Perhaps the most significant of these triumphs, and the recognition that will make the greatest difference to the individual concerned, is Samantha Cole-Johnson, who is one of just four new voices shortlisted for Mont Blanc Emerging Wine Writer of the Year 2020. Sam, who filed so many brilliant reports from her internships in Oregon and Barossa for us, is currently in the Napa Valley preparing for the 2020 crush.
Alder Yarrow is no stranger to awards for his top-quality writing and we are delighted that our monthly American commentator has been shortlisted for Mazzei International Columnist of the Year 2020.
Not just Alder but our very own Richard Hemming MW is shortlisted, along with four others as Ramos Pinto Online Communicator 2020. I’m sure we all agree he is good at communicating. He answers my emails, even from the very different time zone of Singapore, in a flash.
And Jon Wyand, who has so frequently supplied us with his lovely images of Burgundy, is one of six people shortlisted for the Champagne Louis Roederer Artistry of Wine Award 2020.
And finally, in a particularly strong field of seven volumes, the 8th edition of The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and me has been shortlisted as Domaine Faiveley International Wine Book of the Year 2020.
Apparently, the panel of judges, chaired as usual by Charles Metcalfe, had to work their way through 700 entries before coming up with these shortlists via Zoom earlier today.
The 2020 awards will be the last set of ‘Roederers’ and this year, thanks to the pandemic, the awards ceremony will be held virtually, on Wednesday 9 September at 6 pm BST. It will be streamed on the MMD UK YouTube channel, Instagram IGTV, Facebook and LinkedIn. Those of us who are veterans of the champagne-soused awards ceremonies of the past will miss the usual party that marks the beginning of the autumn tasting season in London. The best one of course was in 2010 when, for once, they had a Wine Website of the Year category. Unaccustomed modesty forbids … but you can read more in our site history.
