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New Zealander Michael Brajkovich MW was honoured with the Winemakers' Winemaker Award 2024 by the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) at ProWein. With this award, the IMW recognises outstanding achievements in the field of winemaking. The jury is made up of winemakers who are themselves Masters of Wine (MW) and all previous award winners.
Brajkovich is regarded as a pioneer in the development of Chardonnay in his country and is an advocate of spontaneous fermentation. The jury explained that he is constantly developing his technique as a winemaker through a variety of experiments. In 1989, he was the first New Zealander to pass the Master of Wine examination. He runs the family winery Kumeu River Wines after gaining many years of international experience. He particularly thanked the previous winners, his colleague Peter Gago (2012) and especially Jean-Claude Berrouet (2018), with whom he worked at Jean-Pierre Moueix in Pomerol and St. Emilion in 1983. Berrouet was an inspiration and a guide for him, he said in his acceptance speech.
The previous winners of the prize, which has been awarded since 2011, are Peter Sisseck, Peter Gago, Paul Draper, Anne-Claude Leflaive, Egon Müller, Alvaro Palacios, Eben Sadie, Jean-Claude Berrouet, Angelo Gaja and Jean-Louis Chave.
(al / Source: drinksbusiness)