10 March This year there is even more on offer. Please spread the word.
Friday 8 April, just four weeks away, is the deadline for this year’s Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships, each of which grants scholars £55,000-worth of salary replacement and travel allowance to enable them to pursue either a Master of Wine or Master Sommelier qualification.
The scholarships, open exclusively to people of colour, also include a selection of internships with some of the world’s most prestigious wine and spirit producers. You may remember Erna Blancquaert and Angela Scott (pictured above), winners of last year’s two scholarships. They are busy travelling the world in their pursuit of an M and a W after their distinguished names.
This year, thanks to the amazing amount of money generated by last October’s fundraiser, there are no fewer than three scholarships on offer and my spies tell me that, amazingly, entries so far are a trickle rather than a flood. So get going! Or, if you are not eligible, please help by spreading the word to suitable candidates.
And that’s not all that’s on offer. Also available are four Dom Pérignon Golden Vines Master of Wine and Master Sommelier Scholarships, each of which grants scholars £12,500 towards their choice of either the MS or MW study pathway. These scholarships, announced only on Tuesday, have a broader range of diversity and inclusivity criteria, including those discriminated against because of disability, sexual orientation, religion, gender and economic disadvantage, as well as the BAME/BIPOC individuals at whom the Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships are aimed.
And 10 of those who don’t manage to win one of the scholarships above will be offered a Golden Vines Wine Scholar Guild Scholarship, each of which allows scholars to undertake one of WSG’s courses free of charge.
These really are fabulous opportunities, all offered under the auspices of the Gérard Basset Foundation inspired by the late Gerard Basset with the aim of making the wine world he loved so much, and on which he made such a mark, more diverse and harmonious.
To apply, see here. And please do spread the word to anyone suitable, giving them as much time as possible to fill in the entry forms before the deadline of Friday 8 April.
As a trustee of the Foundation and judge of the awards, I look forward to reading more of the uplifting stories we featured here last year.
Napa Valley Vintners have just announced that they have extended their scholarship programme with an increased emphasis on diversity too – see here.
