New MW hails from The Netherlands

A new Master of Wine was announced yesterday taking the total to 301 worldwide.

Cees van Casteren

Following the successful submission of his dissertation, Cees van Casteren from The Netherlands becomes the second Dutch person to gain the notoriously-difficult qualification, and 301st in the world.

“I am both relieved and happy to be the second person from my country to achieve this prestigious qualification,” he said.

Cees van Casteren started writing about wine in 2004 and since then he has written ten books and some 300 articles on wine and food.

He is a noted wine educator in the Netherlands through his involvement with the partnership Liquid Assets, and also runs his own independent wine consultancy and training business.

Cees has twice been named Dutch Vinologist of the Year.

He is based in Venray, in the south of the Netherlands, where he lives with his wife and daughter.

The subject of Cees’ dissertation was An Examination of Chenin Blanc as the Potential Reference Wine of South Africa.

The dissertation is the third part of the Master of Wine qualification, and follows the Theory and Practical examinations.