Medical Forum’s wine reviewer Dr Craig Drummond joined elite company when he secured his Master of Wine, a prestigious qualification gained by only 265 wine aficionados around the world.
Medical Forum’s wine reviewer Dr Craig Drummond joined elite company when he secured his Master of Wine in late 2007, a prestigious qualification gained by only 265 wine aficionados around the world. In 12 years, only 82 people outside the UK (the home of the Institute of Masters of Wine) have gained a Master of Wine qualification. Craig is the very first West Aussie and first Australian medical practitioner to become a Master of Wine.
Given Craig’s extensive wine knowledge, we assumed he would ace the exam. However, the Master of Wine is a gruelling course and Craig told us that he was the only “survivor” of his January 1999 intake of 23 students.
Like anything that is worth the effort, Craig said there were hurdles along the way.
“The difficulty I had was the tasting. I got all the theory exams on the second try but the difficulty for me was exposure to the wines. I had four sits at the tasting and when I got it, it was my last allowed shot. After I missed the tasting the third time, I really had doubts that I’d be able to achieve it at all.”
Good old West Aussie grit and a well-stamped passport got him over the line.
“I looked at wine production in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and New Zealand and that exposure helped. This was the only way I could get the exposure to international wines that I needed.”
Passion and fascination for wine and the personal challenge sparked his interest in the Master of Wine in the first place. When comparing the satisfaction between passing his Master of Wine and graduating from medical school, Craig leans toward the MW.
“The difference I found between the two is that in medicine, if you worked and studied, you passed, but it’s not so with the Master of Wine. You have to be really informed with your tasting at the time you sit exams. It’s sort of like tuning up for the Olympics – you really have to come together at the right time: your knowledge, your palate, transcribing palate sensations to the brain and then from the brain to the pen. With the Master of Wine, it was less expected that I would pass.”