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Hotel Terravina

English sommelier (1957–2019)

Gerard Francis Claude Basset OBE, MS, MW, MBA, OIV MSc (7 March 1957 – 16 January 2019) was the owner of Hotel TerraVina, a New Forest Hotel near Southampton in Hampshire, United Kingdom. At the time of his death, he was the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, Wine MBA, OIV MSc in Wine Management and World's Best Sommelier.2 It was founded in 1997.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1997Founded1

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Gerard Francis Claude Basset OBE, MS, MW, MBA, OIV MSc (7 March 1957 – 16 January 2019) was the owner of Hotel TerraVina, a New Forest Hotel near Southampton in Hampshire, United Kingdom. At the time of his death, he was the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, Wine MBA, OIV MSc in Wine Management and World's Best Sommelier.2

How it started

Early life and education

Basset was born in the industrial city of St Étienne. His parents were Marguerite (née Conorton), a midwife, and Pierre-René Basset, a draughtsman.

Career

In 1989 Bassett qualified as a Master Sommelier, and in 1998 as a Master of Wine. In 1992, he also won Best International Sommelier for French Wines (Paris) and four years later he went on to win The Best Sommelier of Europe (1996). He was subsequently ranked in 2nd place in the World's Best Sommelier Competition on three occasions, until he won the title upon his sixth attempt in 2010.

In 1994 Basset co-founded Hotel du Vin with partner Robin Hutson, by opening their first hotel in Winchester. The chain grew to six hotels before selling to MWB Group in October 2004. In 2007, Basset opened Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest near Southampton with his wife Nina. Hotel TerraVina closed at the end of February 2018 and reopened on 5 March as kitchen café, deli and boutique B&B, Spot in the Woods.

From Wikipedia’s article on Hotel Terravina, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Timeline

  1. 1997Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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