Congratulations to Andrzej Lipinski, owner/winemaker at Big Head in Niagara, for this remarkable achievement!

The Master Winemakers 2024 Award Ceremony, held at Wine Paris – Vinexpo on Monday 11 February 2024, celebrated the best winemakers of the year, as recognised by the Global Wine Masters, the competitions arm of the leading wine publication the drinks business.

The Master Winemaker 100 report was unveiled during the event. It profiles the year’s 100 best winemakers and individual award winners, carefully selected through a series of competitions spread over the year. Each Global Wine Masters contest focuses on a specific variety, style, or iconic region, ensuring a rigorous approach to identifying the best wines of the year. Entries are tasted blind by a panel of expert judges, mostly composed of Masters of Wine.

Winemaker Chris Carpenter, whose work spans several properties and two continents, was awarded the prestigious title of Master Winemaker of the Year 2024. The headline winner saw two of his wines secure a top medal at the Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2023. This achievement is all the more impressive given that they came from two different estates on two different continents: Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, made in Napa Valley, USA, and Hickinbotham Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, from McLaren Vale, Australia.

Notable winners from unexpected regions included Gilles Besse of Domaine Jean-René Germanier in Switzerland, who received the Best Syrah award, and Andrzej Lipinski of Big Head Wines in Canada, honoured with the prize for Best Chenin Blanc. The Best Malbec was awarded to a French winemaker, Bertrand Gabriel Vigouroux of Crocus Wines and Château de Haute-Serre, while Gérard Bertrand, last year’s Master Winemaker of the Year, secured the title of Best Rosé for its Clos du Temple 2021. Champagne Gardet’s cellar master, Stéphanie Sucheyre, also received recognition as the Best New Entrant to the Masters competition. One of this year’s best find was Arnegui Tempranillo, a Rioja under £10 which led Jairo Fernández, winemaker at Pagos del Rey, to win the Best Value award.

Patrick Schmitt MW, editor of the drinks business and Chair of the Global Wine Masters, presented the awards, and was keen to highlight the hard work of the individuals responsible for making outstanding wines. “Essentially, this guide is designed to shine a light on those talented people who toil deep within the dark environs of the wine cellar,” he stated, introducing the Master Winemakers 2024 report. “It is a way to raise the profile of the people behind brilliant wines – many of whom are personalities that, in our view, don’t receive enough recognition.“

The 2024 guide of The Master Winemaker 100 is now available in print and online for the drinks business subscribers, offering wine enthusiasts and industry professionals an invaluable resource for discovering and appreciating the finest wines of the year.

The full list of winners is below: