Industry professionals and wine enthusiasts will gather on 14-17 October to support the glamour charity galas and award ceremony
Monday 5th September: The Golden Vines® Awards will return this October (14th-17th) in Florence, Italy following the award’s successful launch last year at Annabel’s, London. The Golden Vines® Awards is one of the industry’s most prestigious charity auctions, celebrating the world’s best fine wine and their craft with Michelin Star Chefs, VIP entertainment and the world’s finest wines and rare spirits to support diversity and inclusion in the fine wine, rare spirits and hospitality industry. Tickets to this exclusive event are now available to purchase online starting from £6,000 per ticket.
The awards were created by Lewis Chester DipWSET and the Liquid Icons team to honour the legacy of Chester’s great friend and business partner, Gérard Basset OBE MW MS, who passed away in January 2019 from cancer. When Gérard discovered that he had terminal cancer, the need to create something lasting and emphatic that would help create a lasting legacy for Gérard’s incredible achievements became a singular goal for the company.
In 2020, following the newly named ‘Gérard Basset Global Fine Wine Report’ results, which follow an annual survey completed by leading fine wine professionals globally, Chester decided to take the winners in the report to create The Golden Vines® Awards, celebrating the best in the industry. The awards now run as a not-for-profit event with all proceeds going to the Gérard Basset Foundation.
This year, celebrations begin on Saturday 15th October with the ‘Dress to Party’ Gala Dinner, where guests will enjoy dishes from Davide Oldani, owner of two Michelin star restaurant D’O, near Milan and Matteo Lorenzini, Executive Chef of Osteria di Passignano, Tuscany. Legendary singer, Alessandro Ristori & The Portofino’s will be taking to the stage for the evening.
Following this, the awards ceremony will take place on the 16th of October in the spectacular setting of the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. The phenomenal three-Michelin-star Chef will create the gala dinner, Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy which has been listed in the top 5 at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards since 2010.
The dinner will be paired with some of the finest and rarest wines in the world including, Dom Pérignon Rosé 2008, Dom Pérignon P2 2004, Krug Grande Cuvée, Krug Vintage, Dom Ruinart, Trimbach Clos Sainte Hune 2012, Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2004, Château Cheval Blanc 2005 in magnum, Solaia, Château d’Yquem, Taylor’s Port 1970 in magnum, Marc Almert, The 2019 ASI Best Sommelier of the World as well as the 2020 Michelin Sommelier of the Year.
The evening will include live music from a lineup of major international artists, soon to be announced. British artist, Shantell Martin will be the creative lead for the Trophy design again this year working alongside Amorim Cork, the world’s largest supplier of wine stoppers and a special Italian guest artist.
In addition to the dinner, the other important moment will be the auction of 100 lots, including bottles (large formats and old vintages of some of the world’s largest wine brands) and experiences (exclusive tastings and stays in Chateaux and historic cellars). The goal is to raise over £1.2 million, to finance wine education programs related to diversity and involvement, such as Taylor’s Port Golden Vines® Diversity Scholarship, Internship & Mentorship Programs, Dom Pérignon Golden Vines® Master of Wine & Master Sommelier Scholarships, Hennessy Golden Vines® Diversity Scholarship in Spirits, and other scholarships for education programs, curated by Golden Vines®.
Early this Summer, Liquid Icons announced four winners of the Dom Pérignon Golden Vines® Master of Wine & Master Sommelier Scholarships and 10 Wine Scholar Guild Golden Vines® Scholarships after 47 applicants entered from 18 different countries comprising more than 20 different nationalities and ethnicities with more than half of all applicants being female.
For a chance to have a seat at the table this year, tickets are on sale from £6,000, including one place at the main gala evenings on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th. VIP tickets are available for £10,000 per ticket including a seat for the main gala evenings on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th as well as the first choice of the VIP events across the weekend, Saturday 15th – Monday 17th October.
Following 2022, The Golden Vine Awards has an impressive lineup of host cities, including Paris in 2023, New York in 2024, Singapore in 2025 and Madrid in 2026.
To find out more and purchase tickets, please visit Liquid Icons website at: https://liquidicons.com/work/golden-vines-awards
About the Geìrard Basset Foundation
Set up to honour the legacy and memory of Geìrard Basset OBE MW MS by addressing the wine industry’s most pressing issues through education, training & mentorship, the Geìrard Basset Foundation comprises a multidisciplinary team of industry-leading professionals as its Trustees: Nina Basset FIH, Romaneì Basset, Ian Harris MBE DipWSET, and Jancis Robinson OBE MW. https://gerardbassetfoundation.org
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 Geìrard 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. https://liquidicons.com
