Julian Brind

Julian Brind MW (5 November 1942 – 19 December 2010) was a British Master of Wine and director of buying wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks for the Waitrose supermarket chain. Brind was a key figure in the transformation of the British wine trade from the 1970s onwards.

Career Julian Brind was born in Scotland and educated at Strathallan School in Perthshire. Brind started buying wine under the direction of Don Lovell MW, who put him forward for the Vintners' Scholarship, which he was awarded in 1967. In 1970, Brind passed the Master of Wine exam and joined Waitrose to lead the wine buying team in 1971. By the early 1990s Brind had hired a team of five wine buyers, all of whom were experts in their own field, and Masters of Wine. Under his direction, the 'Waitrose list' became known for its emphasis on individual wines from individual producers. Under Brind's stewardship both Waitrose and Brind won numerous domestic and international awards.

Brind held numerous positions within the wine trade: chair of the Masters of Wine Panel of Examiners; chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, 1993; ombudsman to the Circle of Wine Writers, 2001; In the same year the International Wine and Spirit Competition established the Julian Brind Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Wine Industry. The inaugural trophy was awarded to 'Julian Brind'.