International wine master becomes honorary member of Cape Winemakers Guild

Formidable wine master and the first South African-born chairperson of the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine, Lynne Sheriff, has been awarded honorary membership of the Cape Winemakers Guild at a ceremony in London.

The ceremony was held in recognition of her recent appointment to the Institute of Masters of Wine, recognised as the world’s leading wine education and professional body, and her achievements in promoting the South African wine industry abroad.

Cape Winemakers Guild member Adi Badenhorst presented Sheriff with a crystal wine decanter emblazoned with the CWG emblem at the formal ceremony to acknowledge her exemplary contribution and support of the South African Wine industry throughout her career culminating with her distinguished election as chairperson of the Institute of Masters of Wine.

“Since the inception of the Cape Winemakers Guild in 1982, one of our main aims has been to promote quality South African wines locally and internationally. It is therefore a great honour to make Lynne Sheriff an Honorary Member of the CWG,” says CWG chairman Johan Malan. “As the first South African to be elected chairperson of the renowned Institute of Masters of Wine she is an admirable ambassador for the country and specifically for our wine industry and we wish her a very successful term,” he added.

Originally from Cape Town, this former winemaker and hotel school graduate who trained in Stellenbosch, Germany and France, has considerable international experience to bring to her one-year term as chairperson of the London-based wine institute. Sheriff holds a South African Cape Wine Masters (CWM) qualification as well as the international Master of Wine (MW) qualification and is a former director of the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Academy. She was also one of the first two South Africans to earn her international MW in 1993.

Since the institute initiated inaugural exams in 1953 only 280 Masters of Wine qualifications have been granted, which is an average of less than 5 graduates a year with these credentials.                                                                  

The title is the highest professional endorsement in the wine industry and involves two years of theoretical and practical exams designed to test the knowledge and ability of candidates in the art, science and business of wine. To enrol students must first have an internationally recognised qualification, before submitting extensive proof of their eligibility for the programme.

 The Cape Winemakers Guild comprises some of South Africa’s most respected winemakers whose tireless pursuit of continuous improvement, innovation and the development of young winemakers through its Protégé Programme, has set new standards in winemaking in South Africa.

 Established 28 years ago by eight independent winemakers with the vision to elevate South African winemakers amongst the world’s best in the eyes of international opinion leaders, the CWG represents the pinnacle of South African winemaking today. The CWG is about ability, philosophy, achievement and an ongoing dedication to the production of world-class, quality wines from South Africa. 
                                                              

For more information on the Guild, visit: www.capewinemakersguild.com, email info@capewinemakersguild.com or call Tel: +27 +21-852 0408.