Jane Anson’s ‘Bordeaux bootcamp’ has become a fixture in the Bordeaux calendar, and it’s only in its third year
In an annual fixture of the Bordeaux calendar, another group of young wine professionals has graduated from what’s affectionately been called ‘the ultimate wine bootcamp’ – Jane Anson and Chinedu Rita Rosa’s Mentor Week.
The seven scholars – from Nigeria, Australia, Bali, Ecuador, India, South Africa and Mexico - gathered for a celebratory (and somewhat raucous) final dinner last Friday at Château du Tertre, which hosted the scholars for the week.
Now in its third edition, Mentor Week is an intensive and immersive week in Bordeaux, learning about (and taking part in) every aspect of wine production from harvest to blending, tasting to marketing.
Sponsored by Académie du Vin Foundation, Gérard Basset Foundation and Wine Scholar Guild, its aim is ‘to increase inclusion, diversity, and equity in the wine industry.’
The number of applicants has increased exponentially since the first edition in 2022, when there were 200 applications; there were 350 last year and 450 in 2024, from 40 different countries.
Anson and her co-founder, the Bordeaux-based consultant Chinedu Rita Rosa, are looking for ‘aspiring wine scholars from disadvantaged backgrounds who are faced with barriers, financial restraints, and a lack of mentors.’
The scholars – whose common characteristic is keen-eyed enthusiasm for all things wine – included some who had never left their countries before, others who had never seen a vineyard. At least two had secured their first passport for this trip.
Janet Boniface, for example, grew up in ‘a strong conservative Muslim city in Nigeria’ and now works at Sally’s Wine and Spirits in Lagos. This week has been her first visit to any vineyard, and her first time with a passport. ‘The disadvantage of lack of financial resources and gender discrimination is one of the major barriers to my learning professionally about wine,’ she said; Tom Gillespie from Belmont in Victoria had ‘never touched a grapevine’; Rutuja Dhamale has worked at Sula Vineyards in Nashik in western India – this is her first time out of India.
Alit Susila, a sommelier from Bali, wants to be ‘a role model’ for young sommeliers; for South African Lethabo Mothwa, this is her first time visiting a vineyard outside her country, as it is for Elizabel Flores from Oaxaca in Mexico; Valeria Puga from Ecuador has been fascinated by wine from her first sip at age 10. ‘I didn’t know how people become ‘wine tasters’ but I knew I wanted to be one in the future.’
The dinner in the orangery at Margaux Cru Classé Château du Tertre was lively –rather like a large and noisy family party (it is actually a family affair: Anson’s daughter Lauren runs marketing for the team). It was hosted by director Cynthia Capelaere, who praised the scholars for their enthusiasm. She later stressed how important the week is for Bordeaux: it creates future ambassadors and opens up new wine markets like Nigeria, Ecuador or India, and ‘it opens our eyes to potential wine influencers with a different cultural background. We should take advantage of their youth and great interest in the wines of Bordeaux.’
Also dining was last year’s host, Jean-Christophe Meyrou, director of St Emilion Grand Cru Classé Château Bellefont-Belcier, as well as four or five previous scholars, returning as mentors to the new intake. One, a broadly-smiling Tanmay Rathod from Gujarat in India, class of 22, is now working at the Michelin-starred Tour d’Argent in Paris.
Each scholar gave a short speech (to cheers and banter) summing up what they had learned from the week. For Dhamale, for example, it was the epiphany of really understanding terroir, for others the sheer satisfaction of being able to say to diners, ‘I know this wine is excellent because I’ve been in the vineyard’.
But Mentor Week offers far more solid gains than this: it carries weight on the CV. There’s Rathod at Tour d’Argent, for one; Lily Kittisrikangwan from Thailand, class of 2023, has just started as a brand manager for Moet Hennessy UK in London. Her seven days in Bordeaux was a massive boost, she said. ‘It helped me to stand out, to show how committed I am. Mentor Week doesn’t end when you go home – it stays with you.’
Full list of 2024 Mentor Week scholars here. Applications for Mentor Week in autumn 2025 will open in March.
Photo: From left: Chinedu Rita Rosa, Jane Anson, Adam Lechmere, Rutuja Dhamale, Lauren Anson, and Folakemi Alli-Balogun
Credit: Peter Aaron
