New Award for the Company’s Master of Wine

H.E. Sarah Jane Evans MW and H.E. Mr José Pascual Marco, Spanish Ambassador

 to the United Kingdom & Ireland

26th January 2024, London - The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic is a Spanish civil order of chivalry and honour granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to Spain or the promotion of international relations and cooperation with other nations.

Commenting on granting the decoration to Sarah Jane Evans, The Ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, H.E. Mr. José Pascual Marco, said, “It is a pleasure to bestow the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica to Sarah Jane Evans. Her long-standing and contagious love for Spain and Spanish wines, which dates back to her time a student at the University of Cambridge, has led her to chair the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, an organisation that has greatly helped raise the knowledge of the diversity and high quality of Spanish wines in the UK market”.

The decoration is granted by the King of Spain and the Grand Chancellor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Order was created in 1815 by King Ferdinand VII in honour of Queen Isabel I and is open to both Spaniards and foreigners with the intent of "rewarding the firm allegiance to Spain and the merits of Spanish citizens and foreigners in good standing with the Nation.”

On receiving the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Sarah Jane Evans MW said, “It is an immense privilege to receive this decoration. I’m really touched, and even a little overwhelmed. I’d like to thank H.E. The Ambassador of Spain to the UK & Ireland Mr. José Pascual Marco for bestowing this honour on me. Additionally, my heartfelt thanks also to all those who have helped me in my career in Spain and the UK.”