Very many congratulations to the eight people who, it has just been announced, have had their MW dissertations approved so that they are now allowed to call themselves Masters of Wine. The total number of MWs is now 312, in 24 countries – including the first-ever Turkish Master of Wine. Six of the new MWs work in the UK (two of them for Berry Bros) and the other two work in the US.
The new MWs are:
Dilek Caner MW (US) is a full-time wine educator in Dallas, Texas. Originally from Istanbul, she previously worked at Wine & Spirits magazine and was a sommelier at Restaurant Alain Ducasse.
Amy Christine MW (US) works for Kermit Lynch in Berkeley, California. She also owns and operates artisanal winery Black Sheep Finds with her husband Peter Hunken.
James Davis MW (UK) is the senior buyer for UK retailer and brewer Greene King who operate over 2,000 restaurants, pubs and bars. He previously worked for CostCo and Tesco as a wine buyer.
Barry Dick MW (UK) is from Northern Ireland and is currently the UK wine development director for Accolade Wines. He studied oenology at the University of Adelaide in Australia and has made wine in France, Spain, California and Australia. He was also a resident winemaker for Sainsbury's supermarkets in the UK for almost five years.
Matthew Hemming MW (UK) is a keen mountain biker and fine-wine manager at Averys of Bristol, which he joined straight from university in 2002.
Anne McHale MW (UK) is one of Berry Bros & Rudd's key wine educators and hosts educational tastings and dinners in their cellars. The UK Circle of Wine Writers made her their Young Wine Writer of the Year in 2010.
Jon Pepper MW (UK) is the managing director of UK importer Buckingham Schenk, where he has worked in particular on developing the Argentine brand Viñalba, launching the company's new on-trade portfolio, and launching the pre-packed goblet brand Intrepid Fox. He joined the wine trade in 2006 after a career marketing luxury goods.
Demetri Walters MW (UK) is another Berry Bros employee, being sales manager for private wine events there. He is half-Cypriot and wrote his dissertation on the export prospects for wine from Cyprus.
Alison Eisermann Ctercteko MW of Australia and Eric Hemer MW and Adam Lapierre MW in the US all became Masters of Wine in May, bringing the 2013 MW harvest to 11 new members.
The titles of the successful dissertations submitted by the new Masters of Wine are listed below. This year's pass rate for dissertations finally submitted for examination was 92%, but as we all know from Richard's diaries of an MW student, it is far from easy having your dissertation approved for submission. Many, many congratulations to the authors of these dissertations.
Dilek Caner MW: Washington State Syrah: US consumer and trade perspectives
Amy Christine MW: The Decline of Varietally Labelled US Syrah
James Davis MW: Understanding consumer attitudes to large wine brands as a purchasing cue in the UK multiple on-trade: a comparison of value and premium multiple outlets
Barry Dick MW: Analyse the performance of ISO tanks versus single-use Flexitank as a method of transporting a bulk white wine from Australia to the UK
Mathew Hemming MW: A survey of UK independent wine merchants to understand current business strategies and trends in the sector
Anne McHale MW: Beaujolais in UK market: UK wine trade attitudes and future prospects
Jon Pepper MW: Argentine wine in the UK multiple off-trade
Demetri Walters MW: Can Cyprus build an export market in the UK with premium red wine, and how important are native grapes to achieving this aim?