Designed by Shantell Martin and made by silversmiths Grant Macdonald and Amorim Cork in presentation case by Tonnellerie Cavin
19 JULY 2021 | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Liquid Icons – the fine wine research and content production company founded by the late, great Gerard Basset OBE MW MS and his friend Lewis Chester DipWSET – are delighted to announce that Shantell Martin, the renowned London-born, New York-based artist known for her large scale black-and-white drawings, has designed the artwork for The Golden Vines Awards Trophy.
Shantell Martin is one of the most groundbreaking young artists working today and is known for her exploration into the vast potential of the drawn line. Using an ink marker, she creates small personal sketches, large-scale murals, live drawings, and collaborations with artists and institutions including Kendrick Lamar, the New York City Ballet, Tiffany & Co, Adidas and Puma. She has exhibited at the Albright
Knox Art Gallery, The New Britain Museum of American Art, Denver Art Museum, The Museum of Moving Image, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and MoMA.
In association with The Birley Clubs, the not-for-profit Golden Vines Award Ceremony, Dinner & After-Party will be held at Annabel’s, London’s pre-eminent private members’ club, on 7th October 2021.
The Golden Vines Awards event will recognise the ‘star performers of the fine wine industry’ and raise funds for The Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation with the objective of funding diversity and inclusion-related wine education programmes globally, including the headline Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship, Internship & Mentorship Programmes, which has seen 42 BAME/BIPOC students from 23 different countries apply for two scholarships worth £55,000 each.
The Golden Vines Awards will be awarded to the world’s best fine wine producers as voted by leading members of the global fine wine industry in the Gerard Basset Global Fine Wine Report produced by Liquid Icons. 442 leading fine wine professionals from 55 countries votes for The Golden Vines Awards, including 57 Masters of Wine, 31 Master Sommeliers, 197 sommeliers, 133 fine wine merchants, 93 fine wine distributors, 80 members of the fine wine press, 57 fine wine brokers and 15 auction house professionals.
The Oeno Golden Vines Honorary Award was awarded posthumously to wine legend Steven Spurrier at The Macallan Golden Vines Dinner on 6th July, with the trophy being presented to Bella Spurrier, Steven’s widow, by Jane MacQuitty, The Times Wine Critic.
The Golden Vines Award Categories, independently adjudicated by Deloitte LLP, are:
- The SGC Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in Europe Award
- The Gucci Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Americas Award
- The VistaJet Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Rest of the World (Australasia, Africa, Asia & Middle East) Award
- The Rolls-Royce Golden Vines World’s Best Fine Wine Producer Award
- The Virgin Galactic Golden Vines World’s Best Rising Star Award
- The Julius Baer Golden Vines Innovation Award
- The Macallan Golden Vines Hall of Fame Award – awarded to a living individual for extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the production of fine wine, or for outstanding service to the world of fine wine
Every Award Winner will be given The Golden Vines® Award Trophy. Developed by Liquid Icons in a truly collaborative manner, Amorim Cork, the world’s largest supplier of wine stoppers, is the sponsor of the Trophy, producing the cork section of a Champagne stopper-shaped Trophy design and sponsoring Shantell Martin’s artwork used to illustrate on the cork. Aline Nienaber – French raised in South Africa, who is the London-based founder of Hill and Sky – is the creative director and designer for the Trophy. The silverwork for the Trophy was produced and sponsored by London-based Grant Macdonald, silversmiths and Royal Warrant holders. Grant Macdonald are silversmiths and goldsmiths to HRH The Prince of Wales, and renowned as one of the world’s greatest makers of objects, clocks and trophies. The presentation case will be made by Burgundy barrel makers, Tonnellerie Cavin. The Trophy and presentation case have been designed as the iconic emblem of The Golden Vines® Awards.
Lewis Chester DipWSET, on behalf of The Golden Vines® organiser, Liquid Icons, and Trustee of The Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation, commented: “We are delighted that such a talented artist as Shantell Martin agreed to design the artwork for The Golden Vines® Trophy. Shantell is one of the leading talents of her generation, and as a woman of colour embodies our efforts to bring diversity and inclusivity to the world of wine. We also want to thank Amorim for their generosity and integral involvement in the Trophy design and production, along with Aline Nienabar’s creative design and Grant Macdonald’s extraordinary skill in the gold and silverwork component of the design, both of whom are providing sponsorship for the Foundation’s diversity and inclusivity charitable work in the world of wine. This has truly been a collaborative effort across a range of different skill sets and we hope the Trophy will become emblematic for the very best that fine wine has to offer. I am also delighted that my friend, Pierre Cavin, of Tonnellerie Cavin in Burgundy, has agreed to make the presentation case, designed as a miniature wine barrel, where the Trophy will be housed.”
Shantell Martin added: “When the team at Liquid Icons approached me for this project, I couldn’t turn it down. To support their efforts to bring diversity and inclusivity to an industry so obviously lacking, while honoring and celebrating the best fine wine producers globally, was a unique opportunity for any artist. At the same time, I have never worked with cork before, and it has been fascinating to work with this incredible sustainable natural material.”
George Macdonald, Managing Director of Grant Macdonald stated: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Grant Macdonald to work alongside the artwork of Shantell Martin and the craftsmanship of Amorim cork. With the charity in mind, we felt like this was a great fit for us and an opportunity to show the world of fine wine just what we are capable of.”
Antonio Amorim, Chairman & CEO of Amorim Cork commented: “We are so excited to be involved in producing this incredible Trophy and elevate, not only sustainable natural cork as a design material, but also the fine wine industry through The Golden Vines Awards, which we have been so interconnected with for over one hundred and fifty years, as the leading producer of quality cork stoppers.”
Aline Nienaber, Creative Director of Hill and Sky: “I am delighted to be designing the first ever trophy and branding, including the logo for The Golden Vines Awards, celebrating and promoting inclusivity and diversity in the wine industry and helping to define the unique identity of this prestigious event. Both the trophy and logo reference the inspiring illustration work of Shantell Martin and herald an exciting new chapter in a future-facing winemaking world.”
Pierre Cavin, the owner of Tonnellerie Cavin, added: “We are proud to be involved in collaborating on what will be the most iconic symbol of excellence in the fine wine industry by bringing our skills, as high-quality wine barrel makers, to create the ideal presentation case for the Trophy, symbolic in the making of fine wine.”
About Liquid Icons:
Liquid Icons is a fine wine research and content production company founded by two friends to “do stuff in wine” – the late, great Gerard Basset OBE MW MS and Lewis Chester DipWSET. We create first-class original content and research about the world’s greatest fine wines and spirits. Our work encompasses motion picture, industry research, recognition and celebration of wine and spirits excellence, charitable and fundraising activities, as well as educational initiatives.
About The Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation:
Set up to honour the legacy and memory of Gerard Basset OBE MW MS by addressing the wine industry’s most pressing issues through education, training & mentorship, the Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation comprises a multidisciplinary team of industry-leading professionals as its Trustees: Nina Basset FIH, Romané Basset, Lewis Chester DipWSET, Ian Harris MBE DipWSET, and Jancis Robinson OBE MW.
https://gerardbassetfoundation.org
About Amorim Cork:
Corticeira Amorim is the world’s largest natural cork processing group. Founded in 1870, the company currently has dozens of business units distributed across five continents. It exports numerous products and applications to more than 100 countries and has a diversified network of 27,000 customers. With strong sustainability credentials and a negative carbon footprint, Amorim provides a set of solutions and materials to some of the world’s most technological, disruptive and demanding activities, such as the aerospace, automobile, construction, sports, energy, interior design and the wine and spirits industries. The company annually invests some 8.5 million euros in R & D + I, generates 93% of its sales outside Portugal and employs more than 4,400 employees. Corticeira Amorim’s mission is to add value to cork in a competitive, differentiated and innovative manner, in perfect harmony with Nature. In 2020, the company recorded €740 million in consolidated sales, which included sales of more than 5.3 billion stoppers for wine, Champagne and spirits.
About Shantell Martin
Below the surface of Shantell Martin’s signature black and white drawings is an artists’ inquiry into the role of artist and viewer, where a work of art is more than an object of admiration disconnected from its inception. With a meditative process defined by an uninhibited flow, her compositions embody her internal state and the impermanence of the world around her. Exploring themes such as intersectionality, identity and play, Martin is a cultural facilitator, forging new connections between fine art, education, design, philosophy and technology. In addition to prestigious solo shows at some of the most renowned art institutions including the 92Y Gallery in New York City, the iconic Albright Knox Gallery and the MoCADA Museum, Martin has carved a path for herself that is as much intellectual as a producer and visual artist. During her two year tenure as an MIT Media Lab Visiting Scholar, Martin collaborated with the social computing group to use drawing as a medium to explore the interaction of social processes with physical spaces. At the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, Martin created a large-scale wall installation and worked with the Institute’s research group to explore how visual and computerized storytelling might influence media and technology innovation. A fashion and design icon in her own right, Martin has collaborated with iconic brands such as Nike, Vitra, Max Mara, Tiffany & Co., and in 2018, Puma launched a global capsule collection featuring her drawings. Martin has collaborated with legendary artists such as Pulitzer Prize-winning performance artist Kendrick Lamar and acclaimed designer Kelly Wearstler. In late 2018, she was asked to collaborate with the prestigious New York City Ballet, where she created large scale drawings in the performance hall and foyer of the Lincoln Center for the company’s celebrated Art Series. She continues to teach as an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program), where she works with her students to push the boundaries of storytelling, visual art, and technology.
About Grant Macdonald:
Grant Macdonald have been designing and making silver and gold commissions and collections for clients around the globe for over 50 years. Providing inspiring designs, master craftsmanship and unmistakable London Quality. Their philosophy is that of luxury and legacy, of creating fine workmanship steeped in heritage and designed by innovation. We believe fine precious metals should never be simply admired, but used and cherished by today’s owners, and generations to come.
About Tonnellerie Cavin:
Tonnellerie Cavin is a premium cooperage based in the heart of Burgundy. Pierre Cavin, relative to the noted Henri Jayer (the “Master of Pinot Noir” and famous for its Cros Parantoux) is at the head of the dynamic Tonnellerie Cavin. The cooperage produces 100% French manufactured barrels and is specialised in the production of Terroir barrels. Raw materials are carefully selected in France, with a great focus on the Châtillonnais forest in Burgundy, where oak trees grow on very poor limestone soils and produce an extra tight grain. Famous winemakers from Burgundy trusted in Tonnellerie Cavin since the beginning and today Cavin closely cooperates with premium wineries in France and abroad.
About Aline Nienaber, Hill & Sky:
Hill and Sky is an award-winning design agency which specialises in branding and creative strategy for clients in the wine and drinks industry, including Pernod Ricard, Chivas Regal, Club Oenologique, IWSC, Wines of South Africa, Platter’s Wine Guide, KWV, Distell, Prowein and the London Wine Trade Fair. The agency has a particular focus on sustainability.
