diff --git a/lea/clients/duckdb.py b/lea/clients/duckdb.py
index 6222e68..77d808e 100644
--- a/lea/clients/duckdb.py
+++ b/lea/clients/duckdb.py
@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ def _table_reference_to_view_key(self, table_reference: str) -> tuple[str]:
         ('schema', 'subschema', 'table')
 
         """
-        database, leftover = table_reference.split(".", 1)
+        try:
+            database, leftover = table_reference.split(".", 1)
+        except ValueError:
+            raise Exception("Specify the full path to the table, e.g. 'schema.table'")
         if database == self.path.stem:
             schema, leftover = leftover.split(".", 1)
         else: