Jefford accepted his award at the V d’Or Business Awards ceremony having been called to the stage by none other than pop superstar Kylie Minogue.
In introducing Jefford, Minogue revealed that she had turned to him for advice when she was first considering launching her own wine range.
‘I was very nervous ahead of our first Zoom call. But he was so supportive, and kind and insightful… he gave me a lot of fortitude,’ she said.
‘Like many of you I loved his book, ‘Drinking with the Valkyries’. And he has written with charm and intelligence for many publications, such as Decanter,’ Minogue added.
In a short acceptance speech, Jefford described the moment as, ‘possibly the most surreal evening of my life. My wife will never believe this’.
‘We’ll send them a selfie,’ Minogue piped up.
The award, presented by the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW), in association with industry publication The Drinks Business, recognises the ‘substantial contribution of an individual to the global wine community, and recognises vision, determination and innovation’.
‘For more than 30 years Andrew’s writings have contributed to the canon of the wine industry. It takes great skill to write about the nuances of wine and to communicate so eloquently,’ said Sarah Harrison, executive director, IMW.
‘To this day, his writing continues to educate, inform and inspire. Andrew is a very deserving recipient of this honour.’
The V d’Or Business Awards ceremony is held just before the annual Wine Paris trade show, which is taking place in the French capital this week (9-11 February).
The aim of the awards is to recognise those in the world of wines and spirits providing new initiatives and solutions to the various challenges they face.
This includes areas such as education, climate change, new consumption patterns and loss of traditional expertise, all of which undermine the long-term futures of these categories.
Andrew Jefford’s columns can be read every month in both Decanter and on decanter.com.
