Building committed students of wine w/ Lisa Airey, Wine Scholar Guild

From its start as a way to build demand for French wines in the US to a global program with 100 approved program providers in 30 countries, the Wine Scholar Guild (“WSG”) is a theory-focused wine education program targeting the “committed students of wine.”  Lisa Airey, Education Director of the WSG, tells us about the different levels of the program, instructor online courses, and how the WSG fits into the wine education landscape.  

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Detailed Show Notes: 

• Lisa’s background - 13 years in wine wholesale sales, education director and interim executive director for the Society of Wine Educators (“SWE”), then joined the French Wine Scholar program, which is now the Wine Scholar Guild
• Met Julian Camus, the WSG President while at SWE, who was trying to help find importers to the US for French producers
  • He created the French Wine Society to build interest and love for French wine amongst consumers
  • FWS events would have ~500 people and sell thousands of dollars of wine for each event
• WSG founded in 2008 as the FWS program, an education and credential body
  • Became an advanced program right away
  • For the “serious wine hobbyist” or “committed student of wine”
  • 100 program providers in 30 countries
• Differentiation vs. other wine education bodies
  • WSG is specialized in France, Italy, and Spain, the 3 largest producing countries in Europe
  • Other programs are more generalist / global
  • SWE is more of a membership program with study and certification. WSG is more study/certification with membership as a sidebar
  • Exams are 100% theory - 100 questions multiple-choice (75% is passing, with honors and highest honors)
  • WSG fills the niche of some self-study courses like WSET Diploma and Master of Wine with detailed study materials
• 3 Course types
  • Classroom - instructor-led, taste along in class
  • Instructor Online - live instruction online, if you miss a class, you can go back and replay it on-demand
  • Independent Study - for self-motivated who can’t make the schedules work
• Scholar vs. Master level courses
  • French Wine Scholar coursebook is 274 pages just on French wines
  • Master Level programs are 125-375 pages on 1 region (Bourgogne is the largest)
  • Master programs can be important for people in the industry that need that level of expertise for their jobs
• Study trips
  • Some for educators and approved program providers
  • Study immersion trips - open to the public, have top names as hosts (e.g., Andrew Jefford), that can open doors
• Digital Programs
  • Went digital early in order to go global
  • Benefits of online learning - no travel, parking, easy to miss a session and catch up
  • Partnered with Coravin to have a discount for members so students can purchase wine and not have to pop a cork
• Membership
  • To foster continuous learning after programs
  • 4 webinars / month, with 150+ on-demand
  • Pronunciation programs
  • Discounts on Coravin, 10% off education programs
  • Costs $100/year
• Scholarships
  • Tripled the amount during Covid
  • Provide Instructor Online courses as scholarships
  • Have 2 programs today - need-based/financial aid and Master of Wine scholarships
• Offer group rates for distributors

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