9 JANUARY 2022 | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – The Wine Owners Golden Vines® Off-Trade Startup Scholarship will support the learning and business management platform operating costs of an entrepreneur with a dream – and a plan – to start a wine merchant, retailer, wine importer or distributor. Alternatively, the judges will consider an entrepreneur who has recently started trading (up to 12 months before the launch of the Scholarship).
The scholarship will comprise a 3-month paid internship with Lay & Wheeler, one of England’s oldest fine wine merchants, during which the Scholar will be exposed to all aspects of the business, from warehousing and logistics through to sales and marketing. The Scholar will also be assigned a mentor from the Lay & Wheeler management team.
Once the Scholar has successfully completed this internship, they will next complete a 1-month paid internship with IG Wines, who will provide them with hands-on experience using Wine Owners’ Wine Hub, providing invaluable training to seamlessly apply the software into their own business.
Following completion of these internships, the Scholar will receive Wine Owner’s Hub Pro plus integrated e-commerce free for 1 year. This will give the Scholar a decisive edge in setting up their business. During the course of their first year of operations, the Scholar will benefit from mentorship by Wine Owners senior leadership team.
The Judging Panel will comprise Nick Martin representing Wine Owners, Katy Keating representing Lay & Wheeler, Magnavai Janjo of MJ Wine Cellars and Sasha Lushnikov representing Liquid Icons & the Gérard Basset Foundation. Applicants can apply from 9th January 2023 until 6th March at: https://liquidicons.com/
Nick Martin, the Founder of Wine Owners, commented: “We feel privileged to be able to sponsor a diversity scholarship award for a qualifying, dynamic individual with a well thought through plan who may have been looking to start up their own wine company for some time, but have found access to capital and business support to be limited. Having worked with many wine startups over the last couple of years, we are attuned to their needs and the factors that underpin success. We’ll make sure the award winner gets exactly what they need in terms of technology, support and mentorship to establish and grow a brilliant wine business, which this scholarship award will make possible”.
About Wine Owners
Wine Owners is a wine technology company. We make software that’s shaping the future of the wine industry. We believe that by supporting best working practices, bringing together informative and educational content with efficient management of operations, we become the platform upon which more people connect with wine.As a result of collaborating with scores of talented people who all want to build better businesses, the Wine Hub is the only software as a service wine business management platform designed and shaped by the industry for the industry, that connects retail and distribution channels with their addressable markets.
About Lay & Wheeler
Lay & Wheeler is one of England’s oldest fine wine merchants, founded in 1854. Since returning to private family ownership in 2019, the business has been investing in its range of wines and its service to fulfil its mission of connecting the right people with the right wines. With a buying team of four, including two Masters of Wine, Lay & Wheeler specialises in Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne, as well as Italy, Rhone, Loire and South Africa. The merchant is expanding to the wines of California, Germany, Spain and Australia and New Zealand, as well as investment-grade spirits, and recently released its own collection of wines.
About IG Wines
Founded in 2011, IG Wines are an industry-leading London and New York based fine wine merchant and broker. The business focus is simple; give clients access to the world’s best wines to drink, collect and make returns, while offering ultra-personalised account management and in-depth market analysis from an expert team.
About Gérard Basset Foundation
Set up to honour the legacy and memory of Gérard Basset OBE MS MW by addressing the wine industry’s most pressing issues through education, training & mentorship, the Gérard Basset Foundation comprises a multidisciplinary team of industry-leading professionals: Nina Basset FIH, Romané Basset, Lewis Chester DipWSET, Ian Harris MBE DipWSET, Sasha Lushnikov, Jancis Robinson OBE MW. https://
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 Gérard Basset OBE MS MW 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.
