Getting Certified to Work in the Wine Industry

There are two major wine education firms in Philadelphia, the Wine School of Philadelphia and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (aka WSET). Together, they train and certify the overwhelming number of wine professionals in the metropolitan region.

Programs

Both schools offer a series of wine certifications that culminate in a diploma. Both programs follow a similar path towards certification:  starting with the Foundation Certification, followed by an  Intermediate , and finishing off with an Advanced program before finally earning a Diploma. The WSET does not offer the Foundation program in Philadelphia.

The main difference seems mostly in how the programs are taught.  The WSET  originates in England, while the Wine School’s programs were developed in the USA. This is an important difference. The Wine School emphasizes an interactive classroom experience while the WSET focuses more on memorization and reading.

Costs

On average, the WSET is about 20% to 25% more expensive for comparable programs.

Teachers

Students who have taken both programs uniformly state that the Wine School’s teaching staff  offers a better learning environment.  That does not mean the classes are of  higher quality, but they are more enjoyable. The Wine School has a much smaller teaching staff, most of whom are full time employees. The WSET uses mostly part time instructors.

Graduates

Graduates from both programs succeed in the wine industry. In a very informal poll, it seems that more people working in restaurants have a WSET certification. However, more people who end up in higher level  positions (as winemakers, brewers, and business owners) have a Wine School certification. This should be taken with a grain of salt, since this was a very informal poll.

Content

Reviews are mixed on which school offers a more comprehensive wine education.  The WSET clearly offers a more clinical approach to information. Also, student say that WSET offers more raw information per class. Some like the fact that the WSET publishes its own books. On the other hand, people who have attended the Wine School are much more adamant supporters of their programs than vice versa.

History

The WSET  has a long  history in Philadelphia. The programs are run by Neal Ewing, who has run wine classes in Philly and New York since 1988. Unfortunately, there is very little public information about Mr. Ewing available. His wine industry experience is as follows: he was a part-time wine manager at a New Jersey wine store and  he worked as a part-time wine buyer for Jack’s Firehouse Restaurant in Philadelphia. On his website he also claims to be a former writer for the Wine Spectator Magazine. However, the latter could not be verified. No article bearing his name could be found in the Wine Spectator online archives.

The Wine School was founded in 2000 by Keith Wallace.  In contrast to Mr. Ewing, a significant amount has been written about Mr. Wallace, including a wikipedia entry on the Wine School, a feature by the City Paper, and an article on the Wine Spectator’s website.  According to multiple sources, Mr. Wallace is a trained winemaker and a former partner in a wine distributorship.  He is also the creator of a popular online wine show called Philly Uncorked, and under contract with a national publishing house  to write a book on food and wine.  He has recently been featured on National Public Radio and writes an influential wine column for the Daily Beast.

In fact, there may be too much written about Mr. Wallace. We found dozens of articles written about him (copies of some are available on his site). One that is conspicuously missing is a piece published by the  Chestnut Hill Local, which highlighted a personal tragedy and Mr. Wallace’s dog.

Controversy

In doing research for this article, we found several instances where Mr. Ewing and other people associated with the WSET have authored some negative comments about Mr Wallace and the Wine School.  All of which seem, frankly, very petty and childish. There seems to be a great deal of animosity, but it also seems very one-sided. Mr. Wallace’s responses have been even tempered and remarkable good humored. There is no doubt that the WSET has damaged their reputation by stooping to such tactics.

Conclusion

Depending on what you are looking for, both the WSET and the Wine School are both excellent choices for wine certification.