Yvonne May, head of Wine Australia for UK & Ireland, has died following a battle with illness.
Yvonne May was a ‘tireless ambassador’ for Australian Wine
In a statement, Andreas Clark, acting chief executive of Australian Grape and Wine Authority, paid tribute to May and her ‘tireless’ work promoting Australian wine.
‘It is with deep sadness that we announce that our dearly loved colleague and friend Yvonne May, who has for the last few months been battling illness, passed away over the weekend.
‘Yvonne was a tireless and passionate ambassador for our Australian wine community in her role as Regional Director – UK and Europe. We were richer for having her in our lives but now poorer with her leaving us much too soon.
‘While those who knew her well will be grieving her loss, she would not want us to wallow and we should all continue to be inspired with how she embraced life and its opportunities.
‘Our hearts go out to Yvonne’s husband David and her family during this difficult and sad time.’
Yvonne May was a long-time advocate of Australian wine. After a career spanning more than 25 years in the wine industry, May was appointed Wine Australia’s regional director for the UK, Ireland and the EU in 2010, saying at the time she would do everything in her power to improve ‘the negative press’ Australia was receiving and to re-build the image of the quality end of Australian wine.
Prior to that, she had specialised in Australia for 12 years at Lindsay May PR and Marketing, the pr agency she ran with husband David Lindsay.
Shortly after her appointment in 2010 she told Decanter.com, ‘Australia is where my heart is.’
More to follow
Written by Decanter staff
