Four new masters of wine

The four new passes are Alastair Maling of International Wine Services, wine consultants Jane Boyce and Norrel Robertson and wine educator Dr Ron Georgiou. Three further candidates, Tim Atkin of The Observer and Harpers, wine consultant Beverley Blanning and Giles Cooke of Alliance Wine Company, passed both parts of the exam at the first attempt but, under rules introduced this year, cannot be admitted to the Institute until they have submitted and passed the dissertation. A total of 58 candidates sat the exam in London, San Francisco and Sydney this year, compared with 69 in 1999. Norman Woollard, education officer, said that the Institute was "pleased that the success rate had increased to 13%", but would like to see as many as 20 or 30% passing in future. "We are encouraged by the figures," he told Harpers. One area of concern for the institute is the low pass rate in America. Of the 14 candidates who sat the exam in San Francisco, only David Andrew of Costco achieved a half pass. Five other candidates - three in London (Marina Gayan, Colin Gent and Meg Brodtman) and two in Australia (Sharon Wild and Michael Bynon) - passed either the practical or theory papers.