News

We are thrilled to announce that Sophie passed the third part of the MW examination and is now a Master of Wine.  There are 418 MWs globally, 149 women and 269 men living or working in 32 countries. Since the first exam in 1953, only 493 people have passed the examination and become an MW.

From the official IMW press release :
Sophie is a wine producer and wine industry consultant based in Marlborough. Raised in the New Zealand wine regions of Gisborne and Central Otago, winemaking and hospitality were endemic to Sophie's upbringing. While gaining a law degree and admission to the bar, she felt the inevitable pull back to the wine industry, moving to Marlborough for the 2011 harvest where she met her now-husband, Matt. Together they founded their premium wine venture, Blank Canvas, in 2013, crafting small-batch wines from exceptional single vineyard sites in Marlborough, Central Otago and the Gimblett Gravels®, Hawkes Bay. Their recently launched consultancy business, Lock, Stock & Barrel, provides comprehensive wine industry consulting services spanning vine to bottle. Sophie ordinarily travels multiple times a year to Europe for work, including for vintage. A zealous advocate of the quality and sub-regional diversity of New Zealand and particularly Marlborough wines, Sophie has also been a New Zealand consultant to the World Atlas of Wine (8th ed.). She also enjoys writing, wine educating and judging.

In addition to the three Tasting Papers (36 wines tasted blind and assessed), and the five Theory Papers, students must submit an original piece of research on a subject of relevance to the wine industry.  Sophie's RP is titled "What is the relationship between the use of sulphur dioxide and biogenic amine levels in wine?"  A subject that is both fascinating and very relevant.