Catey winner Gerard Basset made an OBE in Birthday Honours List
2010 Catey Special Award winner Gerard Basset has been made an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
The world champion sommelier and owner of Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest, has been awarded the accolade for being credited with changing perceptions of wine service while also training and mentoring a generation of young sommeliers.
Commenting on the award, Basset said: "This is a great honour for me; to have my achievements recognised in this way gives me enormous pride. I am indebted to many within the industry for their support, but not least my family who have stood by me as I indulged my ambitions."
Basset was born and raised in France, embarking on a career as a sommelier when he moved to the UK in the 1980s. He quickly established himself within the industry, winning a succession of awards and accolades both in the UK and internationally.
He is the only individual ever to have completed the Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, and MBA (Wine) qualifications, and has represented Great Britain and won every major sommelier award.
A co-founder of Hotel du Vin Group, Basset runs the 11-bedroom boutique wine Hotel TerraVina together with his wife, Nina.
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By Kerstin Kühn
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