequently in Europe and Asia during my career in the information technology industry. I’m now interested in entering the wine business, leaning more towards backend operations than the front-end side. While I started training in 2011 to increase my appreciation of wine, I have continued my education to help transition to a wine professional.
My first instructor was David Glancy MS who created and taught an in-depth program at a culinary school leading to my certified sommelier credential. I also had the privilege of taking the California Wine Appellation Specialist program from David at his San Francisco Wine School. This is where I became aware of the Society of Wine Educators, the Wine & Sprits Education Trust, and the Wine Scholar Guild (called the French Wine Society then). I’ve since added the Certified Specialist of Wine, WSET Level 3 Advanced Certificate, French Wine Scholar, and now the Italian Wine Scholar to my “toolbelt”. My goal is to complete all WSG offerings (Master-Level certifications and Spanish Wine Scholar post nominal) and the WSET diploma.
I was lucky enough to have been guided though my Italian Wine Scholar studies by online instructors Nancy Reynolds and Alan Tardi, and IWS author Maurizio Broggi. They helped me “break the code” on Italian wine which epitomizes the warmth and diversity of the wine world. I’m looking forward to bringing my training and passion to the wine trade, contributing practical value, and making new friends.
