The Golden Vines® Awards Trophy Unveiled: Designed by Shantell Martin and made by silversmiths Grant Macdonald and Amorim Cork in presentation case by Tonnellerie Cavin
19 JULY 2021 | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Liquid Icons – the fine wine research and content production company founded by the late, great Gerard Basset OBE MW MS and his friend Lewis Chester DipWSET – are delighted to announce that Shantell Martin, the renowned London-born, New York-based artist known for her large scale black-and-white drawings, has designed the artwork for The Golden Vines Awards Trophy.
Shantell Martin is one of the most groundbreaking young artists working today and is known for her exploration into the vast potential of the drawn line. Using an ink marker, she creates small personal sketches, large-scale murals, live drawings, and collaborations with artists and institutions including Kendrick Lamar, the New York
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GERARD BASSET
WINE EDUCATION
CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
© Copyright Lucy Pope
City Ballet, Tiffany & Co, Adidas and Puma. She has exhibited at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, The New Britain Museum of American Art, Denver Art Museum, The Museum of Moving Image, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and MoMA.
In association with The Birley Clubs, the not-for-profit Golden Vines Award Ceremony, Dinner & After-Party will be held at Annabel’s, London’s pre-eminent private members’ club, on 7th October 2021.
The Golden Vines Awards event will recognise the ‘star performers of the fine wine industry’ and raise funds for The Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation with the objective of funding diversity and inclusion-related wine education programmes globally, including the headline Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship, Internship & Mentorship Programmes, which has seen 42 BAME/BIPOC students from 23 different countries apply for two scholarships worth £55,000 each.
The Golden Vines Awards will be awarded to the world’s best fine wine producers as voted by leading members of the global fine wine industry in the Gerard Basset Global Fine Wine Report produced by Liquid Icons. 442 leading fine wine professionals from 55 countries votes for The Golden Vines Awards, including 57 Masters of Wine, 31 Master Sommeliers, 197 sommeliers, 133 fine wine merchants, 93 fine wine distributors, 80 members of the fine wine press, 57 fine wine brokers and 15 auction house professionals.
© Liquid Icons | Bella Spurrier receiving
The Oeno Golden Vines Honorary Award Trophy
The Oeno Golden Vines Honorary Award was awarded posthumously to wine legend Steven Spurrier at The Macallan Golden Vines Dinner on 6th July, with the trophy being presented to Bella Spurrier, Steven’s widow, by Jane MacQuitty, The Times Wine Critic.
The Golden Vines Award Categories, independently adjudicated by Deloitte LLP, are:
1. The SGC Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in Europe Award
2. The Gucci Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Americas Award
3. The VistaJet Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Rest of the World (Australasia, Africa, Asia & Middle East) Award
4. The Rolls-Royce Golden Vines World’s Best Fine Wine Producer Award
5. The Virgin Galactic Golden Vines World’s Best Rising Star Award
6. The Julius Baer Golden Vines Innovation Award
7. The Macallan Golden Vines Hall of Fame Award – awarded to a living individual for extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the production of fine wine, or for outstanding service to the world of fine wine
Every Award Winner will be given The Golden Vines® Award Trophy. Developed by Liquid Icons in a truly collaborative manner, Amorim Cork, the world’s largest supplier of wine stoppers, is the sponsor of the Trophy, producing the cork section of a Champagne stopper-shaped Trophy design and sponsoring Shantell Martin’s artwork used to illustrate on the cork. Aline Nienaber – French raised in South Africa, who is the London-based founder of Hill and Sky – is the creative director and designer for the Trophy. The silverwork for the Trophy was produced and sponsored by London-based Grant Macdonald, silversmiths and Royal Warrant holders. Grant Macdonald are silversmiths and goldsmiths to HRH The Prince of Wales, and renowned as one of the world’s greatest makers of objects, clocks and trophies. The presentation case will be made by Burgundy barrel makers, Tonnellerie Cavin. The Trophy and presentation case have been designed as the iconic emblem of The Golden Vines® Awards.
Lewis Chester DipWSET, on behalf of The Golden Vines® organiser, Liquid Icons, and Trustee of The Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation, commented: “We are delighted that such a talented artist as Shantell Martin agreed to design the artwork for The Golden Vines® Trophy. Shantell is one of the leading talents of her generation, and as a woman of colour embodies our efforts to bring diversity and inclusivity to the world of wine. We also want to thank Amorim for their generosity and integral involvement in the Trophy design and production, along with Aline Nienabar’s creative design and Grant Macdonald’s extraordinary skill in the gold and silverwork component of the design, both of whom are providing sponsorship for the Foundation’s diversity and inclusivity charitable work in the world of wine. This has truly been a collaborative effort across a range of different skill sets and we hope the Trophy will become emblematic for the very best that fine wine has to offer. I am also delighted that my friend, Pierre Cavin, of Tonnellerie Cavin in Burgundy, has agreed to make the presentation case, designed as a miniature wine barrel, where the Trophy will be housed.”
Shantell Martin added: “When the team at Liquid Icons approached me for this project, I couldn’t turn it down. To support their efforts to bring diversity and inclusivity to an industry so obviously lacking, while honoring and celebrating the best fine wine producers globally, was a unique opportunity for any artist. At the same time, I have never worked with cork before, and it has been fascinating to work with this incredible sustainable natural material.”
George Macdonald, Managing Director of Grant Macdonald stated: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Grant Macdonald to work alongside the artwork of Shantell Martin and the craftsmanship of Amorim cork. With the charity in mind, we felt like this was a great fit for us and an opportunity to show the world of fine wine just what we are capable of.”
Antonio Amorim, Chairman & CEO of Amorim Cork commented: “We are so excited to be involved in producing this incredible Trophy and elevate, not only sustainable natural cork as a design material, but also the fine wine industry through The Golden Vines Awards, which we have been so interconnected with for over one hundred and fifty years, as the leading producer of quality cork stoppers.”
Aline Nienaber, Creative Director of Hill and Sky: “I am delighted to be designing the first ever trophy and branding, including the logo for The Golden Vines Awards, celebrating and promoting inclusivity and diversity in the wine industry and helping to define the unique identity of this prestigious event. Both the trophy and logo reference the inspiring illustration work of Shantell Martin and herald an exciting new chapter in a future-facing winemaking world.”
Pierre Cavin, the owner of Tonnellerie Cavin, added: “We are proud to be involved in collaborating on what will be the most iconic symbol of excellence in the fine wine industry by bringing our skills, as high-quality wine barrel makers, to create the ideal presentation case for the Trophy, symbolic in the making of fine wine.”
