The Best of the Best: Introducing the story of The Golden Vines
Celeste performing at The 2023 Golden Vines® Awards Ceremony & Dinner at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy
Welcome to the Golden Vines® series of stories, the first of many in the lead up to our 2023 Awards Ceremony in October 2023 and those in the years to come.
Here, you’ll find information, enlightenment, and maybe even a little education on what we do – operating in the world of world of fine wine and what it really means to qualify as ‘the best of the best’ in an industry known for unfailing standards and historic excellence. We will bring together people who are unparalleled in their fields – from Michelin starred chefs such as Alain Ducasse and Akrame, world-class auctioneers like Sotheby’s, superstar talent, and most importantly: you – for a series of events like no other in the industry and beyond. It is these ‘best of the best’ components which constitute the Golden Vines® suite of initiatives that we will be exploring through our blog stories going forward.
We started Liquid Icons in 2018, with a mission to ‘do stuff’ in the world of fine wine, an area we were passionate about, and to continue our seemingly never-ending education as to what makes a brilliant bottle and people who make them, as well as their stores – to help bring that knowledge to a an audience of both existing as well as future fine wine lovers.
Alongside Lewis Chester (DipWSET) and Sasha Lushnikov, our Co-Founder, Gérard Basset, was known and loved for many things, but wine education and determination were key to his success. He was the only person on the planet to hold an MW and a MS, World Champion Sommelier (at his sixth attempt!), an MBA in Wine, the OIV MSc in Wine Management, as well as numerous other wine qualifications and awards.
Following Gerard’s incredibly sad and untimely death, Lewis, Sasha, his widow Nina and son Romané wanted to find a way to honour Gerard’s magnificent legacy – which is when the Gérard Basset Foundation was born with the humble goal of ‘changing the world’ when it came to wine. It became evident to Lewis, Sasha, Nina and Romané that wine education should be at the forefront of the Foundation’s work. Unfortunately, for many cultural and historical reasons, it has long been the case that the fine wine world is one of the least diverse and inclusive. Hence, it was decided that the Foundation would utilise its funding and relationships for wine education programmes to enhance diversity & inclusion in the wine industry. By doing so, the Foundation would create a lasting and profound impact on the wine industry that Gérard would have been proud to put his name to.
Amongst all the things that Liquid Icons does, it creates and produces The Global Fine Wine Report, named in the honour of Gérard Basset. The Report remains a unique prospect within the industry based on a detailed survey that is completed by leading fine wine professionals globally: Masters of Wine (MW), Master Sommeliers (MS), sommeliers, wine brokers & merchants, wine press and other members of the fine wine industry. It levels the playing field for what constitutes excellence and ensures that we maintain a rigorous process and the highest standards when it comes to a subject that can oftentimes be very subjective.
In the summer of 2020, Lewis and Sasha had an idea of taking the ‘winners in the Report’ and creating the ‘Oscars of Fine Wine’, to be known as The Golden Vines® Awards. These Awards would help elevate the fine wine industry by creating a world-class event that would celebrate the very best from the world of fine wine. At the same time, in order to enhance Gérard’s lasting legacy, Lewis, Sasha, and Nina (Gérard’s widow) agreed to create a charity in Gerard’s name: the Gérard Basset Foundation (the Foundation). The Golden Vines Awards would be run as a not-for-profit, with all profits from the event and related charity auctions going to the Foundation to help them pursue their work in encouraging diversity and inclusivity in wine, which will ultimately make for a better, more robust and more interesting industry. After all, a bottle of great wine is a product of the many hands that helped produce it as it is its terroir and heritage.
With previous Awards held in London and Florence in 2021 and 2022 respectively, our next show will take place in Paris – a place that has long been a bastion of beauty, refinement, and taste. It is where the best come to learn their craft and take it out into the world, and as such, we couldn’t think of a more fitting location to host the movers, shakers and tastemakers of the wine world. Here, we will mark true excellence in the field, continue the work of Gérard in spotting and helping to grow the upcoming talent in the industry, as well as have a really fantastic party, catered for by Michelin-starred chefs in stunning surroundings! Once again, it will be a coming together unlike no other.
As the date approaches, we’ll be taking you behind-the-scenes, spotlighting the talent involved and celebrating an industry we all love so deeply.
To learn more about the Golden Vines® Awards and the Gérard Basset Foundation, please visit: https://liquidicons.com/work/golden-vines-awards and https://gerardbassetfoundation.org
Santé!