A large number of people are owed money by the Irish Wine Institute - two lecturers are owed somewhere in the region of €5,000 - 6,000, a web design company somewhere from €5,000 - 10,000, as well as students who booked on courses which were cancelled. In the meantime, I have been told that JS was spending big money in various wine bars and restaurants in Dublin. On top of that, she is pestering at least one student for an "unpaid course fee"! Given that she never registered any students and was not, therefore, selling the service students expected to get, she has some nerve trying to get money off innocent students when she owes a fortune.
I understand she is still in Dublin - if anyone spots her, let WSET know - or me.
I should point out that the other schools and lecturers listed on the WSET website are honourable and honest people and that anyone thinking of doing a wine course should not be put off by the antics of the IWI.
About Me
- DermotMW
- Dublin, Ireland
- Hi, I'm Dermot Nolan, and I became a Master of Wine (MW) in 1997, and resigned from the Institute of Masters of Wine in 2023 after being an MW for exactly 26 years. I opened a wine shop in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, called The Wine Library, which closed in 2018, and this is my personal wine blog. I will do my utmost to be fair and responsible in my posts – please read my Who Pays article in re the ethics of wine trips and writing. I have worked in wine education, retail, and consultancy since 1990. I was a Director of the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) from 2008 to 2014 and was also a member of the Events Committee, founder of the Trips Committee, and member of the Governance Committee. Having had problems with potentially libellous comments from unidentifiable posters, I now require that if you post a comment, you must identify yourself properly or it won't be published. Please note that I do not review products or services on request so kindly don't ask. I value my independence and I believe my readers (few that they may be) do so also.
1 comment:
Maybe if anyone spots WSET around town they might let us know as well!
WSET should not have given everyone who arrived at their doorstep, with a cheque in hand, accreditation. There should have been a rigorous approval policy so that the students were protected. WSET was warned and chose to do nothing about it.
This is a sorry mess. Perhaps we should try to do something about it? I know Curious Wines have been asking around as to whether anything can be done? Perhaps we need to start a Wine Board all over again?
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