MASTER OF WINE


INSTITUTE OF MASTERS OF WINE

Philip Tuck MW, Chairman of the Educations Committee, Member of the MW golf and cricket teams and Wine Director of Hatch Mansfield gives us the insight into the Institute of Masters of Wine.

The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) conjures up all sorts of images amongst those who know little or nothing about it; an exclusive club with limited (male) membership populated by stuffy retired octogenarians interested only in long lunches in expensive city restaurants. In reality however, nothing could be further from the truth. Today the Institute is rightly regarded as the seat of the highest level of educational achievement for the wine industry. Its membership spans the globe and all aspects of the trade are represented within it - buyers, journalists, winemakers, importers, sommeliers and consultants. Whoever they are, you can be sure they are proud of those coveted two letters for which they have all worked so hard to earn the right to use, having passed the rigorous exams and signed the Code of Conduct to become a Master of Wine – MW.

In the Middle Ages many Trade Guilds took it upon themselves to undertake the responsibility of training novices in the art of their particular trade. The custom was to bring on young apprentices with the eventual aim of becoming “Masters” of their trade. Many of the professional institutes in the City of London owe their origin to those ancient trade guilds and the IMW is no exception. In the early 1950s the Worshipful Company of Vintners, in collaboration with the UK Wine & Spirit Association, introduced the Master of Wine Examination, with the intention of offering a professional qualification of the highest standard of wine education to those men and women actively involved in the wine trade. Six of the 21 candidates were successful in reaching the required standard in the initial exam in 1953. This consisted of five written theory papers across a broad range of subjects to include Cultivation of the Vine and Customs and Excise Regulations. There were also three practical papers in the form of blind tastings, although I doubt somehow if there was much Chilean Merlot or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc amongst the wines tasted!

Educational Programme
Examination
People
Activities of the Institute