2 female wine experts liken themselves to Pinot Noir
By Gao Ceng |
00:00 UTC+8 July 25, 2013
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Master of Wine (MW), a coveted qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom, is the holy grail for some wine professionals. It's the highest title in the wine world, along with equally prestigious Master Sommelier (MS). Both are notoriously difficult to obtain.
Only 304 people from 24 countries and regions today can write MW after their names, and 90 of them are women, according to the institute. The exam is punishing and the passing rate is extremely low: Often one or two a year make the grade. From 1993 to 2000, only 85 of 266 candidates passed the exam.
"It's hard because the institute's mission and vision is striving for excellence in wine education," says Lynne Sherriff, chairman of the institute from 2010 to 2012. She was in town last Friday to chair the China Wine Challenge hosted by Hilton Shanghai.
"Single-minded, determined and focused make a MW," Sherriff says.
There is no Chinese MW so far, but 10 Chinese candidates are now preparing for the exam, including Huang Shan, a leading wine writer based in Beijing, and Fongyee Walker, director of Beijing-based Dragon Phoenix Wine Consultants. Among the 10, two are from Chinese mainland, with the other eight from Hong Kong.
"I believe there will be more Chinese involved but the process is steady and slow. China wasn't open to the West until very recent and language is also a barrier," says Sherriff.
This week, Shanghai Daily interviewed two female MWs, both actively involved in Chinese wine education: Korean Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian MW, and American Debra Meiburg, the first MW in Asia.
Both are based in Hong Kong and received their MW in 2008, and both are active in the China market.
"They share a good number of characteristics: very intelligent, diligent, easy to instruct, focused and goal-oriented. They also brought a business and management strategy for success to the MW program, and then to the world of wine after they passed," says Patrick Farrell, their common mentor, also a MW. Farrell is CEO and president of Inventive Technologies, Inc/BevWizard Co.
Asked how they would describe themselves as a wine, the two female MWs both describe themselves as a glass of Pinot Noir, but interpret it in very different ways.
Meiburg is outgoing, teaching wine in a lively, often funny and memorable way. A writer, she also calls herself a wine "edu-tainer."
Another writer, Lee is very academic, devising a new wine terminology for aromas and flavors involving Asian ingredients that are familiar to new Asian wine tasters.
"Their potential in China is unlimited. They have the knowledge of both wine and the culture to bridge gaps that others may not able to accomplish," says Farrell.
A Chinese wine insider, who declines to be identified, downplays their significance. "They charge very high prices to hold commercial wine seminars to get a piece of pie in the growing Chinese wine market because they are MWs. But their real contribution here is limited," says the wine insider.
Only 304 people from 24 countries and regions today can write MW after their names, and 90 of them are women, according to the institute. The exam is punishing and the passing rate is extremely low: Often one or two a year make the grade. From 1993 to 2000, only 85 of 266 candidates passed the exam.
"It's hard because the institute's mission and vision is striving for excellence in wine education," says Lynne Sherriff, chairman of the institute from 2010 to 2012. She was in town last Friday to chair the China Wine Challenge hosted by Hilton Shanghai.
"Single-minded, determined and focused make a MW," Sherriff says.
There is no Chinese MW so far, but 10 Chinese candidates are now preparing for the exam, including Huang Shan, a leading wine writer based in Beijing, and Fongyee Walker, director of Beijing-based Dragon Phoenix Wine Consultants. Among the 10, two are from Chinese mainland, with the other eight from Hong Kong.
"I believe there will be more Chinese involved but the process is steady and slow. China wasn't open to the West until very recent and language is also a barrier," says Sherriff.
This week, Shanghai Daily interviewed two female MWs, both actively involved in Chinese wine education: Korean Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian MW, and American Debra Meiburg, the first MW in Asia.
Both are based in Hong Kong and received their MW in 2008, and both are active in the China market.
"They share a good number of characteristics: very intelligent, diligent, easy to instruct, focused and goal-oriented. They also brought a business and management strategy for success to the MW program, and then to the world of wine after they passed," says Patrick Farrell, their common mentor, also a MW. Farrell is CEO and president of Inventive Technologies, Inc/BevWizard Co.
Asked how they would describe themselves as a wine, the two female MWs both describe themselves as a glass of Pinot Noir, but interpret it in very different ways.
Meiburg is outgoing, teaching wine in a lively, often funny and memorable way. A writer, she also calls herself a wine "edu-tainer."
Another writer, Lee is very academic, devising a new wine terminology for aromas and flavors involving Asian ingredients that are familiar to new Asian wine tasters.
"Their potential in China is unlimited. They have the knowledge of both wine and the culture to bridge gaps that others may not able to accomplish," says Farrell.
A Chinese wine insider, who declines to be identified, downplays their significance. "They charge very high prices to hold commercial wine seminars to get a piece of pie in the growing Chinese wine market because they are MWs. But their real contribution here is limited," says the wine insider.
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