Winegrower Scholarship winner

Sutton Winson is pleased to announce Irene Harte as the winner of the Sutton Winson’s New Winegrower Scholarship. We are delighted to be offering Irene the opportunity to study a Masters in Viticulture and Oenology.

Irene has been passionate about wine since her very first tasting, and she is eagerly anticipating the next step in her already flourishing career. She chose Plumpton College because of its strong participation and synergy with local and international academics, associations, businesses and industry with the prosperity of the English wine trade at its heart.

Her academic background includes a First Class Honour in a BSc Hons Botany & Microbiology Degree from The National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) where Irene graduated at the top of her class and received the Professor L. Kieran Dunican Memorial Medal for high achievers.

In addition, she has lived in Japan and explored the Japanese wine industry. This experience sparked a curiosity in the adaption of grape varietals to extreme climatic fluctuations through various winery trips in the north of Japan and tuition on the mechanics of wine tasting.

Chris Foss, Curriculum Manager, Wine Division, Plumpton College, says: “This scholarship will allow Irene to demonstrate her ambition to establish a commercial vineyard in our region. I’m delighted that Sutton Winson, one of the UK's leading independent insurance and risk management providers for the English wine industry, is encouraging new, dynamic entrepreneurs into the industry. It reflects the high regard held within the industry for English and Welsh wines, which is growing in leaps and bounds in the South East. Their encouragement is an invaluable asset and one we are keen to grow.”

Terri Rayner, Account Executive at Sutton Winson, commented: “We are delighted to be part of this exciting new development in the production of English wine. Irene will receive £1,000 towards her university fees in her first year of study.”