▻ Romané Basset of the Gerard Basset Foundation
▴ The late Gerard Basset
Sarah Kemp in conversation with Romané Basset
Episode Summary:-
Gerard Basset was one of the wine world’s great names, an extraordinary man who was a Master Sommelier, Master of Wine (one of only three people who held both titles), OIV MSc, Wine MBA, World’s Best Sommelier 2010, OBE, co-founder of the Hotel du Vin chain, and mentor to an array of people who went on to success in wine. All the more extraordinary for a man who left school at 16, came to Britain to watch a football match four years later and stayed, beginning his career in hospitality by washing pots and pans at a hotel on the Isle of Man. His chance to become a sommelier came when the hotel’s sommelier was sick and the owner said to him that as he was French, he could step in for the night. The rest is history. Perhaps his greatest achievement was being known as the man that no one had a bad word to say about. At the height of his success, Gerard died in 2019 from cancer at the age of 61, and his wife Nina and son Romané decided to continue his legacy by setting up the Gerard Basset Foundation. Sarah Kemp talks to Romané about the Foundation and the extraordinary work it is undertaking across the globe.
““Gerard Basset was the one man in the wine world no one had a bad word to say about.””
Romané tells how, as a child, he was allowed to visit wineries with his parents as long as he was well-dressed and well-behaved, and he grew up in an amiable, outgoing household where hospitality and wine were part of everyday life. He was even sneaked into the London Wine Trade Fair by his mother as an infant, four weeks old, where he was hidden under a table at lunchtime.
When his father died in 2019, the UK was about to go into lockdown, and the family hotel, Terravina, had just been sold, which gave time for him and his mother to think how to best celebrate Gerard’s name. Their ambition at first was quite modest, and they set up a bursary for sommeliers to travel to wineries they had always dreamt of visiting, with the help of wine writer Tim Atkin and one of Gerard’s protégés, Ronan Sayburn. A great friend of their father, Lewis Chester, who came from a financial background, had slightly more ambitious plans, and joined with them to launch the Golden Vine Awards: A questionnaire was sent round the industry, to ask which wine producers were most admired, and the results and awards were handed out at a glamorous Oscar-style event, which was followed by an auction of stellar lots of rare bottles and extraordinary wine experiences, enabling the establishment of the Foundation and its program.
Romané explains how there are now 35-40 grants given out across the world annually, and discusses some of the benefits given out by the Foundation, such as Terra Uma, a non-profit programme that aims to help veterans dealing with PTSD and other traumas through an innovative recovery method built around winemaking. In South Africa, the Foundation supports the Pinotage Youth Development Academy, which not only provides WSET 1 and 2 courses, but starts with the foundation of personal development teaching the students basic life skills like how to conduct yourself in an interview.
Another activity is the Golden Vines Scholarships. One which caught Sarah’s eye is the Artémis Domaines Golden Vines Scholarship, which was set up to benefit three scholars who have been affected by a geopolitical conflict, and provide them with the opportunity to undertake a bespoke viticultural and vinicultural training programme at one of Artémis Domaine’s prestigious estates, including Château Latour. Romané recounts how one of the scholars from Ukraine was able, from her paid internship, to pay for a generator for her family, who were without electricity because of the war there. Another successful project has been supporting the Bordeaux Mentor week, run by Jane Anson and Chinedu Rita-Rosa, which provides seven individuals who are starting out in the wine trade a week’s immersive introduction to Bordeaux. Successful applicants have come from Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Zimbabwe, to name a few examples. Also, accessibility and inclusivity are key aims of the Foundation (as Romané points out, this is in keeping with his father’s unorthodox entry into the industry).
The next Golden Vine Awards will take place November 7-9, 2025, and the online auction will be opened three weeks before that. Romané points out that the Foundation would not be the success it is without the generous support of the producers who donate the prizes. He is also organising more local events to raise awareness and funds for the Foundation, and is keen to hear from anyone who wishes to get involved. What is certain is that the Gerard Basset Foundation is continuing Gerard’s legacy of inclusivity, education, mentorship and spreading the positive aspects of wine right across the world. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Running Order:-
-
0.00 – 19.18
“Gerard Basset was the one man in the wine world no one had a bad word to say about.” – Sarah Kemp
– Gerard Basset’s extraordinary career.
– Romané Basset growing up in the Basset household.
– Setting up the Foundation with his mother Nina in his father’s honour.
– Lewis Chester, Gerard’s friend, helps create the Golden Vine Awards.
– How the Foundation raises money and the beneficiaries.
– Some of the work undertaken, Terra Uma, Pinotage Youth Development. -
19.18 – 37.12
“It was really important to Papa, this idea of mentorship.” – Romané Basset
– The Artémis Golden Vines Scholarship for victims of war and political conflict.
– The Bordeaux Mentor week.
– The Golden Vine Awards 2025 and the online auction.
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