The Society of Wine Educators (SWE)
The Society of Wine Educators is a highly regarded institution set up for highly motivated wine lovers.
The program is mostly based in online learning, yet you will find many opportunities to study and even take exams at the conferences held each year.
Many people ask if the Society of Wine Educators is better for highly motivated wine consumers, or for people working in the trade.
During my time attending classes and conferences with the Society of Wine Educators, I’ve seen both – and I would say it is an even mix.
On one hand, the exams for virtually level are very challenging. Many people need to take the exam more than one time to achieve a pass in this wine certification program.
This is a good thing – it means that the certification this course offers is worth the study time and expense to achieve.
The Society of Wine Educators has great credibility in the wine industry as a whole, making it the right choice for people in the wine trade.
At the same time, I have also met various wine loving consumers at the conferences. Yet the category of Society of Wine Educator students can not be called “casual consumers” of wine. They are highly motivated individuals. Though they may not be employed in the wine trade, they enjoy collecting wine, visiting wine regions, and talking with their friends and family about wine in an intelligent way.
The great thing about the Society of Wine Educators is that it’s a truly national association, so during the conferences you will be forced to leave your niche and get out and meet new connections.
History of the Society of Wine Educators
1974 marks the year that the Society of Wine Educators was created. Interestingly, it also coincided with the growing stature of California’s Napa Valley.
Napa Valley had been gaining popularity with Robert Mondavi since the 1960s. But it took another Robert – Robert Parker Jr. – to really put Napa Valley on the map.
With his preference for big, bold flavors, Robert Parker embraced the Napa Valley and its wines.
And with this growing interest in wines from the USA (as opposed to France) began the era of wine tourism, and the launch of dozens of high profile food and wine magazines. Wine columnists began to write about wine in the newspapers.
And the Society of Wine Educators began to attract students in its wine certification programs.
The Society of Wine Educators Program
One of the more popular classes, the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), may be attempted via self-study educational course. Students may also take an instructor-led, 13-module online prep class.
Self-study typically involves reading the course material and taking an exam. Beyond learning about the various wine regions in depth, wine lovers will really appreciate the ability to participate in the Society of Wine Educators annual conference.
This generally takes place in August or another summer month.
This conference is a lot of fun in the sense that participants can meet other students, seminar leaders, and widely known professionals in the wine trade during lunches, dinners, and evening parties.
Having been to the conference several times, I recommend it highly. Though the schedule changes from year to year, I’ve found there’s usually a big party to kick off the event. Then, the next few days are filled with concurrent sessions, most of them involving wine and some of them even food and wine.
Though I love the conference, it’s often difficult to choose between the concurrent educational classes.
This is why it is necessary to look at the program and choose in advance. As an example, what would intrigue you more? Attending a class titled “Meunier: The Black Sheep of Champagne,” or a class titled “Refined, Regal, Revered, Rollicking Romantic Reds of Italy.”
Most wine lovers praise the ability to sit down and hear a specialist speak about a given region, while tasting wine from the region at the same time.
As a wine writer based in Manhattan, I find the caliber of the wine seminars to be among the best I’ve experienced in NYC and elsewhere around the world. The seminars are given by well respected experts in the field, some active members in the Society of Wine Educators.
Just as I thought I attained every certification the Society of Wine Educators could offer (the Certified Wine Specialist, the Certified Wine Educator, the Certified Specialist in Spirits) the Society came out with a few new categories one can seek out.
You can learn more about the Society of Wine Educators here.
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About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio
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Here’s a video of what you can expect at the Society of Wine Educators.