Liquid Icons, the Gérard Basset Foundation, and Casa Ferreirinha are Delighted to Announce the Winners of the 2025 Barca-Velha Golden Vines® MW Scholarships – Wine Industry Advisor
October 14, 2025 — The Barca-Velha Golden Vines® MW Scholarships offer each winner an unparalleled opportunity to support their Master of Wine (MW) studies, alongside creating a bespoke internship programme for themselves with the support of a panel of mentors, enabling them to learn from some of the world’s greatest fine wine and rare spirit estates. Each Scholar will receive £35,000 in funding to be used to support their MW studies and their internship programme, as well as a unique SOGRAPE Portugal experience, during which the Scholars will visit SOGRAPE’s wineries and vineyards in the Douro Valley and elsewhere, while learning from Portugal’s leading family wine company.
Winners were selected following a rigorous application and interview process by a judging panel of industry leaders:
Leila Killoran — Born in Iran and raised in the UK after fleeing with her family at the age of three, Leila Killoran’s journey has been anything but conventional. Growing up in a small Manchester council house, Leila faced the isolation of being mixed-race and ultimately changed her surname from Ahmadzadeh-Tehrani to Killoran to escape bullying. In 2019, she was accepted into the MW programme but had to withdraw when she was made redundant during the pandemic. Undeterred, she completed a postgraduate diploma in viticulture and oenology at Plumpton College and even invested in a vineyard near Limoux with her mother, an endeavour she later had to sell due to falling grape prices. With years of hands-on experience, Killoran is now ready to return to the MW journey and is determined to complete what she once had to pause.
Sera Svitlana Karamshuk — Born in Ukraine and now based in the UK, Sera Karamshuk brings scientific rigour and creative flair to her wine career. After earning a PhD in chemistry, her love of food and hospitality led her to wine. She completed the WSET Diploma in record time and now teaches at the WSET School in London while serving as a Ukrainian Wine Ambassador. Karamshuk is also a digital educator, sharing engaging and inclusive wine content with over 13,000 followers on Instagram as @sera_crow. She hopes to use her MW studies to modernise how wine is taught and communicated to new audiences, making the industry more approachable and representative of the next generation.
Nina Basset FIH, Co-Founding Trustee of the Gérard Basset Foundation, said: “Leila and Sera exemplify the passion, resilience, and curiosity we aim to support through the Barca-Velha Golden Vines® MW Scholarships. Their journeys are inspirational, and we are proud to help them take this next step toward becoming Masters of Wine.”
Joana Pais, Head of Prestige at SOGRAPE, added: “It is a privilege to welcome Leila and Sera into this year’s scholarship programme. Their stories are remarkable, and we’re excited to provide them with mentorship and an immersive education rooted in the heart of Portugal’s winemaking heritage.”
About Casa Ferreirinha
Casa Ferreirinha has been an integral part of the SOGRAPE family since its acquisition in 1987. It is a pioneering force and leading producer of high-quality still wines from the Douro region, renowned for creating the iconic Barca-Velha in 1952. At a time when the Douro was almost entirely focused on Port wine, Casa Ferreirinha broke new ground. Driven by an unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation, the estate redefined the region’s winemaking potential, establishing a reputation for producing some of Portugal’s most prestigious still wines, celebrated for their exceptional quality and remarkable consistency. With a heritage spanning more than 250 years, tracing back to the foundation of Ferreira, Casa Ferreirinha stands as a symbol of enduring oenological excellence.
Remarkably, the house has only had three winemakers throughout its history—whose tenures all overlapped at one point in time. This rare continuity ensured a direct transmission of knowledge, values, and winemaking philosophy, reinforcing Casa Ferreirinha’s deep-rooted commitment to tradition, quality standards, and the true character of the Douro. Casa Ferreirinha remains steadfast in preserving the region’s identity, upholding its high standards, and faithfully expressing the true essence of the Douro in every bottle. https://sogrape.com/brand/casa-ferreirinha
About Liquid Icons and the Golden Vines®
Liquid Icons is a fine wine research and content production company founded by two friends – the late, great Gérard Basset OBE MW MS and Lewis Chester DipWSET – alongside Alexander A. (Sasha) Lushnikov to “do stuff in wine”. Liquid Icons creates first-class original content and industry research about the world’s greatest fine wines and spirits. The company’s work encompasses motion picture, industry research, recognition and celebration of wine and spirits excellence, charitable and fundraising activities, as well as educational initiatives. The Golden Vines® annual activity includes (1) Diversity & Inclusion Scholarships curated on behalf of the Gérard Basset Foundation; (2) a 3-day experience for luxury oenophiles and epicureans within a city renowned for their food and drink culture. Previous years’ experiences held in London, Florence, Paris and Madrid and in 2025 in Miami; (3) live and global online auctions in benefit of the Gérard Basset Foundation; (4) pioneering annual awards for the ‘best of the best’ producers and protagonists in the world of fine wine and rare spirits, informed by the most extensive and in-depth industry research ever conducted. liquidicons.com @GoldenVinesAwards
About the Gérard Basset Foundation
The Gérard Basset Foundation in the world’s leading charitable foundation dedicated to using the wine, spirits & hospitality industries as a global vehicle for change by funding education, training and mentorship programmes which focus on opening up these sectors to passionate and talented individuals, regardless of their backgrounds of circumstances. Gérard Basset (7th March 1957 – 16th January 2019) OBE MS MW MBA OIV MSc ASI World’s Best Sommelier 2010 was without question one of the greatest wine professionals of his era. During his lifetime, Gérard mentored and trained a generation of young sommeliers who sought out his expertise and guidance to launch their own successful careers. Many of those protégés are connected to the Foundation and remain instrumental in keeping Gérard’s legacy alive and flourishing. The Gérard Basset Foundation was co-founded in 2021 by Gérard’s wife Nina and their son Romané who also serve as trustees alongside Jancis Robinson OBE MW and Ian Harris. https://gerardbassetfoundation.org/
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