Five Masters of Wine inducted at the IMW awards ceremony
The Institute of Masters of Wine has officially welcomed five new Masters of Wine to its membership at an awards ceremony in London (1 November 2022).
The new members became Masters of Wine in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The ceremony celebrated the new MWs and recognised individual excellence in aspects of the MW exam.
The five new MWs inaugurated at Vintners’ Hall were, from the 2020 vintage, Pasi Ketolainen MW (Finland), from the 2021 vintage, Michael Henley MW (New Zealand) and Sophie Parker-Thomson MW (New Zealand), and from the 2022 vintage, Justin Martindale MW (UK – Scotland) and Jonny Orton MW (UK – England).
Individual awards were given to Justin and Jonny, the 2022 MWs, for exceptional performance in a particular area of the MW exam.
Jonny received the Villa Maria Award for his outstanding knowledge and understanding of viticulture and the Robert Mondavi Winery award for his performance across all the theory papers.
For his outstanding tasting ability, Justin received the Madame Bollinger Medal, and the Quinta do Noval award for the best research paper, the evolving language of minerality in wine tasting: a case study of Decanter tasting notes 1976-2019. Research papers can be downloaded from the IMW website here.
As well as celebrating the new Masters of Wine, the ceremony honoured members who had reached their 50th and 60th year as MWs. Robin Crameri MW, Julian Falk MW and James John MW passed the exam in 1972, and Ian Bamford MW, John Brownsdon MW and David Peppercorn in 1962.
There are currently 415 Masters of Wine based in 30 different countries.
ENDS
Top row, left to right: Sarah Harrison – IMW Head of Study Programme and Development, Michael Henley MW, Sophie Parker-Thomson MW, Pasi Ketolainen MW.
Bottom row, left to right: Justin Martindale MW, Edward Berry – Master Vintner, Cathy van Zyl MW – IMW Chair, Julian Gore-Booth – IMW Executive Director, Jonny Orton MW
For more information contact:
Sarah Kirkpatrick
Head of Marketing, Communications and Membership
Institute of Masters of Wine
+44 (0)207 383 9131
skirkpatrick@mastersofwine.org
Notes to editors:
About the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW)
The IMW is a membership organisation with an exceptional international reputation. For almost 70 years, its members – the Masters of Wine (MWs) – have been at the forefront of leadership and expertise in the world of wine. The IMW’s mission is to promote excellence, interaction and learning across all sectors of the global wine community. MWs prove their comprehensive understanding of wine by passing the MW exam, recognised worldwide for its rigour and exacting standards. In addition to passing the exam, members must sign the code of conduct before they are entitled to use the initials MW. This requires them to uphold the highest standards of commercial conduct within the industry. Today, there are 415 Masters of Wine working in 30 countries. The membership encompasses winemakers, sommeliers, buyers, journalists, shippers, consultants, viticulturalists, academics, educators and more. There are 307 students from 36 countries in the 2022-23 MW study programme. The IMW works with 32 supporters and two research and industry associates, who help promote the IMW’s mission. The five principal supporters are Austrian Wine, AXA Millésimes, Constellation Brands, the Madame Bollinger Foundation, and Waitrose and Partners.