Madame Bollinger Foundation marks 30-year partnership with IMW

Bollinger Champagne has marked a 30-year partnership between its charitable organisation the Madame Bollinger Foundation and the Institute of Masters of Wine, which was founded in 1988 by Christian Bizot.

Past winners of the Madame Bollinger Medal gathered in London to mark the anniversary

The foundation was established by Bizot to permanently recognise the contribution and values of his aunt, Madame Bollinger, who led the House from 1941 to 1973; choosing London as its base. That same year, the Foundation partnered with the Institute of Masters of Wine, and the inaugural Madame Bollinger Medal for the most outstanding performance during the practical tasting examination was presented to Michael Hill-Smith MW.

“When my father launched the “Madame Bollinger Foundation” at Vintners Hall in 1988, the purpose was to foster quality, education and ethics in all matters relating to wine at an international level,” said Etienne Bizot, chairman of The Madame Bollinger Foundation, son of Christian Bizot and great-nephew of Madame Bollinger.

“The Institute of Masters of Wine is without question the leading reference in this field, and 30 years on, the Madame Bollinger Foundation remains loyal to its support to the Institute. Within these last 30 years, the Institute has continued to open its doors and is now gathering Masters of Wine from all over the world. I am therefore very pleased to celebrate with our award winners this anniversary in honour of my Great-Aunt Madame Bollinger.”

This anniversary reunion brought together 17 from the total of 29 Masters of Wine who have been awarded the Madame Bollinger medal in the 30 years to attend the lunch at Mark’s Club in London.

Notable international winners attending included: Essi Avelan MW from Finland, Andreas Wickhoff MW from Austria and Toni Paterson MW, who made the 17,000km journey from Australia for the occasion.

“Everyone in this room would agree that the Madame Bollinger Medal is the medal you want to achieve, and without the support of Etienne and his family through the Madame Bollinger Foundation we would not be here,” said one winner, Mark Pardoe MW.

“The pride and camaraderie of the MW community has manifested in this room today, and we thank you for bringing us all together for this extraordinary celebration.”

For the occasion, the Bollinger family cellar provided magnums of the rare Bollinger La Cote aux Enfants 2009, a 100% Grand Cru pinot noir from Aÿ, of which only 150 bottles were produced, and Bollinger R.D. 1976 en magnum.