Vintners Company £8,000 bursary for Geoffrey Roberts Award open for submissions

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 27 July, 2018

Entries are open for the £8,000 biennial Geoffrey Roberts Award, which recognises and rewards an individual that has furthered the cause for New World or emerging region wines.

Commemorating the life and work of the late Geoffrey Roberts, who played a seminal role in bringing quality New World wines into the UK, this award is open to anyone involved in a “project or campaign to further the cause” of raising and improving the profile of such wines.

"The Geoffrey Roberts Award’ is undoubtedly one of the most pioneering bursaries in the UK wine trade," said Jonathan Bourne May, The Worshipful Company of Vintners.

"The prize used to be held annually but we have decided now to double the amount on offer and hold it every other year and we are expecting a record number of entries. This is an international award and we very much encourage entries from overseas."

Established in 1996, the award has recognised a diverse number of projects, including helping put Carignan from Chile’s Maule region in the spotlight and taken a young Georgian winemaker to France to experience modern winemaking at some top estates.

Recent winners have included Harpers contributor Miquel Hudin, for his wine guide to Gerogias and its wines, Georgia. A guide to the Cradle of Wine, and Umay Çeviker for work in Turkish vineyards, raising the profile and understanding of unknown Anatolian viticultural areas and varieties.

Entries for the award are judged by a UK and international panel of judges, with the initiative being administered by The Vintners Company since 2013.

The closing date for submissions is 30 September 2018.

For full details on how to enter, go to: www.geoffreyrobertsaward.com

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