11 Dec 2003

Geoffrey Roberts Award 2004 – travel bursary seeks winner

In its first eight years of operation, the Geoffrey Roberts Award, an international travel bursary worth at least £3000 (about US$5000), has brought farmers' markets to Australia; yielded a brand new Somerset cheese, Jersey Shield, thanks to input from American Award-winners who are now making artisan cheese in the US; funded a research project into the effects of vineyard altitude on the longevity of wine drinkers; and dramatically increased our knowledge of Eastern European indigenous grape varieties. Details of how to apply for the 2004 Award are given below.

This special annual award commemorates the life and work of the late Geoffrey Roberts, innovative New World wine importer based in London. It has been made every year since 1996 to a deserving potential achiever in the worlds of food, drink and/or travel, thus continuing Geoffrey's lifelong encouragement of excellence in these three interrelated fields. The Award, in the form of both funds and contacts, enables the winner to travel and learn more about their chosen subject.

The Award is run by a London-based registered charity whose trustees include Neville Abraham CBE and Nicholas Lander of the Financial Times.

Winners of the 2000 Award were Alan Foster of Oregon and Ron Irvine of Washington State, artisan cider makers who travelled round England and France in order to exchange information and improve their production techniques. The 2001 award went to help a viticulturist in Australia promote the ecological processing of winery waste. The 2002 Award was won by Professor Roger Corder, who works for the William Harvey Research Institute, the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, while the 2003 winner Penny Boothman has researched indigenous grape varieties in Eastern Europe. She shares the results of her labours at www.easternvines.info.

Details of how to apply for the Award, open to applicants of any age, experience and nationality, are available from Venetia Lebus at the address below. Deadline for applications is 31 March 2004 and a winner will be chosen in early summer by a distinguished panel of judges who in the past have included Anthony Barton, Sally Clarke, Paul Draper, Ken Hom, Hugh Johnson, Ramon Pajares and Jancis Robinson.

For more information on how to apply for this travel bursary, contact Venetia Lebus, Hon Sec Geoffrey Roberts Award, 103 Streathbourne Road, London SW17 8RA email GeoffreyRobertsa@aol.com