Master of Wine
Debra Meiburg
- Discipline
- Master of Wine
i. Biography
As Founding Director of MWM Wine School in Hong Kong, Debra Meiburg built a career at the point where accounting discipline meets wine education. She moved to Hong Kong in 1988 to work as an accountant, and the city became the base from which her work expanded into classrooms, tasting rooms, and media. In her hands, analysis did not sit apart from aroma; it became part of the same professional vocabulary.
The Path
Early roles in accounting, teaching, and editorial work show the range of Debra Meiburg’s practice. She worked as accountant at Price Waterhouse Coopers Hong Kong in Hong Kong, professor of wine at School of Hospitality and Service Management, Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and contributing editor at Asian Tatler magazine group. Those posts place finance, instruction, and publishing in the same frame: a career that carried technical training into a field that also depends on language, structure, and judgment. Today, Debra Meiburg is founder and host of Meet the Winemaker (since 2009), founder and host of Taste the Wine, columnist of South China Morning Post, Founding Director of Cathay Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition, External Examiner, Professional Diploma in Wine Assessment and service of Open University of Hong Kong, and Assistant Training Consultant of Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE). The work spans hosting, writing, assessing, and teaching, with each role turning wine into something that can be explained, evaluated, and taught without losing its specificity.
The Work Today
Two founding roles anchor Debra Meiburg’s current practice: Founding Director of Meiburg Wine Media and Founding Director of MWM Wine School. Together they place her inside both the production of wine content and the training of the trade, with one institution carrying media and the other carrying education. The through-line is not scale for its own sake, but repetition, standards, and a clear way of organizing knowledge. Her work also extends into consultancy and judging. She works as a wine consultant for Cathay Pacific Airways and Cathay Dragon, chairs the Education Committee for the Institute of Masters of Wine, and serves as Chair of Judges for the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition. These roles sit on the practical side of the field: service, evaluation, and the setting of standards. Grape Moments, her video series broadcast via taxis to 70 million monthly viewers in China, carries wine education into a different setting entirely. The format widens the audience without changing the task: to make wine legible, immediate, and usable outside specialist rooms.
Career - Founder and host — Meet the Winemaker, Hong Kong (2009–present) - Founder and host — Taste the Wine - Columnist — South China Morning Post, Hong Kong - Founding Director — Cathay Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition, Hong Kong - External Examiner, Professional Diploma in Wine Assessment and Service — Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Assistant Training Consultant — Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), Hong Kong - Accountant — Price Waterhouse Coopers Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Professor of Wine — School of Hospitality and Service Management, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York - Contributing editor — Asian Tatler magazine group
Signature
Debra's signature dishes include Taste the Wine, Grape Moments, Meet the Winemaker, Debra Meiburg’s Guide to the Asian Wine Trade, and Wine in China. Together, these titles map the range of her work: hosting, commentary, education, and trade-focused writing. They show a practice built on communication, with wine presented as subject matter for both specialists and a wider public.
Acclaim
Debra's honors include Prestige Woman of Power, Decanter's list of seven names to watch, Entrepreneur of the Year, Il Premio Internazionale (Vinitaly International Award), China Power List, and Master of Wine title. These recognitions plac
