The Competition Judges
"The IWSC boasts the most highly qualified group of international judges of any wine and spirit competition in the world. We are inundated with applications from people who want to judge for the Competition, and have to turn people away every year. We make sure that our 40 MWs and our prominent trade judges from all over the world are balanced by knowledgeable consumer or "lay" judges, who ensure that products are evaluated with consumer expectations in mind."
"All judges, including our MWs, must go through an induction process and a trial judging day before they are allowed to officially judge on a panel, and performance is constantly reviewed. We are not trying to be "Big Brother", but we owe it to participating producers and the consumer to be as accurate and consistent as possible in our evaluations."
David Wrigley MW
Director of the WSET and Chair of the Technical and Judging Committee
| Chair Judges | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Jim L Beveridge | Diageo Scotland Ltd | Scotland |
| Julian Brind MW | Waitrose Consultant | England |
| Michelle Cherutti-Kowal | Wine Lecturer & Consultant | England |
| Dr David Clutton | Spirits Consultant | England |
| Robert Dale | Jaffelin UK | England |
| Sally Easton MW | Freelance Consultant/Educator | England |
| Brett Fleming | Tigerfish Brands Ltd (UK) | England |
| Angela Forsgren D'orazlo | Mackmyra Svensk Whisky AB | Sweden |
| Anthony Foster MW | Bonhote Foster | England |
| Philip Goodband MW | Goodband Wine Services | England |
| Colin Gurteen | Wine Educator/Lecturer | England |
| Margaret Harvey MW | Wines of New Zealand | England |
| Dave Hughes | Wine Writer/Educator | South Africa |
| Luciana Lynch | Freelance | England |
| James McEwan | Bruichladdich Distillery | Scotland |
| Maggie McNie MW | Wine Educator/Writer | England |
| David Molyneux-Berry MW | Consultant | England |
| Jim Murray | Spirits Writer | England |
| Authur Nägele | Consultant & Educator | Austria |
| Peter Nixson | Freelance | England |
| Richard Paterson | Whyte & Mackay | Scotland |
| Angela Reddin | Lecturer/Consultant | England |
| Lynne Sherriff MW | Wine Consultant | England |
| Tim Stanley-Clarke | J E Fells | England |
| David Stewart | Wm Grant & Sons | Scotland |
| Derek Strange | Waitrose Ltd | England |
| Dr Jim Swan | Spirits Consultant | Scotland |
| Johan Venter | Distell Ltd | South Africa |
| David Wrigley MW | WSET | England |
| Lay Judges | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brian Burch | Jean Burgess | Kathleen Burk |
| Katrina de Gentile-Williams | Steve Edwards | Stephen Foster |
| Dr John H Freeland | Julia Hands | Mary E Howard |
| John McCarthy | Robert Montagu | Joe O'Rourke |
| Tom Partridge | Tony Pye | David Richardson |
| Sandy Roberson | Matthew Spencer-Brown | Chris Stewart |
| Joanne Terry | Mela Watts | |
| Trade Judges | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Barbara Abraham MW | Consultant | England |
| Simon Alper | Chilford Hall | England |
| Alejandro Andavert | Old Vines Wines & Spirits | USA |
| Folke Andersson | V&S Vin & Sprit AB | Sweden |
| Michael Arditti | Wine Consultant | England |
| Richard Bampfield MW | Richard Bampfield | England |
| John Barrett | Bristol Spirits Ltd | England |
| Gérard Basset MW | The Alternative Hotel Co | England |
| Dee Blackstock MW | Waitrose Ltd | England |
| Beverley Blanning | The Fine Wine Travel Co | England |
| James Bochsler | Buyer, Crystal Palace Vintners | England |
| Ben Booth | Justerini & Brooks Ltd | England |
| Carolyn Bosworth Davies | Educator & Writer | England |
| Pierre-Yves Bournerias | Insititute Oenologique de Champagne | France |
| Kieth Bown | Vincor International Inc | Canada |
| Bruno Broger | Distiller | Austrai |
| Andras Bruhacs | Tokaj Classic Winery Ltd | Hungary |
| Jo Burzynska | Freelance Journalist & Wine Writer | New Zealand |
| Ulf Buxrud | Data Analys Scandanavia AB | Sweden |
| Ben Campbell-Johnston | John E Fell & Sons Ltd | England |
| David Cartwright | IHWCG | England |
| Byron Catechis | Hotel le Vieux Manoir au Lac | Switzerland |
| Penny Champion | Peter Lehmann Wines | England |
| Gerard Chaussee | Pages Vedrenne | France |
| Gordon Coates | Majestic Wine Warehouses | England |
| Geraldine Coates | Specialist Writer & Educator | Scotland |
| Richard Cocksedge | Ockse Wines | England |
| Gloria Collell | Freixenet SA | Spain |
| Debbie Collinson | Deborah Collinson & Associates | England |
| Arnaud Compas | Bedales | France |
| Andrew Cook | Luvians Bottleshop | Scotland |
| Neil Courtier | Grape Sense | England |
| David Cowderoy | International Wine Services | England |
| Sue Crabtree | Association of Wine Educators | England |
| Brett Crittenden | BACinWine | England |
| Will Davenport | Davenport Vineyard & Winery | England |
| Harriet Fear Davies | Online Wine Retalier/Media Consultant | England |
| Sterik de Wet | KWV | South Africa |
| Colin Deane | PR Consultant | England |
| Ivan Dixon | Harvey Nichols | England |
| Janet Dorozynski | Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada | Canada |
| Peter Duerr | Agroscope FAW Wadenswil | Switzerland |
| Jochen Erler | Journalist & Wine Consultant | England |
| Kevin Erskine | Writer | USA |
| Emiliano Falsini | Matura Consulting Divsions Enologia | Italy |
| Bartholomäus Fink | Freihof | Austria |
| Brian Fletcher | Casa Vinicola Calatrasi | Italy |
| Andrew Ford | Diageo Scotland Ltd | Scotland |
| Vivienne Franks | Aspects of Wine | England |
| Elizabeth Gabay MW | Consultant | France |
| Mary Gaynor | Wine Academy Ireland | Eire |
| Vincent Gere | CLS Remy-Cointreau | France |
| Lisa Gilbee | Winemaker | Italy |
| Stuart Anthony Gilbert | Master Blender Holey Dollar Rum | Australia |
| Richard Girling | John E Fells | England |
| Nick Gough | Waverley Vintners Ltd | England |
| David Grandorge MW | Freelance | England |
| Lesley Gray | Marketing | England |
| Sarah Greatorex | Wine Specialist (Waitrose) | England |
| Patricia Green | Consultant | England |
| Terry Greene | Importer | Ireland |
| Lisa Grimley | Phipps PR | England |
| Henrik Hammer | Business Consultant | Denmark |
| Julia Harding MW | Waitrose Ltd | England |
| David Hargreaves | Majestic Wine Warehouses | England |
| David Henault | Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte | France |
| Lincoln Wesley Henderson | Brown-Forman | USA |
| David Hodgson | 3 Oceans Wine Company | England |
| Carolyn Holmes | Christie's Wine Department | England |
| Michael Hopkins | Berrymeade Associates | England |
| Chris Horridge | Chris Horridge Wine Associates | England |
| Brian Howard | Wine Intelligence | England |
| John Howard | Howard Consultancy | England |
| Paul Howard | Wine Alchemy | England |
| Lorna Hughes | Stonehill Winery | South Africa |
| Susan Hulme | Vintuition Ltd | England |
| Colin Hynard | Siegel Wine Agencies | England |
| Georg Innerhofer | Haidegg | Austria |
| Jon Jackson | Majestic Wine Warehouses | England |
| Timo Jokinen | TJ-Contrade | Finland |
| Brett Jones | Webbers Wines | England |
| Janette Kelly | Student/Theatre of Wine | England |
| Emma Kershaw | Wine Lecturer | England |
| Justin Knock | England | |
| Rebecca Lamont | Berry Bros & Rudd Ltd | England |
| Barry Lawrence | Freelance | USA |
| Gareth Lawrence | WSET | England |
| Jon Leighton | The Thames Valley Vineyard | England |
| Stephen Lewis | Vintage Roots Ltd | England |
| David Lindsay | The Lindsay May Partnership | England |
| Samantha Linter | Bookers Vineyards | England |
| Matias Llobet | Miguel Torres | Spain |
| Eddie Ludlow | The Whisky Lounge | England |
| Bill Lumsden | The Glenmorangle Company | Scotland |
| Charles Maclean | Whisky Writer | Scotland |
| Ian MacMillan | Burn Stewart Distillers Ltd | Scotland |
| Dr. Binod K Maitin | United Spirits Ltd/McDowell & Co Ltd | India |
| Rupert Mathieu | Consultant | England |
| Jean-Christopher Mau | Yvon Mau SA | France |
| Charles Maxwell | Thames Distillers Ltd | Scotland |
| Peter McCombie MW | Consultant | England |
| Susan McCraith MW | Ethical Fine Wines | England |
| Peter McKay | Alcohols Ltd | England |
| Laurent Metge-Toppin | Winemaker | England |
| Ronald Mills | Wine Consultant | England |
| Joseph Minerva | Vinimpo (UK) Limited | England |
| Rebecca Mitchell | Consultant | England |
| Peter Morgan | Nyetimber Vineyard | England |
| Chris Morris | Brown-Forman Distillery Company | USA |
| Angela Mount | Entrepreneur/Consultant/TV Presenter | England |
| Monica Murphy | Febvre & Co Ltd | Eire |
| Douglas Murray | Diageo Spirit Supply | Scotland |
| David Nathan-Maister | UK | |
| Dr Jennifer Newton | Express Microbiology | Scotland |
| Ake Nordgren | Akebono AB | Sweden |
| Martine Nouet | Freelance Journalist | France |
| Julia Nourney | Spirits Consultant and Journolist | Germany |
| Azriel Obstbaum | Wine Writer | Israel |
| Lindsay Oram | Lecturer | England |
| Paul Quinn | Hartleys Ulverston | England |
| Arno Pauli | Distiller | Austria |
| Olivier Paultes | Maitre de Chal - Callar Master | France |
| Gabriela Perret | Manager | Switzerland |
| John Quarisa | Owner & Winemaker | Austria |
| John Ramsay | The Edrington Group | Scotland |
| Alex Redfern | Harrods | England |
| Amanda Regan | Regan Demesne Kilmore | Australia |
| David Robertson | Whyte & Mackay Distillers Ltd | Scotland |
| Maureen Robinson | Diageo Scotland Ltd | Scotland |
| Rosemary Rogers | WSET | England |
| Bill Rolfe | 10 International | England |
| Nick Room | Waitrose Ltd | England |
| Sophie Rudge | www.sophierudge.com | England |
| Christine Rudman | Wine Consultant and Journalist | South Africa |
| Genevieve Samson | Freelance | England |
| Bernhard Schafer | Spirits Writer | Germany |
| Hans Schleifer | Winemaker | England |
| Michael Schmidt | Wine writer/Educator | England |
| Jerome Schooler | Lurgashall Winery | England |
| Linley E Schultz | Chief Winemaker | South Africa |
| Colin Scott | Master Blender | Scotland |
| Jody Scott | Freelance | England |
| Michele Shah | Consultant | Italy |
| Nigel Shattock | Consultant | England |
| Sam Simmons | William Grant and Sons | USA |
| Linda Simpson AIWS | Freelance | England |
| Neil Sommerfelt MW | Laytons Wine Merchants Ltd | England |
| Andrew Sparrow | British Airways | England |
| Godfrey Spence | WSET | England |
| Paul Stacey | Boutinot Wines Ltd | England |
| Patricia Stefanowicz MW | Wine Consultant | England |
| Ben Stephenson | Hangingditch Wine Merchants | England |
| Paul Stringer | Laytons Wine Merchants Ltd | England |
| Noel Sweeney | Cooley Distillery plc | Ireland |
| Beverley Tabbron MW | Hallgarten Wines Ltd | England |
| Philip Tuck MW | Hatch Mansfield Agencies | England |
| Anthony Westnedge | Anthony Westnedge Association | England |
| Lilyane Weston | International Federation of Wine Writers | England |
| Christopher Weymouth | Wine Store | England |
| Jack Whitaker MW | Freelance | England |
| Jeremy Wood | Adgestone Vineyard | England |
| John Worontschak | Four Corners Consultancy | England |
| Paul Young | Imbibros Wine Merchants | England |
| Ulrich Zeni | Austrian Chamber of Commerce | Austria |
| Specialist Judges | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Miguel Corte-Real (Brandy) | Cockburn Smithes & CIA SA | Portugal |
| Matthew Hudson (Sherry) | Plumpton Colege | England |
| Julian Jeffs QC (Sherry/Spain) | Consultant | England |
| Martine Nouet (Cognac/Calvados/Armagnac) | Spirits Writer | Scotland |
| David Nathan -Maister (Absinthe) | Oxygenee | England |