The 16th Daniel Pontifex Scholarship awarded to Rockpool Bar and Grill Sydney sommelier
The Daniel Pontifex Memorial Trust with the support of Wine Australia has awarded the Daniel Pontifex Scholarship for 2014 to Alexander Kirkwood, sommelier at Rockpool Bar and Grill Sydney.
Kirkwood will travel to the UK and Europe early next year, gaining invaluable experience in some of London’s finest restaurants and visiting a handful of European wine regions, with the scholarship covering all associated costs.
The Daniel Pontifex Scholarship aims to provide young people in the hospitality industry the opportunity to further their industry knowledge as well as experience the food and wine culture of other countries.
On being awarded the scholarship, Kirkwood said, 'It’s every sommelier’s dream to visit the vineyards and cellars of Europe so I want to say thank you to all involved in the selection process. I can’t wait to learn as much as I can through the Pontifex scholarship, I know this will be one of the defining experiences of my wine and hospitality career.'
Judges Michael Hill Smith AM MW, from Shaw + Smith Wines and Aaron Brasher, Regional Director – Australia, Asia and Emerging Markets for Wine Australia, chose Kirkwood as the winning recipient from a pool of applicants comprised of Australia’s rising hospitality stars.
The application process called for applicants to submit a 500 word essay followed by an interview for shortlisted candidates where Kirkwood impressed the judges with his genuine desire to learn more about the wine industry.
'Alex stood out as someone with incredible enthusiasm and already has an impressive knowledge of wine', said Hill Smith.
'He demonstrated a real commitment to a career in wine and hospitality, sometimes overcoming adversity and setbacks to achieve his goals. We admired his tenacity.'
Brasher added, 'The Daniel Pontifex Scholarship is unique in our industry and helps us foster the next generation of wine influencers. Alex will be a wonderful advocate of Australian wine during his time overseas and will come back with greater knowledge, experience and new ideas that will serve him and our industry well as he progresses in his career.'
Last year’s scholarship recipient was Daniel Gibson, sommelier at Melbourne’s Epocha restaurant.