The Gérard Basset Foundation has one clear mission: to use the wine, spirits and hospitality industries as a vehicle for change, helping to foster, encourage, promote and help a new generation of talent into the drinks and hospitality industries.
To do so it is looking to partner and work with leading drinks companies that share the same values. Strong, independent family-owned businesses like Champagne Laurent-Perrier whose success can be attributed to the energy of the de Nonancourt family, pioneered by the late Bernard de Nonancourt, who assumed control in 1948.
The Laurent-Perrier business is now led by Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt, front, and Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt, pictured behind, and his granddaughter Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt
It is his values that are still very much the principles that guide the current management team led by his daughters Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt and Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt, and his granddaughter Lucie Pereyre de Nonancourt.
The Laurent-Perrier Champagne Scholarships
The new partnership between The Gérard Basset Foundation and Champagne Laurent-Perrier will give the chance for 10 individuals to undertake the renowned Wine Scholar Guild Champagne Masters course - the most up-to-date and comprehensive certification available on the wines of Champagne, taught by industry-recognised experts in the field.
They will also take part in two days of masterclasses in negotiation and sales which will help them develop and refine essential skills for working in both the on- and off-trade.
Laurent-Perrier will also host a tutored tasting session with the winners. This provides a chance for them to fully understand how the Champagnes are crafted and allows them to work on and improve their tasting techniques.
The Laurent-Perrier Champagne Scholarships are open to UK-based applicants working in the wine and hospitality industries. One of the aims of these scholarships is to support and further inclusion and accessibility in the wine industry. It therefore particularly welcomes applicants who come from a wide range of communities and circumstances, and will ask candidates to explain in their own words what winning a scholarship will mean to them and enable them to achieve.
Applications are now and remain open until April 25. For further information, please click here.
What impact do you hope the new scholarships have on the wine industry?
Romané and Nina Basset say the purpose of these scholarships is to support further inclusion and accessibility in the wine industry
Romané Basset: The purpose of these scholarships is to support further inclusion and accessibility in the wine industry. Therefore applications from a wide range of communities and circumstances are particularly welcome, and candidates will be asked to explain in their own words what winning a scholarship will mean to them and what it will enable them to achieve.
Why do you feel that it is important to support inclusion and accessibility?
If we invest in the people who work in our industry, no matter who they are or where they come from, supporting their progression and encouraging them to both gain knowledge and learn how to apply it, then they will in turn go on to play a positive role within the trade.
Supporting and upskilling wine professionals in both the on- and off-trade settings is essential in our industry, as ours is a sector driven by people and by human interaction.
Product knowledge can always be taught and built up, while it is harder to train someone to enjoy sharing their passion with others. The industry needs people with a certain spark, because they are the ones who will be able to go out there and win new consumers for us and get others as excited about it as we are; this is a crucial mission given the current headwinds we face on so many fronts.
The late Bernard de Nonancourt took over control of Champagne Laurent-Perrier in 1948
The people who possess a desire to join and advocate for our industry come from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances, with many facing obstacles which are beyond their control, and thus it is both right and logical that we open as many opportunities for as many different people as possible. Everyone deserves a fair chance.
What challenges do you think your generation faces that are different from those of your predecessors?
Since the pandemic, we have seen a rise in people of our generation reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation. Community has always been an essential part of our industry, but there are now fewer occasions to meet up and interact than there were previously, not to mention the increasing costs associated with such occasions.
Wine is a drink which is best enjoyed in good company, and indeed many of us will associate a given wine with a particular moment of shared fellowship with people we hold dear. Not only that, but we are now facing a more hostile environment to our industry across the board.
Tariffs, declining consumption among younger generations and health campaigns advocating sobriety rather than moderation are some of the major problems that we are having to grapple with, and the place of wine within our day-to-day lives is being questioned in a way that might have seemed unthinkable at the start of this century.
What valuable business lessons have you learned from your family?
Romané Basset says he is inspired by the work and impact his father Gérard had on the next generation of sommeliers, but also by his love of people that shone through everything he did
My father said that “a good sommelier must be many things, but the first thing is to love people”, and the spirit of that has always stayed with me.
My parents made their hotels places of mentorship, education, and support, and in some cases, they were a refuge from battles being fought at home. This environment helped their teams to feel valued and encouraged them to do their very best. It helped them to blossom on a personal level, and that in turn meant that they gave their all on a professional level, which benefited their colleagues and the business as a whole.
And it is that nurturing and encouraging environment that we are striving to create and maintain through the Foundation which bears Papa’s name.
How will you be a good ancestor for those that will follow?
I suppose the best way would be to try and hold myself to the standards that I would want to see upheld by those who will come after me. I am a great believer in leading by example, and so I strive to conduct myself in a way that I would hope to see others conduct themselves.
A key part of this comes back to the idea of respecting people, which I mentioned before. I also try to include a dimension of long-term thinking into all I do. Building a legacy on foundations of respect, integrity, and sustainability will hopefully encourage the continuance of these values as time goes by.
* The Laurent-Perrier Champagne Scholarships will be a key part in creating that legacy as it looks to offer 10 people the opportunity to take the Wine Scholar Guild Champagne Masters course. For more information and to apply by April 25 click here.
* For more information about the Gerard Basset Foundation click here.
* For more details on Champagne Laurent-Perrier click here. Laurent-Perrier is a commercial partner to The Buyer.
* For more information about WSG’s Champagne Masters, click here.
