MW Perspectives - MW Perspectives - GuildSomm International

MW Perspectives

These essays are written by Masters of Wine. They are intended as a resource for those pursuing WSET qualifications and the MW study program, as well as anyone interested in these programs or the varied topics covered. The essays are the opinions of the authors, shared by GuildSomm for educational purposes, and do not adhere to specific standards from any certifying or educational body.

AI in Wine Education: Help or Hindrance?

Anne McHale

From Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics, penned in the 1940s, to the dystopian Terminator movies, the first of which was released in the 1980s, hype and panic over artificial intelligence (AI) are nothing new. Yet this can be easy to forget ...
- Sep 5, 2024
How Production Methods Influence Fortified Wines

Demetri Walters MW

Using examples from around the world, assess how fortified wine styles are influenced by their production methods. A fortified wine has had distilled grape spirit added to it before, during, or after alcoholic fermentation. Historically, grape spirit...
- Jan 5, 2024
McLaren Vale’s Grenache Renaissance

Andrea Pritzker MW

How has the perception of Grenache changed in McLaren Vale? What is driving this change? High up in the picturesque Blewitt Springs subregion of McLaren Vale GI, South Australia, stately old bush vines stand sentinel. Small and gnarled, some are over...
- May 26, 2023
Hungarian Wine Regions in the Shadows

Caroline Gilby

Ask anyone outside Hungary about the country’s wine, and Tokaji and Bikavér (the blend also known as Bull’s Blood) will be top of mind. Furmint may get a mention thanks to the multiyear Furmint February program that has done so muc...
- Dec 16, 2022
Australia’s Wine Identity

Annette Lacey

How has the Australian wine industry developed its identity over recent decades? The Australian wine industry has undergone a great amount of change in a short amount of time. In the 1960s, Australia was a fortified-focused nation; fast-forward ...
- Aug 12, 2022
A Cultural Exploration of Wine in China

Gus Zhu MW

What are the key factors that shaped the current landscape of the production and sale of wine in mainland China? An exploration of local culture can illuminate how a country’s wine industry took shape and inform an understanding of its current ...
- Jul 6, 2022
Making Bulk Wine for Export

Rob MacCulloch

What are the key factors a winemaker needs to address when producing bulk wine and preparing it for export? Exporting wine in bulk has been one of the growth areas of the wine industry in the past two decades. While bulk wine can be traded and transp...
- Jun 17, 2022
Cabernet Sauvignon in Stellenbosch

Cathy van Zyl MW

What makes Stellenbosch a favorable location for growing Cabernet Sauvignon? A late-budding, late-ripening variety, Cabernet Sauvignon needs warmth to ripen. In Bordeaux, it’s the gravel that plays a major role coaxing the grape to ripeness, wa...
- May 13, 2022
Study Strategies: Evaluating Wine Quality

Natasha Hughes MW

For more than one reason, my first-ever IMW trip, taken in 2015, a year after I graduated as a Master of Wine, came as quite a shock. The first was the sheer bewildering pace of the thing: eight days, three Australian states, 11 wine regions, and God...
- Apr 8, 2022
Viticulture in Great Britain

Stephen Skelton MW

What are the main challenges facing growers in Great Britain? Grapevines are not native to the British Isles, and there are no wild examples. It is claimed that the Romans introduced them, although the archaeological evidence for this is almost non-e...
- Mar 11, 2022
Research Paper: Wine Retailers & Packaging

Melissa Saunders MW

The challenges associated with the Research Paper, Stage Three of the Master of Wine Examination, are often underestimated. I have an undergraduate degree in English literature as well as a law degree. I thought my background would have better prepar...
- Jul 30, 2021
Science vs. Romance in Wine

Susan R Lin MW

Has science taken away the romance of wine? Wine, as a product and as a societal and cultural force, comprises both the scientific and the romantic. It is a substance that is defined by science in that it can be broken down into its biological and ch...
- Jun 11, 2021
Comparing Global Marselan Styles

Elizabeth Gabay

Marselan has increasingly appeared around the world over the past 20 years. Compare and contrast global Marselan styles. How are regional styles developing? In just 30 years, Marselan has progressed from commercial introduction to holding a minor rol...
- May 14, 2021
Canopy Management in Napa & the Finger Lakes

Nova Cadamatre MW

The United States has many diverse wine regions spread across the country. California’s Napa Valley and the Finger Lakes of New York are on the extremes in terms of climate. How would a vineyard manager handle the differences when looking at ca...
- Mar 31, 2021
Research Paper: The Rise of Napa Cabernet

Ashley Hausman MW

Like so many before me, I had no idea the ways in which Stage Three of the Master of Wine examination, otherwise known as the Research Paper (RP), would challenge me. It was, without a doubt, one of the greatest obstacles in the MW process. I must ha...
- Feb 12, 2021
The Relevance of Biodynamics

Beverley Blanning MW

How relevant is biodynamic viticulture in today’s wine world? “Biodynamic grape growing develops the vineyard’s greatest potential—allowing the vineyard to be the best it can be—and then captures that distincti...
- Jan 15, 2021
Understanding Dry White Bordeaux

Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW

White Bordeaux can be a bit of an enigma. With these often-overlooked wines, the question is how to establish their place in today’s wine world. Looking at the history of Bordeaux’s dry white wines and their evolution over the past 30 yea...
- Oct 9, 2020
Worker Availability in Romania & Hungary

Caroline Gilby

Growing grapes for wine has traditionally relied heavily on hand labor. Finding people to work in the vineyards is an increasing concern for wineries. Taking Hungary and Romania as examples, how serious is the problem of worker availability and what ...
- Jul 30, 2020
Research Paper: Whole-Cluster Fermentation in the Côte d’Or

Robin Kick

The MW Dissertation (now MW Research Paper) is the final step in the testing trilogy of the Master of Wine exam. In the beginning, I thought it might be the easiest part because I was able to choose the subject, but I ultimately found it the most cha...
- Jun 18, 2020
Study Strategies: Mastering a Wine Region

Mary Margaret McCamic MW

Passing the Master of Wine exam requires in-depth, detailed knowledge of the world’s most important wine regions. While knowing everything about any region is impossible, even for regional experts, students must strive to reach the constantly m...
- May 1, 2020
Benefits of Ambient Yeasts

Ashley Hausman MW

What are some benefits of choosing ambient yeasts for primary alcoholic fermentation, and how are challenges best managed? For most of wine’s history, fermentations were carried out by ambient yeasts: those found in the vineyard, the air, and t...
- Jan 31, 2020
The Role of pH in Winemaking

Gus Zhu MW

Discuss the role of pH in winemaking. The pH of grape juice and wine plays a critical role in winemaking. pH influences microbiological stability, affects the equilibrium of tartrate salts, determines the effectiveness of sulfur dioxide and enzyme ad...
- Jan 9, 2020
Flagship Grapes in Central & Eastern Europe

Caroline Gilby

Do the emerging wine regions of Central & Eastern Europe need flagship native grapes? The region of Central and Eastern Europe is a treasure trove of native grape varieties that most drinkers have never heard of. Winemakers are paying increa...
- Dec 6, 2019
The Next Big Thing for Greek Wine

Yiannis Karakasis MW

What will be the next big thing in Greek wine after Santorini? Over the last decade, Assyrtiko from Santorini has gained great acclaim in the world of wine, and this has contributed significantly to the fame Greece has acquired as an emerging wine co...
- Oct 11, 2019
Methods for Influencing Alcohol Levels in Wine

Rebecca Gibb

How can a winemaker influence the final alcohol level of a wine, and why might this be required? There are many ways a winemaker can influence the final alcohol of wine before fermentation, during fermentation, and after fermentation. This essay will...
- Aug 23, 2019