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WSET awards its 2017 winners and graduates at annual ceremony

Published:  23 January, 2018

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) awarded its 2017 winners and graduates last night at its annual Awards & Graduation ceremony in London.

The highest award presented, the coveted Vintner’s Cup and Scholarship, was this year won by an ‘enthusiast’ not working in the drinks industry – German born Moritz Mueller.

As the student who achieved the highest overall mark across the WSET Diploma in his year, Mueller now lives in the UK and studied his WSET Diploma at WSET School London alongside his high-flying job in the world of finance.

He is one of the rare individuals outside of the wine and spirits trade to have won the accolade since WSET started offering courses to consumers in 1991.

Other notable prize winners were Harpers contributor Sarah Jane Evans MW, DipWSET, who was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award, while ex-England rugby player Andrew Sheridan took home The Bibendum-Matthew Clark Prize as a top Diploma graduate looking to start a career in the wine and spirit trade. He also achieved the WSET Diploma.

The Riedel Trophy for the Educator of the Year, awarded to the individual or company that has made significant contribution to the delivery of WSET courses and qualifications, went to Eno Cultura from Brazil, which was set up by Thiago Mendes and Paulo Brammer in 2013 and now runs courses across the country.

Hosted for the first time by new WSET honorary president, Steven Spurrier alongside WSET chief executive, Ian Harris, the event attracted attendance from industry leaders and long-standing WSET supporters, including Marius Berlemann, Laura Jewell MW, Richard Paterson and Jancis Robinson MW.

“Thanks to the hard work of our educators, Approved Programme Providers and the WSET team the academic year 2016/17 marked 15 years of consecutive growth for WSET, with over 85,000 candidates worldwide completing a WSET qualification during the year,” said Harris, adding he hoped the award winners and graduates would inspire others across the world to develop their education.

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