Solotel Group Beverage Manager becomes one of Australia’s newest Masters of Wine

23 November 2020

Annette Lacey, Solotel Group Beverage Manager, has joined the prestigious international Masters of Wine (MW) community after completing the globally-renowned exam at the Institute of Masters of Wine.
Joining the acclaimed global group, Annette is one of only two Australians in the latest group of MW and one of 143 women in the institute’s 65-year history.

“The process of becoming an MW has been a challenging and also exciting personal and professional journey,” she said. “It still feels surreal. This has been a 10-year process so to see that all of that hard work and perseverance finally pay off is incredibly rewarding.”

As the Group Beverage Manager for Solotel since October last year, Ms Lacey has been working while she completed the MW. “This has been a long process and I am incredibly grateful for the support I have received from Solotel, my colleagues, my fellow MW peers and alumni who were fantastic mentors. And of course, my family, who are as thrilled as I am.”

“It’s contributed greatly to the development of new skills throughout my hospitality career. I regard it as one of the highest academic achievements in the wine industry, and it is an absolute honour to represent the Institute of Masters of Wine, its history, global recognition and it’s expertise.”

Justine Baker, Solotel CEO says, “We’re incredibly proud of Annette’s achievement. The MW is renowned in our industry for its prestige but also for the commitment, dedication and rigour required to complete it.”

“We pride ourselves on providing world-class experiences for our guests. Having Annette as part of our team means that all of our guests get to enjoy her globally-recognised experience and expertise. Her knowledge, passion and drive for excellence are strongly aligned with our values at Solotel and enhance the expertise and quality of service we have built the business on.”

When Annette isn’t busy curating wines for the group’s restaurants, bars and pubs you can find her thinking up new ways for guests to enjoy great beverages through Solotel’s own range of wine and take away bottled cocktails.

The Master of Wine exam is in three parts – theory, practical and a final research paper on a wine-related topic.