The award was presented at Vinexposium's V d'Or awards ceremony by Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) executive director, Sarah Harrison, the drinks business editor-in-chief, Patrick Schmitt MW, and pop star and creative director of Kylie Minogue Wines, Kylie Minogue.
The award acknowledges the substantial contribution of an individual to the global wine community, and recognises vision, determination and innovation. All recipients are considered not only to be successful in themselves, but to have materially contributed to the advancement of the world of wine. On presenting the award, Kylie acknowledged Andrew Jefford as a personal inspiration and an incredible icon of the wine industry.
Jefford is an award-winning journalist, poet and internationally respected wine writer renowned for his insightful exploration of terroir and wine culture.
He grew up in Norfolk, England, and studied English at the University of Reading and the University of East Anglia, where he completed an MA with distinction. After starting his career in publishing, he began writing about wine in 1988, going on to author numerous books on wine, whisky, travel and perfume.
Jefford has written for major newspapers including The Evening Standard and The Financial Times, and contributes regular columns to Decanter magazine and The World of Fine Wine. He has also broadcast on BBC radio and served as senior research fellow and wine writer in residence at Adelaide University. Since 2010 he has lived with his family in the Languedoc region of southern France.
Among Jefford’s many accolades are eight Glenfiddich and Louis Roederer Awards. He currently serves as a co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards and is academic advisor to the Wine Scholar Guild.
On receiving the award, Andrew Jefford said: "The Institute of Masters of Wine is a unique academic institution, independently guarding an 8,000-year cultural tradition and ensuring its relevance in increasingly chaotic and abrasive times. Membership opens to the most talented, those able to pass its stern exams. Many of those I respect most deeply in the wine world are members; as a journalist, I've often admired and cited the research papers written by its successful candidates. In another life, I'd have a go – and almost certainly fail. So the idea that I'd be nominated for its Lifetime Award seems surreal; winning it doubly so. I'm thrilled.”
Sarah Harrison, IMW executive director, added: "For more than 30 years Andrew’s writings have contributed to the canon of the wine industry. It takes great skill to write about the nuances of wine and to communicate so eloquently. To this day, his writing continues to educate, inform and inspire. Andrew is a very deserving recipient of this honour.”
Patrick Schmitt MW, editor of the drinks business, said: “The world of alcoholic drinks is fortunate to have a talent like Andrew Jefford to articulate its many qualities with such originality and expressive power. He is not a writer defined by point scores or rote tasting notes, but one who responds, in a uniquely sensitive way, to the deeper glories of fine drinks – the landscapes that shape them and the people who bring them into being. He is also the author of several outstanding books, notably The New France, a seminal guide to French wine, and the first-rate educational work, Andrew Jefford’s Wine Course.”
Rod Smith MW, IMW chair, added: “Andrew Jefford’s career has set an extraordinary benchmark for wine communication. Through his rich body of work, he has deepened global understanding of wine and its cultural importance. His beautiful haikus are also a delight. It is with great pride and pleasure we recognise his outstanding and lasting contribution with this Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Recipients are nominated and voted on by Masters of Wine. Since its debut in 2005, some of the industry’s most respected contributors have been presented with the accolade:
- 2005 – Robert Mondavi
- 2007 – Marchese Piero Antinori
- 2011 – Jean-Michel Cazes
- 2012 – Olivier Humbrecht MW
- 2013 – Baroness Philippine de Rothschild
- 2015 – Hugh Johnson OBE
- 2016 – Mark Savage MW
- 2017 – Miguel A. Torres
- 2019 – Paul Symington
- 2024 – Jancis Robinson OBE MW
- 2025 – James Halliday AM