The Road to MW: An Interview with Loreto Pancorbo
Bordeaux Index
15 August 2025
Introducing The Road to MW, an interview series with three brilliant women all taking on the prestigious Master of Wine qualification, widely regarded as one of the most demanding achievements in the wine world.
Through this series of conversations, we explore the realities of the MW journey: the years of intense study, relentless tasting practice, and the challenge of balancing careers, families, and financial pressures. We also highlight the extra barriers women and underrepresented voices often face, and the vital role that supportive networks play in breaking them down.
The Curious Vines Education Support Awards offer extensive programmes to support candidates pursuing MW, MS, WSET Diploma, and CMS Advanced qualifications. The initiative also fosters in-person group sessions designed to build networks among the next generation of wine professionals. We were delighted to support the MW programme this year, and met a few of the women taking part to hear how they have managed the qualification and what they hope to achieve in the future as they attempt to become the next generation of MW’s.
For the first in our series, we meet Loreto Pancorbo, Co-Owner and Technical Director of Tierra Fundida winery. Based in the Canary Islands, Loreto is navigating the MW programme while running her own business and raising three children.
At 5 a.m, the Canary Islands are still dark and quiet, but Loreto Pancorbo is already awake, coffee in hand, textbooks open, and the world of wine theory spread before her. For an hour before the school run, she immerses herself in varietals, vintages, and viticulture, before the books close and her role shifts to mother of three young children, making breakfast, packing bags, shepherding everyone out the door. By eight, she is running her small winery and working as a consultant, fitting in Ashtanga yoga three afternoons a week, and between February and June, wrapping up early to revise before school pick-up. In the evenings, she squeezes in another forty minutes of study. “Any time is useful and necessary to advance in my studies,” she says.
That discipline has driven her since joining the Master of Wine (MW) programme in 2019, passing Stage 1 two years later. She began with a clear purpose: to fill the knowledge gaps she noticed after completing her oenology degree, and to strengthen her position in a male-dominated industry. “In addition to the knowledge and prestige,” she explains, “this title can help me improve my working conditions.” For Loreto, the MW is not just an academic challenge, it is a way to claim space, raise her professional standing, and show her children that persistence pays off.
The MW programme demands years of disciplined study, encyclopaedic theoretical knowledge, and razor-sharp tasting skills. Each June, candidates face a four-day exam: three blind tasting papers under timed conditions and five theory papers. From her base in the Canary Islands, sourcing the wide range of wines required is a constant challenge, compounded by customs regulations that make online ordering difficult. Without a fixed schedule, she studies at least thirty hours a week, more in the months leading to the exam, balancing her workload and family responsibilities. The sacrifices are real: missed birthdays, family milestones, and at times, her own health. “Everything related to my children is a big emotional challenge for me, such as missing a birthday because I am sitting exams,” she says. The loss of loved ones and strains on her mental health have made the journey as emotional as it is intellectual. She now works with a coach, learning to manage her mindset as carefully as she does her tasting notes.
Of course, while the study schedule is rigorous, Loreto has also enjoyed many rewarding moments on her MW journey: celebrating passing Stage 1 with her family, travelling to London with her husband for exams, and forging friendships that have become as meaningful as any qualification. “Without a doubt, the best thing is some of the people I have met and the good times I have shared with them,” she says. The programme has also expanded her view of wine far beyond the Canary Islands. “It’s made my view of the world of wine much more global and diverse,” she notes. “As a woman in wine, I can also see that in most countries, my female colleagues face the same gender-related difficulties I have experienced.”
If she earns the MW, Loreto believes it will give her voice greater weight in the industry, open doors for new projects, and allow her to champion Canary Island wines on a broader stage. “Sometimes I go to work in a vineyard and when my husband accompanies me, it seems that his word carries more weight than mine,” she says. “That’s one reason I keep going, I want my children to see that even with all the challenges, you can still reach your goals.” She is also grateful for networks like Curious Vines, which she credits with creating a non-competitive, supportive environment for women and underrepresented wine professionals. “There is no competition, only support,” she says. “I sincerely have nothing but words of gratitude for Queena and her wonderful initiative.”
Loreto’s MW journey proves what determination can accomplish, skilfully juggling the demands of motherhood, work, and study in a busy week. Of course, while the studying is time-consuming, there are bright moments that make the experience rewarding, time spent travelling with family, and new friends made along the way. All of this reinforces the importance of initiatives such as Curious Vines' Education Support Awards, giving candidates like Loreto the backing they need to realise their ambitions. When we invest in women’s success, we are not just supporting individual careers, we are building a stronger, more inclusive future for the wine industry.