David Peppercorn is a distinguished Master of Wine who has been visiting the vineyards of France for 50 years. His family was also in the wine trading industry and it influenced him to start a career in this area too. He was Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine from 1968 to 1970 and was the chairman of the tasting panel for the Masters of Wine examination for 11 years. Peppercorn was recognised by the French government for the significant contributions he made to the arts and literature field in 1988. He was knighted with the title of Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Peppercorn is a regular contributor to the Decanter Magazine and the Bordeaux section of the annual Wine Report by Dorling Kindersley.