Susie Barrie MW won three awards for ‘outstanding achievement’ at the Institute of Masters of Wine awards ceremony, as eight new MWs were formally welcomed into the IMW.
Barrie, a Decanter contributor, won the Noval Award for her dissertation ‘UK market attitudes towards brut nature champagne,’ the Robert Mondavi Winery Award for excellence in the theory papers and the Institute of Masters of Wine Outstanding Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in the overall IMW Examination.
Barrie told decanter.com that the awards had come ‘as a complete surprise.’
‘I still don’t think it’s all quite sunk in. I’m fortunate enough to have a hugely supportive family and it was fantastic to see their faces on the night – I’ve put them through quite a lot over the past three years.’
Fellow Decanter contributor Isabelle Legeron MW scooped up two awards, winning the Madame Bollinger Medal for excellence in the practical (tasting) papers and the Villa Maria Award for excellence in the viticulture papers.
Legeron is the first French woman to become a Master of Wine.
The other award of the evening was won by Roman Horvath MW who walked away with the Viña Errázuriz Award for excellence in the business of wine paper.
Dr Josef Schuller MW, chairman of the IMW, said ‘I am really delighted that the Institute continues to increase its international membership year on year.’
‘I cannot fail to highlight the continuing trend of outstanding performances by women candidates in the Examination, which is helping to increase the proportion of women members of the Institute overall.’
The eight new MWs:
Susie Barrie (UK)
Michael Collier (UK)
Roman Horvath (Austria)
Isabelle Legeron (France, living in UK)
Tim Marson (UK)
Tuomas Meriluoto (Finland)
Frank Roeder (Germany)
Mai Tjemsland (Norway)
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Written by John Abbott
