Liquid Icons announces recipients of 14 new scholarships

Published: 28 June, 2022

Liquid Icons, the fine wine research company founded by the late, great Gérard Basset OBE MW MS and his friend Lewis Chester DipWSET, have announced the recipients of The 2022 Dom Pérignon Golden Vines Master of Wine & Master Sommelier Scholarships, as well as the recipients of The 2022 Golden Vines Wine Scholar Guild Scholarships.

A total of 47 applications were submitted in 2022. The applicants came from 18 different countries, comprising more than 20 different nationalities and ethnicities. More than half of all applicants this year were women.

The winners were chosen by the same judging panel responsible for awarding The Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships. The panel comprised: Nina Basset FIH, Rajat Parr (Sandhi Wines), Angela Scott (recipient of one of 2021’s inaugural Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships, working towards her MW), Clement Robert MS (The Birley Clubs / Annabel’s) and head judge Jancis Robinson OBE MW.

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Robinson said: “Judging these awards is one of the most rewarding things I do. So many candidates had truly inspiring stories, and the standard of applications this year was even higher than last year. It was extremely difficult to choose these scholars, but it’s definitely a job worth doing if we are to widen the range of those who work in wine, spirits and hospitality. There is such talent and enthusiasm out there, in people of all hues and ethnicities.”

The Dom Pérignon Golden Vines Master of Wine & Master Sommelier Scholarships are each worth £12,500 and will cover the total costs of tuition, examination and tastings incurred by the student studying for these programmes. The Gérard Basset Foundation is funding the scholarships from monies raised at The Golden Vines Awards Ceremony & Dinner to be held in the Palazzo Vecchio Salone dei Cinquecento in Florence on 16 October 2022.

The 2022 Dom Pérignon Golden Vines Master of Wine & Master Sommelier Scholarships Recipients:

Audrey Annoh-Antwi
- Ghanian sommelier at Planque restaurant in east London, United Kingdom (MW pathway)
Anjali Douglas
- Part-Indian educator at the headquarters of WSET in London, United Kingdom (MW pathway)
Ana Bertha Gallegos Barcenas
- Mexican branch manager at the SAQ in Québec, Canada (MW pathway)
Miyuki Morimoto
- Well-travelled champion sommelier at the Conrad, Tokyo, Japan (MS pathway)

Vincent Chaperon, Chef de Cave of Dom Perignon, said: “We are delighted that we received so many outstanding applications for our inaugural Golden Vines Master of Wine & Master Sommelier Scholarships in partnership with Liquid Icons and the Gérard Basset Foundation. We welcome our worthy winners – Audrey, Anjali, Ana and Miyuki – into the Dom Pérignon family and wish them the best of luck with their studies to become Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers.”

Thanks to the generosity of the Wine Scholar Guild, 10 applicants to The Taylor’s Port Golden Vines® Diversity Scholarships were awarded Golden Vines Wine Scholar Guild Scholarships. Scholarship winners have the opportunity to specialise in the country of their choice, by selecting enrolment in one of the Wine Scholar Guild’s advanced French, Spanish or Italian Wine Scholar Certification Programs.

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