WFW contributing editor Andrew Jefford has been named the winner of the prestigious 2026 Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) Lifetime Achievement Award in association with the drinks business at the Vinexposium V d’Or awards ceremony in Paris.
The award, which is based on the nominations and votes of Masters of Wine, “acknowledges the substantial contribution of an individual to the global wine community, and recognizes vision, determination, and innovation,” the IMW said in a press release. “All recipients are considered not only to be successful in themselves, but to have materially contributed to the advancement of the world of wine.”
“The Institute of Masters of Wine is a unique academic institution, independently guarding an 8,000-year cultural tradition and ensuring its relevance in increasingly chaotic and abrasive times,” said Jefford on collecting the award from pop star and creative director of Kylie Minogue Wines, Kylie Minogue.
“Membership opens to the most talented, those able to pass its stern exams. Many of those I respect most deeply in the wine world are members; as a journalist, I’ve often admired and cited the research papers written by its successful candidates. In another life, I’d have a go—and almost certainly fail. So the idea that I’d be nominated for its Lifetime Award seems surreal; winning it doubly so. I’m thrilled.”
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“The world of alcoholic drinks is fortunate to have a talent like Andrew Jefford to articulate its many qualities with such originality and expressive power,” said the drinks business editor-in-chief Patrick Schmitt MW. “He is not a writer defined by point scores or rote tasting notes, but one who responds, in a uniquely sensitive way, to the deeper glories of fine drinks—the landscapes that shape them and the people who bring them into being.”
“Andrew Jefford’s career has set an extraordinary benchmark for wine communication,” Rod Smith MW, IMW chair, added. “Through his rich body of work, he has deepened global understanding of wine and its cultural importance. His beautiful haikus are also a delight. It is with great pride and pleasure we recognise his outstanding and lasting contribution with this Lifetime Achievement Award.”
The multiple-award-winning Jefford, who has been the WFW contributing editor since the magazine’s inception in 2004, began writing about wine in 1988. He is the author of numerous books on wine, whisky, travel, and perfume, a regular columnist for Decanter, and has been a contributor to publications including The Evening Standard and The Financial Times. Currently the co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards and the academic advisor to the Wine Scholar Guild, his career has also included broadcasting on BBC radio and serving as senior research fellow and wine writer in residence at Adelaide University.
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Past winners of the award have included fellow wine writers James Halliday, Hugh Johnson, and Jancis Robinson MW, and producers including Robert Mondavi, Paul Symington, and Miguel A Torres.
