MEET MONICA MARIN
WSET Diploma/French Wine Scholar Instructor/Spanish Wine Scholar Instructor/Italian Wine Scholar Instructor / Bordeaux Ecole du Vin Instructor/Napa Valley Educator/ German Wine Academy Certified Educator / WSET Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced & Diploma Instructor/Sherry Wine Educator/Rioja Certified Educator/ 2019 WSET Best Educator of the year Nominee/Winner of the Worldwide Best French Wine Scholar Instructor 2019/ Winner of the Worldwide Best Spanish Wine Scholar Instructor 2021
Monica was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. She attended the Complutense University of Madrid, where she graduated with a B.A. in communications and public relations. She then moved to London where she held several executive positions at marketing and hospitality companies. Her numerous celebrity clients demanded the best wine and cuisine. In order to meet the expectations of her famous clientele, Monica enrolled in the Wine and Spirits Education Trust where she successfully completed all the wine certification levels and earned the WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits. She was later accepted in the Master of Wine program.
Throughout her career, Monica has visited the best wine regions of Italy, Spain and France, falling in love with the culture, wine and gastronomy in Bordeaux, Champagne, Jerez, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Toscana. She has also traveled extensively in Germany, California, Chile, Portugal and Uruguay.
Monica and her family now live in California, where she dedicates her professional efforts and time to wine by working as the Director of Education for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust in Southern California at the foundation, intermediate, advanced and Diploma levels in California, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Panama. Monica is also the head instructor for the in-person courses of the Wine Scholar Guild in Los Angeles: Spanish Wine Scholar, French Wine Scholar, and Italian Wine Scholar.
As a Sensory Evaluation Expert, Monica judges wine and olive oil at international competitions, olive oil being together with wine and coffee, Monica’s other passions after taking several sensory evaluation courses at the University of California in Davis.
Monica is bilingual in English and Spanish and has a good knowledge of Italian and French. In 2019, Monica was short-listed for the WSET Educator of the Year Award, the only Latin female nominee among 10 candidates worldwide. Most recently, Monica was awarded Best Spanish Wine Scholar Instructor of 2021.
