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The Marshall Cheung Family Scholarship is a $5,000 CAD scholarship, made possible through the support of Peter Marshall, Monique Cheung, and Hugh Marshall Cheung. The scholarship is open to residents of Western Canada, with priority given to BC based applicants.

 

The intention of this scholarship is to provide resources to the BIPOC community. It is specifically focused on supporting individuals pursuing wine related education at a high level, to help eliminate the financial barrier to entry presented by course fees and exam related travel.

 

Eligibility requirements include enrollment in programs such as the Master of Wine, WSET Diploma, Court of Master Sommeliers (Advanced or Master level), diploma or degree programs in winemaking or viticulture at home or abroad, or graduate wine business courses such as those offered by UC Davis.

 

Pete has worked for 14 years on the import side of the wine business in BC, and is the founder and owner of Sur Lie. He is a WSET Diploma graduate, a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, and has pursued studies in the Master of Wine program. Along the way he has experienced how expensive wine education at the highest level can be. 

 

He grew up watching his parents invest in their community. To follow their example, and to honour their memory, Pete had the idea to create a scholarship to help BC based wine professionals access top level education. When discussing the idea with Monique, she suggested focusing it on the BIPOC community. Having witnessed through her experience some of the inequality and prejudice that is sadly endemic to the industry, and as the father of a BIPOC toddler who he hopes will one day officially join the business despite currently acting in an advisory capacity as Chief Culture Officer, Pete felt that focusing the scholarship on supporting the BIPOC community was perfect.

 

Monique has lived in Washington, California, and in Piedmont, Italy where she completed her Master's Degree in Food Culture & Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences. She grew up in restaurants and comes from a family where her father and grandfather both dedicated their careers to hospitality. Like previous generations, she has worked in hospitality, but also in wine retail, and on the import side of the wine business. 

 

She dreams of a future where our industry, one day, can be described as an inclusive, equitable, safe, supportive and thriving space for BIPOC wine professionals. Her hope for the MCFS is to remove some of the barriers for marginalized individuals working towards attaining their goals, so that they may continue to learn, share and enhance their working environments and uplift others.

 

After searching for a partnering organization to develop the idea of the scholarship, Vinequity seemed like a natural fit. In collaboration with Vinequity, Pete and Monique are excited to launch the Marshall Cheung Family Scholarship.