WSG at 20: Honoring the Past, Disrupting the Future

Twenty years ago, Wine Scholar Guild began with a clear mission: to deepen the world’s understanding of France’s wines through education. It was 2005, and I was 23 years old, working as a trade attaché at the French Embassy in Washington, DC. This was a time of anti-French sentiment in the US, and French wine—something I knew to be an expression of place, people and culture—was caught in the crossfire.

So I began organizing educational events focused on French wines and gastronomy. Those early evenings weren’t just about wine; they were about rebuilding connections, offering context and creating a space for voices from the vineyard to be heard. From this need was born the French Wine Society, and a few years later, Wine Scholar Guild.

Since then, WSG has grown into a global network of over 130 course providers in 30 countries, serving more than 10,000 alumni worldwide. We've become the reference in specialized certification on the wines of France, Italy, Spain and Germany and a pioneer in online wine education. The list of educators and contributors we've worked with reads like a who’s who of the global wine community.

But milestones are not just moments to celebrate—they’re also moments to reassess. And this year, as we mark our 20th anniversary, we are choosing not to simply look back. We’re choosing to look forward—with intention, with urgency and with a stronger voice.

Beyond Depth: From Typicity to Truth

If you had asked me five years ago what WSG was all about, I would have said one word: depth. Our reputation has always rested on going deeper—into regions, into history, into geology, into detail.

But today, I would answer differently. Because depth without discernment, context or perspective can lead us astray.

Most wine education, even at advanced levels, teaches students what wines are supposed to taste like. It emphasizes typicity, standard profiles and grape variety signatures. In doing so, it often leans on stereotypes—flattening nuance in the pursuit of predictability. These models tend to reflect commodity wines, the kinds of wines that tick boxes and meet expectations.

But the wines that move us, that stay with us, that teach us the most—don’t easily fit into these neat boxes. The most exciting and goose-bump provoking wines aren’t the result of formulas. They are the result of place, of craft, of sincerity.

At WSG, we are seeking to speak more to the wines that excite us most: authentic wines of place. Wines that defy cliché. Wines that reflect the choices, struggles and vision of the people who make them. Wines that provoke emotion, that create lasting memory, that invite introspection as much as admiration.

And let’s be clear: this is not an elitist stance. Just as everyone deserves access to real, nourishing food—not ultra-processed calories masquerading as nutrition—we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy and understand real wine. Not wine engineered to fit a tasting note template, but wine that carries meaning, integrity and a sense of origin. Education should not sanitize or simplify wine—it should reveal its complexity, its context, its humanity.

The old binaries—Old World vs. New World, traditional vs. Modern—no longer serve us. The real divide in today’s wine world is commodity vs. authenticity. Our mission is to help students recognize the difference—and give them the tools to engage with wines of place with clarity, context and sensitivity. At a time of reduced consumption and changing habits, it’s time to turn off the “tasting autopilot” and to truly engage with wine in a more meaningful way.

The Next Chapter: From Scholar to Steward

The world of wine has changed—and it is still changing. The climate is shifting, agricultural practices are under pressure and consumer trust is eroding amid greenwashing and commodification. We see a growing disconnect between how wine is made, how it is marketed, how it is taught and how it is consumed.

At WSG, we believe it’s time to reclaim the soul of wine education. We are entering a new chapter—one that is more transparent, more critical, and, yes, more militant in the best sense of the word.

This is not disruption for disruption’s sake. It is about restoring wine’s rightful identity as a cultural, agricultural and emotional product—not a technical, industrial or luxury good. Wine is more than fermented grape juice. It’s about giving space to nuance, diversity and imperfection. It’s about empowering students not just to pass exams, but to develop their own voice, their own relationship to wine and their own ability to engage critically with the world around them.

This new direction is embodied by WSG's Mission, which is already shaping the way we operate.

Membership Reimagined: Putting Producers First

Nowhere is this shift more visible than in our revamped WSG membership. Membership is no longer just a bundle of benefits—it’s an immersive experience centered on the people and places behind the wines.

Through our new WSG Producer Guide, members gain direct access to the stories, ethos and practices of vignerons crafting authentic wines of place. Because appellation rules and terroir are only potentials. They are raw material—waiting to be interpreted, elevated and sometimes challenged by the men and women who farm, ferment and shape the wine with their own sensitivity, aesthetic vision and values.

By spotlighting producers, we shift the focus away from technicalities and formulae, and toward intention, emotion and expression. In doing so, we invite our members to experience wine as a living dialogue between land and person. We provide a shortcut to today’s most inspired vignerons, from iconic names to rising stars.

Tasting as Revelation: The Taster as Subject

Perhaps the clearest expression of this new direction is the upcoming WSG Tasting Diploma.

This program breaks free from rigid analytical grids that make the taster look at wine through a purely technical and quantitative lens. It offers a multi-sensory, holistic and emotionally attuned approach, grounded in critical thinking and real-world complexity. But more than that, it invites students to consider not only the object of wine tasting—wine itself—but also the subject of wine tasting: themselves.

Because how we taste is inseparable from who we are—our physiology, our culture, our memories, our biases, our training, our mood. The diploma is designed not to impose one way of tasting, but to help each student understand their own sensory and cognitive landscape, to develop their own language and to find confidence in their own palate.

It is rigorous, personal and transformative. And we believe it will redefine what wine tasting education can be.

Turning Around the Ship

This is just the beginning. Over the coming years, we will gradually reimagine all of our programs—Essentials, Scholar and Masters—to more properly align with our vision of the future. This won’t happen overnight. We are steering a large, international vessel. But the course is set, and our commitment is unwavering.

We will continue to offer excellence in wine education, but excellence measured not by how many random facts we can cram into a curriculum and a brain, but by how deeply we can help students think, feel and connect.

From Industry to Network

Wine is not an “industry”. It is a network of people, places, values and stories. It is messy, contradictory and endlessly fascinating. At WSG, we want to honor that richness—not reduce it to marketing copy or tasting grid shorthand.

So here’s to the next twenty years—rooted in authenticity, driven by curiosity and shaped by those who refuse to settle for surface-level understanding.

We hope you’ll join us—not just as a student, but as a fellow seeker, steward and voice in this movement.

Julien Camus
Founder & President
Wine Scholar Guild