Justin recognised as a Master of Wine

An Edinburgh man has been crowned as a new Master of Wine.

The news was announced by the Institute of Masters of Wine, as he is one of two new members of the IMW. Justin Martindale is based in Scotland and Jonny Orton is south of the border.

There are now 420 MWs globally – 269 men and 151 women living or working in 30 countries. Since the first exam in 1953, 498 people have become an MW.

Justin and Jonny are the first of the 2022 MW vintage. They have proved their understanding of all aspects of wine by passing the Master of Wine exam, recognised worldwide for its rigour and high standards.

The MW exam consists of the theory and practical exams taken at the end of stage two and the research paper submitted at the end of stage three. The RP is an in-depth study on a wine-related topic from any area of the sciences, arts, humanities, or social sciences. Only when an individual passes the third RP stage of the MW exam do they become a Master of Wine.

Justin is an educator, consultant and wine judge based in Edinburgh. After studying a music degree at Leeds University, followed by a brief stint as a classical musician, Justin joined the wine trade with Majestic in 2008.

He worked across some of London’s busiest stores whilst studying the WSET Level 3 certificate, for which he was awarded a distinction and the Cálem Port Award scholarship.

Since 2010 Justin has been based in Scotland, where he studied the WSET diploma, winning the Derouet Jameson Award, which led to the MW study programme. In 2013 Justin established Lothian Wine School in Edinburgh.

He now teaches WSET courses, masterclasses and bespoke private events at the school, runs a consultancy business, and judges at various international wine competitions.

His research paper was the evolving language of minerality in wine tasting: A case study of Decanter tasting notes 1976-2019.

In addition to passing the exam, and before new members have the right to use the title Master of Wine or initials MW, they must sign the IMW’s code of conduct.

The top countries where MWs are based around the world are Australia (28), Canada (10), France (19), Germany (10), New Zealand (16), the UK (211) and the US (56).

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