Adam Porter MW received the 2020 Noval Award at this year’s IMW ceremony, honouring the best research paper by a new MW.
The award was judged by Christian Seely, managing director of AXA Millesimes, Noval’s owners.
The research paper (RP) is the final stage of the Master of Wine exam. It is an individual project on a topic chosen by the MW student, resulting in work between 6,000 and 10,000 words.
Porter’s RP was entitled ‘can premium wines be marketed in single serve cans in the UK retail market?’, and tackled topics including consumer perception, technical performance of wine in cans, and packaging regulations.
Porter was awarded a cheque for £1000, a framed print of Quinta do Noval, and a trip to the property in the Douro to collect a case of wines and ports – including Noval’s fabled Nacional Vintage. Porter was presented with his Noval Award by Neil Hadley MW, Chair of the Institute of Masters of Wine, at the Vintners’ Hall ceremony in London.
Christian Seely said of the win: “Like all the research papers, the methodology and the research of Adam’s was excellent. It won out over the others in the extreme practicality of the approach and the study’s usefulness to a producer who might consider this form of packaging for this particular market. Excellent stuff.”
“I am chuffed to bits to win the Noval Award,” Porter said. “For my RP, I had the opportunity to go deeper into a contemporary subject, and an alternative approach to packaging that can bring new consumers into drinking wine on different occasions. I am delighted that it has been recognised in this way.
“I have visited Quinta do Noval just for an afternoon, as part of a previous IMW students’ trip to the Douro. So I know how beautiful it is. Now, together with my wife Claire, we can visit the property and explore its rich history at a more leisurely pace. We are really looking forward to it.”
Porter’s most recent role in wine was as purchasing and channel strategy director at Jascots, an importer and wholesaler specialised in supplying the independent on-trade in and around London. Previously, he was at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in the trading team and started his career with a spell managing stores for Majestic Wine.