Gérard Basset Foundation announces fresh scholarship intake

By Hamish Graham

Published: 09 June, 2025

The Gérard Basset Foundation has announced its latest Laurent-Perrier Champagne scholarship cohort. The charity was initially going to award 10 individuals but decided to honour 12 new scholars thanks to a strong applicant class.

The prize awards young talent in the UK wine industry and aims to support inclusion and accessibility in the sector.

Awardees are offered the chance to undertake a Wine Scholar Guild Champagne Masters course to bolster their knowledge of the sparkling category. Also on offer for scholars are two days’ worth of masterclasses in negotiation and sales at workshops hosted in London, the first of which took place last week.

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Romané Basset, co-founding trustee and head of operations at the Gérard Basset Foundation, was impressed by the winning scholars.

He commented: “We were so impressed with the 51 applicants we received, a genuine testament to the talent and dedication of the next generation of industry leaders to come.

“We were originally only planning to award 10 scholarships but ended up awarding scholarships to 12 well-deserving members of the trade, individuals coming from all walks of life.”

MD of Laurent-Perrier UK, Adam Guy, added: “I was delighted to meet the new scholars: a very diverse group with a shared passion for the industry we love.”

The judging panel for the scholarship included Romané Basset, Nina Basset FIH, co-founding trustee and team leader of the Gérard Basset Foundation, Christian Holthausen, head of communications for the charity, and Preston Mohr, MD of the Wine Scholar Guild.

You can read below a full list of the 12 scholarship winners, all of whom work in the UK wine sector.

Juanita Diusaba Yusunguaira, originally from Colombia

Daniel Reis, originally from Portugal

Yancheng Liu, originally from China

Jani Smith, originally from South Africa

Irina Ciobanu, originally from Moldova

Rosie Watts, from the United Kingdom

Tegan-Jayne Bateman, from the United Kingdom

Olga Salazar Torres, originally from Mexico

Katherine Fisher, from the United Kingdom

Aidan Griffiths, from the United Kingdom

Pierre Anderson, from both France and the United Kingdom