Six women were awarded certificates as Cape Wine Masters on Friday, May 7th - the highest number of new Masters in any year since the inception of the qualification in 1984. They are: Berenice Barker, Heidi Duminy, Margie Fallon, Jenny Ratcliffe, Caroline Snyman and Junel Vermeulen. This brings the membership tally of this select association to 54, including three honorary members. South Africa’s first Cape Wine Masters were Duimpie Bayly, Bennie Howard and Tony Mossop who graduated 20 years ago. While 81% of the membership is South African, other members are based overseas, in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. The gender split is 57% male and 43% female. Last year the Cape Wine and Spirit Education Trust granted the Cape Wine Academy the right to award the Cape Wine Master (CWM) qualification and confer the Cape Wine Master’s title, in collaboration with the Institute of Cape Wine Masters. Berenice Barker has been a wine specialist for NMK Schulz Fine Wines in Johannesburg and then Cape Town since November 2001, representing a portfolio of 17 wine farms. She was once administrator, course co-ordinator and senior lecturer for the Cape Wine Academy and also presented a food and wine radio talk show for two years from 1999-2001, while working for Cellarmaster Wines as wine specialist and trainer. She originally qualified as a gemologist. Heidi Duminy has been part of the Douglas Green Bellingham PR team for six years, providing support to sales and marketing, consulting on wine lists, presenting corporate, public and trade tastings and co-ordinating wine shows. She originally qualified at the Technikon Witwatersrand Hotel School. She is still involved with wine training requirements in the hospitality and related industries and aspires to move into food and wine journalism. Margie Fallon was until recently the wine public relations officer for NMK Schulz in Johannesburg. She has now taken time off for her family (she has a 5-week old baby son as well as a two-year old daughter). Fallon, qualified as a medical technologist and studied Home Economics at Stellenbosch University. She was also previously national sales manager for Zevenwacht. Jenny Ratcliffe, daughter of Warwick Estate’s owners Stan and his winemaker wife Norma Ratcliffe, is currently export manager for Vinimark, which sells the wines of various wineries in more than 25 countries. She worked as assistant wine selector to fellow CWM Allan Mullins of Woolworth’s for two years. She majored in French and political Science at Stellenbosch University and studied wine and cooking at the Cordon Bleu in France for a year. Jenny is currently writing a wine book, which she hopes to release by Christmas. Caroline Snyman has been technical manager: spirits at Distell since January 2000. She entered wine through the academic and scientific route with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1996 and a masters and doctoral degree in Wine Biotechnology. Caroline has written and presented numerous papers for various academic publications and conferences. She is married to Distell winemaker Coenie Snyman. Junel Vermeulen represents De Waal Wines (Uiterwyk Wine Estate) in Gauteng and operates a guesthouse in Henley-on-Klip, where she lives with her family and keeps herself busy studying Italian and French and sugar art when she is not lecturing for the Cape Wine Academy. She graduated from Rand Afrikaans University with BA degree in African languages in 1979. Junel spent several years as a wine advisor for SFW. Between them they speak many languages – English, Afrikaans, French, Italian, German, and various African languages – all in all an extremely competent team of Cape Winemasters! But it is the topics of their task reports that have added depth to research on wine in South Africa, ranging from scientific (Bottle closures in the wine industry - Berenice Barker), to agricultural (Modern ecological wine grape production in South Africa - Heidi Duminy and the Status of Mediterranean grape varieties in the New World - Caroline Snyman). Other topics placed a heavy focus on the Search for a South African candidate for a cult wine - Jenny Ratcliffe, Pinotage and its role in the Cape blend - Junel Vermeulen, and the Influence of supermarkets on retail wine sales - Margie Fallon. Issued by: Jenny McQueen & Associates on behalf of the Institute of Cape Wine Masters/Cape Wine Academy Contact: Bennie Howard Tel: +27 (0) 82 551 5545 Email: bhoward@distell.co.za Jenny McQueen & Associates Contact: Jenny McQueen Tel: +27 (0) 21 439-5063 Email: jenny@mcqueen.co.za