Global Epicureans and Stars of the Fine Wine, Spirits & Luxury World Attend 2023 Golden Vines 3-Day Fine Dining and Wines Experience in Paris

This weekend saw a sensational gathering of global epicureans, famous faces and protagonists from the world’s most acclaimed wine, spirits and luxury brands at the beautiful Opéra Garnier for the 2023 Golden Vines Awards Ceremony & Dinner.

Marking the finale of this year’s Golden Vines 3-Day Fine Dining and Wines Experience from 13 – 15 October which also featured a charity gala at Les Pavillons De Bercy on Friday hosted by Ronan and Storm Keating in benefit of the Gérard Basset Foundation, the ‘Oscars-style’ 2023 Golden Vines Awards Ceremony & Dinner recognised the ‘star performers of the fine wine & spirits industry.

French TV presenter Raphaële Marchal hosted the awards evening organised by Liquid Icons, the fine wine research and content production company founded by fine wines & spirits collector Lewis Chester, Sasha Lushnikov and the late, great sommelier Gérard Basset OBE MW MS.

Guests including American singer Melody Gardot and English actress Charlotte Carrol were treated to culinary creations from three Michelin-star chef Alain Ducasse and two Michelin-star Akrame Benallal paired with exceptional wines including 2009 Dom Pérignon Rosé, 2004 Dom Pérignon P2, 2015 Château d’Yquem, 2013 Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Echézeaux Grand Cru, 2007 Liber Pater, 2006 Istvan Szepsy 6-Puttonyos and an exclusive blend of old Camus Cognac.

Headline entertainment was provided by Rising Star – having supported both Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran on their recent tours – and three-time BRIT nominee Cat Burns; as well as acclaimed French chanteuse Louane.

This year, three nominees became All-Star Winners in their category, having won the Award for the third time in 3 years: Domaine de la Romanée Conti for The 2023 Robb Report Golden Vines World’s Best Producer Award (2021 | 2022 | 2023); Ridge Vineyards for The 2023 Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Americas Award (2021 | 2022 | 2023); and Penfolds for The 2023 Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Rest of the World Award (2021 | 2022 | 2023). Winners of other categories awarded were: Weingut Egon Müller of Germany for The 2023 Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in Europe Award; The Sadie Family Wines of South Africa for The 2023 VistaJet Golden Vines World’s Best Rising Star Award; Emidio Pepe of Italy for The 2023 Gucci Golden Vines Sustainability Award; University of California Davis Department of Viticulture & Enology for The 2023 Casa Ferreirinha Golden Vines Innovation Award; and The Macallan for the newly inaugurated 2023 Golden Vines World Best Rare Spirit Brand Award. Finally, The 2023 Golden Vines Hall of Fame Award was awarded to the legendary Jancis Robinson OBE MW for her services to the wine industry.

Close to 1,000 fine wine professionals from 120 countries voted for this year’s Awards, including 27 Masters of Wines, 22 Master Sommeliers, over 180 winemakers, wine press, wine merchants and Michelin-star sommeliers with an average experience of 15 years in the industry. The results were independently verified by Deloitte LLP, in accordance with the voting rules published on Liquid Icons website.

“We are absolutely delighted to recognise such an extraordinary calibre of fine wines and spirit, their producers, protagonists and industry supporters with The 2023 Golden Vines Awards,” comments Lewis Chester DipWEST, Co-Founder and CEO of Liquid Icons, the fine wine research and content production company founded by Lewis and his friend, the late, great Gérard Basset OBE MW MS.

Each winner received a trophy, housed in a specially-created and produced trunk by Golden Vines sponsor Gucci, designed by British visual artist and Golden Vines Creative Director Shantell Martin and crafted by Amorim Cork featuring 2023 commissioned artwork by French artist Jonathan Bréchignac.

As a formal handover at the end of the dinner, Alain Ducasse and Akrame Benellal presented the Golden Vines Baton to Spanish 3-Michelin Star chef Joan Roca who will be curating the gastronomic menu at the 2024 Golden Vines Awards in Madrid.

The previous night’s ‘Dress To Party’ Charity Gala at saw the presentation of awards of a different kind – this time for diversity and inclusivity scholarships. Sachindri Rana from New Zealand, Eduardo Bolaños from United States and Amrita Singh from Canada were officially awarded their 2023 Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships worth £55,000 each. Arpine Manukyan from Armenia also received her 2023 Dom Pérignon Golden Vines MW Scholarship including an incredible 4-week paid internship at the Maison working alongside the winemaking team and an educational grant to undertake their Master of Wine (MW) qualification. Also during the evening, a Sotheby’s Live Auction featuring money-can’t buy luxury experience lots took place in benefit of the Gérard Basset Foundation with the aim of financing further diversity and inclusion-related education programmes in wine, spirits & hospitality.

In addition, the 3-Day Fine Dining and Wines Experience offered attendees a varied itinerary to attend a series of fine wine and spirits masterclasses, tastings, paired wine lunches and La Paulée dining moments in exceptional locations, alongside Ruinart and Dom Pérignon Maison private visits.

The waiting list to purchase tickets for The 2024 Golden Vines 3-Day Fine Dining and Wines Experience in Madrid, Spain from 25-27 October 2024 is open now – https://liquidicons.com/the-2024-golden-vines-awards-in-madrid-spain-waiting-list