Wine writer Amanda Barnes wins Geoffrey Roberts Award

Wine writer Amanda Barnes has been awarded the Geoffrey Roberts Award by the Vintners’ Company to support the publication of a new wine guide that will highlight South America’s “emerging or commercially less important regions”, alongside those that are better-known.

Amanda Barnes with the Master Vintner, Sir Andrew Parmley

The judging panel of the award, which included Jancis Robinson MW, Susan McCraith MW and Master of the Vintners’ Company Rupert Clevely, unanimously selected Barnes as the winner for the £8,000 prize last month.

Barnes will direct the prize money toward researching emerging and historic wine regions in Latin America to publish a comprehensive guide on the region later this year.

“There is so much diversity here in South America and this guide aims to scratch beneath the surface of South American wine to show wine lovers a different side to Latin American wine,” said Barnes.

“I’m working with more than 40 local researchers and experts in order to create the most comprehensive guide to South American wine and put some of these emerging wine regions on the map for the first time, as well as bringing consumers up-to-date on what’s happening in the most historical regions.”

The South America Wine Guide is already available online with regular features and a comprehensive winery guide to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.

“The judging panel were highly complimentary in their support for Amanda’s application,” added Glenn Roberts of the Vintners’ Company. “This is a very ambitious project and the Vintners’ Company wish her every success.”

The print edition of The South America Wine Guide is set to be published at the end of 2019 and copies can be pre-ordered online now.