Annual Gerard Basset travel scholarship launches

By Lisa Riley

Published: 05 August, 2019

An annual travel bursary has been created in honour and memory of the late Gerard Basset OBE, MS, MW, MSc (OIV).

Created by Nina and Romané Basset, along with Ronan Sayburn MS and Tim Atkin MW, the Gerard Basset Travel Scholarship will see £5,000 awarded on an annual basis to a UK-based Sommelier to enable them to visit a winemaking country of their choice and explore its regions, winemakers and wine personalities.

The bursary had been created to “ensure Gerard’s legacy lives on”, said Nina Basset.

“Education, mentoring and inspiring young sommeliers was something very dear to him and he always maintained that travelling to the wine regions of the world broadened his mind, his knowledge and wine experiences better than any other form of study ever could. It feels that this scholarship is definitely something he would have approved of wholeheartedly.”

Fifty guests will be invited to purchase a ticket to the inaugural fundraising dinner at 67 Pall Mall in early 2020 and to bring along a wine of their choice to share on the evening.

A”modest percentage” of the ticket price will go towards the food, with 67 Pall Mall sponsoring the other elements of the event. The remainder of the ticket price will be put towards the bursary fund.

Entrants will be invited to submit a written statement of up to 500 words detailing why they are applying for the scholarship, how they plan to spend the money, and how they see it benefiting their future careers.

A judging panel, including Nina, Romané, Sayburn, Atkin and Laura Rhys will then select a short-list of three candidates for interview in order to decide on an eventual winner. The panel will then help with contacts and suggestions to ensure the winner’s eventual trip is ”as rich and comprehensive in content and experiences as possible.”

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