Let bells be rung throughout Wineland!
A whole nine new Masters of Wine have just been announced, individuals who have managed the extraordinary double achievement of passing all the MW exams and managing to satisfy the examiners with their subsequent dissertations.They include our very own Mel Jones (pictured), who has in the past, when not hunched over her sherry dissertation, made valuable contributions to this website. And the fact that our fellow British wine writer Peter Richards has also managed this feat is also remarkable considering that his wife, the wine writer Susie Barrie, also recently managed to pass the MW at the first attempt and the two of them have also just produced a second child.
This year's tally is UK 4, Australia 2, US 1, Spain 1, Norway 1.
David Allen MW
David, based London, UK, is the new Private Customer Sales Manager at Coe Vintners.
His dissertation topic was: An Examination of the Effectiveness of Wine as an Investment Vehicle for UK-based Individuals
Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW
Pedro is Spanish, living in Belgium. He is a public servant with the European Commission, now focusing on green energy projects. His dissertation topic was: The new EU Common Market Organisation for Wine: identification and analysis of driving forces in the policy-making process.
Sebastian Bredal MW
Sebastian, from Norway, is Managing Director of Symposium Wines. His dissertation topic was: Investigating the factors that influence consumers' purchasing behaviour of wine in the Norwegian off-trade market.
Alex Hunt MW
Alex, based in London, is Purchasing Director of Berkmann. His dissertation was: Rising Must Weights in California: Trends, Causes and Implications for Winemaking.
Mel Jones MW
Mel (pictured above) is a wine writer and web master based in Gloucestershire, UK. She runs www.quaffersoffers.co.uk, a guide to best offers from UK retailers, and is, incidentally, cousin of the new Norwegian MW Sebastian Bredal. Her dissertation was: Factors which contribute towards successful sales of premium sherry in UK restaurants and their bars
Justin Knock MW Justin is the Wine Buying Manager for Treasury Wine Estates (previously Fosters). He is Australian, but based in London, UK, and his dissertation topic was: How important is regionality to the marketing and sales of Australian wine in the UK market?
Kate McIntyre MW
Kate, from the Mornington Peninsula in Australia, is Marketing Manager of Moorooduc Wine Estates. Her dissertation was: Australian Chardonnay in crisis – reality or industry perception?
Jean Reilly MW
Jean, based in New York, USA, is a wine buyer and wine journalist. Her dissertation was: US Sommelier attitudes towards German Riesling
Peter Richards MW
Peter, based in Winchester, UK, is a wine writer and broadcaster, as well as co-owner with his wife Susie Barrie MW of the Winchester Wine School. His dissertation topic was: Prospects for premium Chilean Syrah: UK wine trade perspective
They will be formally admitted to the Institute, together with Ned Goodwin MW and Rhys Pender MW who passed in May of this year, at the annual reception in Vintners' Hall in eary November.