Masi International Prize Civiltà del Vino

By / Magazine / October 11th, 2011 / 1

The Masi Foundation, now celebrating thirty years of its Prize, awards recognition this year to Jacques Orhon, the French-Canadian sommelier, journalist, writer and ambassador of Italian wine in the Francophone world. Jacques Orhon is, in many respects, a unique character in the world of wine. He was born in France, where he had his first technical training at the University of Vins di Suze la Rousse and continued on to research the different wine producing areas of the Old and New Worlds in order to better understand the techno-cultural nature of their various regions. He can lay claim to many successful publications. In particular, his Guide to the Wines of Italy is used as a key reference tool for anyone in the Francophone world wanting to know about wines in Italy. The same can be said for his two-volumed publication, Wines from the New World, which represents an in-depth study of wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America.

Part of Jacques Orhon’s uniqueness stems also from the fact that having moved to Canada, he became an ambassador of wine-drinking in a country which is currently one of the biggest importers of quality wines in the world. In fact, Jacques Orhon founded and was the long-time president of the Association of Professional Sommeliers in Canada, through which, he has trained a new class of sommeliers in North America.

Orhon is also a broadcast journalist both on radio and on television, a lecturer and is on the panel for international tastings. He has even made a CD of songs inspired by the world of wine and is the author of thirteen publications which include, outside of those already mentioned, Amongst the Vines — Tales of, and Reflections on, Wine. This latest work is a journey of discovery into the very soul of the men, women and places which the author explores and offers a passionate, humanistic rather than a technical viewpoint. This passion was recognised last March in Paris when the book was awarded the prize for best book in the world in its category.

This year, the Masi Foundation awards to Jacques Orhon its International Prize Civiltà del Vino, given over the years to people in the field of wine from Professor Emile Peynaud, visionary of the values and style of modern wine to, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, and Niccolò Incisa della Rocchetta, father of Sassicaia.

The Masi Foundation, the Masi Prize for Civiltà Veneta and the International Prize Grosso d’Oro Veneziano
The Masi Foundation promotes the values of its territory, its heritage, the enormous capability of its great minds and the productivity of the Venetian culture, acknowledging those who interpret the culture through their different disciplines. It was founded in 2001 based on the experience of the Masi Prize Civiltà Veneta which, awarded for the first time in 1981, now celebrates its thirtieth anniversary.

Other prize winners this year are:

Masi Prize Civiltà Veneta  
Giuseppe Battiston (actor)
Arrigo Cipriani (owner, Harry’s Bar)
Massimo Marchiori (mathematician, computer expert and inventor of the algorithm for Google)

The International Masi Prize Grosso d’Oro Veneziano
Don Luigi Mazzucato (founder and long-term director of the medical association CUAMM working in Africa)

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