FRESH VOICES: The Economics of Education Mary Catherine Večko

Tips for Funding Your Wine Certification Program

Featured in The Tasting Panel | Mar - Apr 2023

FOR MANY OF US in the beverage industry, certifications from organizations such as the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) are a way to differentiate ourselves; they can mean that foot in the door to a coveted position while ensuring recognition of a certain level of accomplishment.

Kami Lee Robb, founder and director of Vino Vallarta Wine School, provided me with a global perspective on wine education and funding during a recent Zoom conversation. Hailing from Canada, Robb is leading her Puerto Vallarta-based company toward the goal of becoming the first approved program provider in Mexico to offer the WSET Diploma.

For any business, profit is naturally a priority; however, Robb aims to support her students holistically as best she can. For starters, her website provides links to a comprehensive list of scholarship and financial-assistance opportunities as well as to free online wine courses. As another example, she told me about a former student of hers who was facing significant financial setbacks related to crossing the border into the U.S. for her WSET Diploma exam, including paying for a visa application, flights, and hotels; meanwhile, she was struggling with her review of fortified wines. “She asked if she could hire me to review her tasting notes, and I said I would be happy to send feedback on her work, but I wouldn’t accept payment,” Robb recalled. “Since I had just run the Level 3 fortified class, I had bottles of Palo Cortado, Vintage Port, and age-indicated Tawny Port all opened, so I packed up small samples and shipped them to her overnight. She was very delighted with the surprise, especially since these types of bottles are usually very cost-prohibitive and sometimes hard to source here in Mexico.”

During the course of our conversation, Robb offered a few key pointers for maximizing your chances at procuring educational funding while minimizing additional costs:

Build your network. Personal and professional connections can serve as references on scholarship applications, which may make the difference in landing funding. 

Collaborate. Robb explained that WSET books are always shipped priority from London. When Vino Vallarta Wine School and other approved program providers in Mexico worked together to assemble a collective order of books, they were able to split the shipping cost. Reframe your would-be competitors as colleagues and ask if you can share the financial burden of wine samples and other resources; you can also trade advice. 

Try and try again. If you fail at obtaining funding the first time, keep building your resume and doing the work. Refer to former applications and build on them. You may well be granted funding from an organization that turned down a previous application. 

Be honest. Be real and upfront about what you contribute and expect. Use plain language but remain true to your voice. 

Funding can alleviate the financial pressure placed on industry professionals as they seek access to education, which makes for one fewer challenge amid the trials of studying both tasting and theory. It is my hope that these pointers (and the links on the Vino Vallarta website) will help advance your journey toward a fun (and funded!) wine education.

Mary Catherine Večko is a sommelier and wine writer. You can follow her on Instagram @sipwriterepeat and check out her writing here.