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Graduates

We are a community of professionals and enthusiasts connected by our passion for wine, spirits, sake and beer education. Many of our students are current or future leaders in the drinks and hospitality sectors. Others are eager enthusiasts from all backgrounds who enjoy life-long learning and new experiences. Click on their names to learn more about their experience, goals and study tips.

  • Tracy

    I love travelling and vineyards are often on my to-go list.

  • Brittany

    When I saw the new scotch whisky course was available, I was quick to register.

  • Calvin

    I have always had a keen interest in wine and took the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines to learn about various grapes and regions, more generally broaden my palate and maybe in the future do something related that is more than a hobby.

  • Kevin

    The goal for me with the Wine Scholar Guild (WSG) courses was to get a ‘diploma-level’ education without having to invest a huge chunk of time and money in something such as WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines.

  • Madhu

    I’m Madhu and I work at a liquor store as a customer service representative.

  • Rebecca

    The Wine Scholar Guild courses are challenging, then add the uncertainty of a global pandemic!

  • Valentin

    I have always been a huge food lover and once I discovered my passion for wine, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to dive in and learn not only about wine, but also everything else wine represents – culture, tradition, geography, history and language.

  • Véronique

    If you listen to it, each wine tells us a story and transports us into a universe that is of course gustatory, but also cultural, technical and historical. I have been passionate about this product for so long!

  • Isa

    I fell in love with the wine world as soon as I stepped foot on a local vineyard in the summer of 2015.

  • Josh

    The WSET Diploma has been on my radar since I passed my sommelier at 21. 

  • Kimberly

    The knowledge I’ve gained has already given me more confidence when selecting wines, either off the menu in restaurants or at the SAQ liquor commission.

  • Lauren

    I originally took WSET Level 2 Award in Wines as a way to have fun and keep learning outside my 9-5 job in marketing, but I quickly realized this needed to become more than a hobby and signed up for WSET Level 3 Award in Wines to try to pursue a career in the wine world.

  • Will

    The WSET Diploma was an amazing journey of self discovery and challenge.

  • Colleen

    It goes without saying that the breadth and depth of knowledge I’ve gained through the WSET Diploma has helped me to develop authentic and engaging marketing programs, and ultimately educate our customers on this wonderful world of wines and spirits.

  • Alan

    In a supportive environment, I learned from world-class experts, receiving attentive tutoring and enjoyed the interaction with enthusiastic students from many different countries and with all levels of experience in the wine world.

  • Sara

    There’s a tangible honesty to wine, and I think that really drew me in to study it and pursue it professionally.

  • Esther

    I’ve spent the past four years living in New Zealand pursuing my PhD education and my wine background has allowed me to apply my knowledge directly and work on understanding consumer perceptions of New Zealand wine for export.

  • Amanda

    I was intrigued by how much there was to know about wine and spirits, so I made it my mission to learn all I could. All of my colleagues recommended the WSET so I went for it!

  • Ana 

    The degree is a life-changing experience, not just for the knowledge acquired, but also for the like-minded professionals you encounter along the way and staying in touch is a bonus.

  • Ben

    I was looking to re-enter the wine industry. The Diploma offered an unparalleled opportunity to gain expertise (and credibility) in the myriad aspects of wine that I had learned as an enthusiastic amateur.

  • David

    The WSET Diploma is a very challenging program for sure, but on a professional level, the recognition the credential brings within the wine sector makes the challenge well worth it. And on a personal level the sense of accomplishment is such a great feeling.

  • Stephanie

    The WSET Diploma in Wine and Spirits gave me the inspiration to transition my career away from working as a sommelier on the floor of a restaurant to a role more focused on the business side of wine, which lead me into my dream role working with wineries around the world.

  • Michael

    I had the opportunity to visit a friend in Germany who is a veteran in the industry during one of our school breaks. I was having a coffee when I noticed a green book sitting on his table entitled, “WSET Level 3 Award in Wine and Spirits.” After flipping through the first few pages, I was hooked, and immediately registered for WSET Level Award in Wines in the summer of 2017 after returning home.

  • Seema

    My personal goal to take the Diploma was for due to my love of wine studies, but as this designation opens many doors to future careers, I would love to look more into a career switch into the wine and spirits industry.

  • Michael

    I have always loved learning about the many fascinating pockets of the world out there. I find that using wine and Japanese sake as a lens to explore these unique regions is the perfect conduit. While I teach a lot of sake courses and work in a Japanese restaurant with one of Canada’s largest sake programs, I am also hugely passionate about wine. Diploma was an opportunity for me to focus on wine for a couple of years.

  • Mihai

    After finishing the Diploma, my goals are to further promote Romanian wines but also sustainability in the winemaking field and consumer awareness of sustainable practices.

  • Diane

    A corporate lawyer by trade, my formal wine training began in the summer of 2016 when I enrolled in WSET Level 1 Award in Wines. While I had always enjoyed wine, I never felt that I had the right adjectives to describe what I was tasting or to know what I liked and why I liked it. From the first WSET course I was hooked and felt like I was in a grown up version of Grade 6 social studies class.

  • Camden

    I began my wine education journey with WSET Level 2 Award in Wines. It quickly became my passion and I knew this is what I want to do. To pursue a career in the industry I decided that this was the best way to establish myself.

  • Luiz

    Even though I don’t work in the wine industry, I want to prepare myself because my dream is to open a wine-related startup in the long term (can’t share many details!).

  • Chloe

    I still haven’t decided what my next career is after or during this WSET Diploma journey but I’ve hosted some wine classes, wrote some fun wine columns and made short youtube videos about wine so far. These contents mostly focused on the Korean market here in Toronto and in Korea however I’d like to reach more passionate people who love wine and share my and their love about wine via multiple channels as much as possible!

  • Martine

    After I received my WSET Level 3 Award in Wines, I knew that the WSET programs made the most sense for me. I am halfway through the online Diploma program and have already experienced a boost in my own confidence as well as credibility within the industry.

  • Jason

    The regular structured tastings of wines from around the world, in all of their various styles, is paramount to my success as a winemaker. Learning what drives quality in a wine has been invaluable to me.

  • Antonia

    During this program I developed a passion for viticulture, thereby a future goal after the Diploma would be to use my knowledge and skills learned here as a prospective viticulturist.

  • Domenico

    The most important thing I have learned so far is that I have only scratched the surface of this incredibly gigantic, ancient, and diverse world of wine. Because of this foundation of information, I’ve learned that the only way to move is forward from here.

  • Stu

    I’ve been a casual drinker of sake over the years and was always intrigued by how it was made. I found the WSET Level 1 Award in Sake was able to answer that question and so much more. It was so interesting to learn about the processes used to make various types of sake, many of which have the same characteristics of wine making but also some characteristics of spirit making as well; especially the need to create enzymes to break down the starch in rice into sugar for fermentation.

  • Bianca

    Wine and food is such a big part of time spent with family and friends and I hope to only improve on that experience by learning more.

  • Carmen

    Recently I have been exploring the wine areas here in Canada, specifically the Okanagan Valley, and the Niagara and Bench wine regions. It is intriguing to consider all the components that go into wine making, from the passionate owners and knowledgeable employees of wine estates to how aspects such as climate, yearly weather patterns and soil affect the vines and their grapes. I realized there was more that I needed to learn about this craft – and my curiosity about the industry has been growing. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. It was time to act.

  • Nitin

    Earlier this year I visited the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. While I learnt about the rich history and distilling process of this iconic brand, I also came back from that visit with an intense curiosity to learn more about the world of distilled spirits.

  • Matt

    In my role as customer service representative, I like to have the knowledge to answer customer questions accurately and with the confidence to recommend the product that meets the customers needs and recommend others that could be of interest to them. WSET Courses provide a great knowledge and accreditation that I can use to further my career in the alcoholic beverage industry.

  • Carmina

    I find that all information I have learned from all my WSET programs have been very beneficial in multiple ways. It’s helped in putting together wine lists in each of the locations and training tools for the staff.

  • Karen

    Knowledge is power and sound advice when working with either customers or clients adds to your credibility in the world of wine.

  • Remigijus

    A couple of years ago, I received a book about major wine grape varieties. I think this was a turning point where I started to consider it as a way of life.

  • Molly

    By background, I am a Chartered Professional Accountant and during the pandemic discovered my interest in the beverage alcohol industry, and more specifically the wine industry. I decided to pursue WSET Level 2 Award in Wines to expand on my knowledge and understanding of the wine production processes, grape varietals and to become more confident in purchasing, tasting and pairing wines with food.

  • Peter

    This is a great opportunity to taste some absolutely first class wines not typically available in our market. It’s a great opportunity, and a great way to have first class education and make or renew meaningful connections with fellow IWEG students.

  • Eduardo

    I believe there is so much to learn about wine, it is an endless learning process. I decided to attend WSET to have a deeper understanding about wine, improve my skills, be able to better interact with wine professionals, to learn even more, and get a WSET Diploma.

  • Mark

    I think if you have an interest in being part of the wine business, courses such as French Wine Scholar cannot but help in increasing your wine knowledge which will make you more likely to get hired.

  • Adrian

    I retired three years ago and decided to pursue various interests, one of which was wine. As a dilettante and not being in the viticulture business, taking wine courses seemed daunting enough. I thought I knew something about wines and regions until I enrolled at IWEG, not realizing how much there is to learn about viticulture/viniculture.

  • Lidija

    Although I had completed the Winery and Viticulture Technician Program at Niagara College and worked in a winery, I knew the Diploma would provide a deeper more global perspective.

  • Karen

    Once I passed WSET Level 3 Award in Wines, I just knew I couldn’t end my learning journey there as it was only beginning.

  • Adrienne

    As my interest with wine and beverage alcohol grew, I wanted to learn more about sake, specifically more about the brewing process and the effect it had on creating different tastes and aromas in the finished sake.

  • Alexa

    I enrolled in the WSET Diploma to deepen my wine knowledge and understanding of the global challenges facing the industry I love and work in.

  • Kari

    I wouldn’t have had the confidence to start my own business without the foundation and framework the WSET Diploma provides.

  • Rosslyn

    My role at the LCBO is very business-focused: I support our retail and wholesale operations to ensure commercial excellence, as well as meeting our obligations for transparency as a government-owned enterprise. But increasingly I was finding that I needed to know about our suppliers. The IWEG courses will help me understand how and where our products are produced and how I can support strong partnerships with the beverage alcohol industry.

  • Serena

    On a personal level, the knowledge has enriched my appreciation for wines and has made social and dining experiences more enjoyable. I can now make informed choices when purchasing wines and can discuss them more confidently with friends and family.