For the first time ever, the number of current Masters of Wine has reached 300. The Institute of Masters of Wine yesterday announced not only the results of this year's exams (in which our very own Richard Hemming managed the prodigious feat of passing the Theory half at the first attempt – see this thread in our members' forum) but also that no fewer than 11 dissertations had been approved so that there are now 11 new Masters of Wine to be officially welcomed into the Institute at the annual ceremony in Vintners' Hall, London in early November – together with Liz Thach (wine marketing professor at Sonoma State) and Tony Moss (based with the WSET in London) whose dissertations were approved last May.
The geographical and professional range of these new MWs is truly staggering. Medal winning windsurfer, financial regulator – take your vinous pick. See also the topics of those dissertations! (Wonder what Richard is contemplating for his…? Perhaps he will drop a hint in his Diary of an MW student published today.)
The new MWs, listed alphabetically by surname are:
Michele Anderson MW
Michele is an Australian living in New York. Formerly a partner with Booz Allen & Hamilton and Managing Director of the North American division of Australian Vintage, she is now a managing director of Activate, a strategy consultancy focused on the media and entertainment industry. She is also a silver medallist in windsurfing from the 1988 World Student Games.
Dissertation topic: How 'Green' are US Wine Consumers in the Northeast region?
Christy Canterbury MW
Christy is a wine writer, buyer and educator, who lives in New York.
Dissertation topic: An examination of the current status and future prospects of premium red burgundy in US fine dining, taken from US sommeliers' perspectives. [Wonder what they think of this in Gevrey…? – JR]
Sam Caporn MW
Sam is a (female) freelance wine events consultant based in London.
Dissertation topic: English sparkling wine and the UK market: an analysis of the reasons for growth, main routes to market and the attitudes and awareness of the sparkling wine consumer.
Mary Gorman-McAdams MW
Mary is an Irish wine educator with the International Wine Center in New York, a wine columnist for www.thekitchn.com, a freelance wine writer and a wine judge. She has a BA (Hons) in Languages and International Marketing from Dublin City University and an MBS from University College Dublin.
Dissertation topic: The place of prestige cuvée champagne in the United States – another from the US sommelier perspective [these US sommeliers must be getting tired of answering questionnaires! – JR]
Andy Howard MW
Andy is a wine buyer for Marks & Spencer, buying Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire, Italy, Chile, Argentina, North America, South Africa, England, Port and Sherry. (Phew! Quite a list there!). He has also made wine in Gaillac.
Dissertation topic: Attitudes to Premier Cru Chablis among wine professionals in the UK wine market, with particular reference to style, positioning in the UK market and future prospects. [I was asked to answer this questionnaire and found its level of detail almost impossible to respond to. So glad my lack of detailed response didn't hold Andy back – JR]
Emma Jenkins MW
Emma is a wine writer and wine educator based in Taupo, New Zealand.
Dissertation topic: Is there a case for sub-regional Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc? [This strikes me as one of the more interesting topics – JR]
Richard Kershaw MW
Richard is a British winemaker living and working in Stellenbosch. Until recently he was winemaker at Mulderbosch, but is now pursuing his own winemaking project.
Dissertation topic: Are South African white wines, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, bottled in South Africa, affected adversely when subjected to fluctuating or high temperatures during transportation and shipping and if so, how?
Paul Liversedge MW
Paul is British and used to buy wine for Thresher. He now owns Wine Cellars International and Real Wines, fine wine importing and distribution businesses based in Switzerland.
Dissertation topic: Unravelling the Asian enigma – an analysis of the role of brand identity in influencing consumer behaviour in the Hong Kong fine wine retail market [another interesting one – JR]
Caro Maurer MW (pictured)
Caro is a freelance wine writer from Bavaria, now based in Bonn. She is the first German woman to be an MW.
Dissertation topic: Erste Lage in Germany: a classification in the course of development
Mai Tanaka MW
Formerly with the Financial Services Authority in London, Mai is now a freelance wine consultant. She is the first Japanese MW.
Dissertation topic: To assess whether regulation of wine investment funds would better protect investors and enhance business opportunities for fund providers in the UK. [Excellent topic! I'd love to know the conclusions – JR]
Clem Yates MW
Clem is a (female FWIW) winemaker and technologist for the British supermarket J Sainsbury plc.
Dissertation topic: Thiol compounds in IWC Gold Medal- winning Sauvignon Blanc Wines [Crikey – talk about specific! JR]
