Gerard Francis Claude Basset

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, MS, MW,

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

, OIV MSc (7 March 1957 – 16 January 2019) was the owner of Hotel TerraVina, a

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

Hotel near

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. At the time of his death, he was the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine,

Master Sommelier The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwide ...

, Wine

, OIV MSc in Wine Management and World's Best Sommelier.

Early life and education

Basset was born in the industrial city of St Étienne. His parents were Marguerite (née Conorton), a

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

, and Pierre-René Basset, a draughtsman.Gerard Basset obituary: Master sommelier and founder of the Hotel du Vin chain who changed public attitudes to wine drinking
Robert Joseph,

theguardian.com ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

25 January 2019

Career

In 1989 Bassett qualified as a

, and in 1998 as a Master of Wine. In 1992, he also won Best International Sommelier for French Wines (Paris) and four years later he went on to win The Best Sommelier of Europe (1996). He was subsequently ranked in 2nd place in the World's Best Sommelier Competition on three occasions, until he won the title upon his sixth attempt in 2010. In 1994 Basset co-founded

Hotel du Vin Hotel du Vin is a luxury boutique hotel chain that has nineteen hotels throughout the United Kingdom, co-founded by Gerard Basset and Robin Hutson. History The hotel chain was founded in Winchester in 1994 by Gerard Basset and Robin Hutson, who ...

with partner Robin Hutson, by opening their first hotel in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. The chain grew to six hotels before selling to MWB Group in October 2004. In 2007, Basset opened Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest near Southampton with his wife Nina. Hotel TerraVina closed at the end of February 2018 and reopened on 5 March as kitchen café, deli and boutique B&B, Spot in the Woods.

Personal life

Basset and his wife Nina had a son. Basset died of cancer aged 61.

Awards and honours

Basset was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equiv ...

'' 2013 Man of the Year. Basset served as President of the

Court of Master Sommeliers The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwid ...

(Europe) and in 2014 was appointed Honorary President of the

Wine and Spirit Education Trust The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, often referred to as WSET, is a global organization which arranges courses and exams in the fields of wine, spirits, beer, and sake. WSET was founded in 1969, is headquartered in London and is generally regarde ...

, which he held for three years. In January 2018, Basset was awarded the Ordre du Mérite Agricole by the French ambassador to the UK for his work in supporting the

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basset, Gerard 1957 births 2019 deaths Masters of Wine Sommeliers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Master Sommeliers

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Awards and honours

See also

References