Judges

Andre Luis Martins

Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer

The Cavalry and Guards Club

Andre is currently the Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer at The Cavalry and Guards Club. Handling the selection of beverages and the catering for 3,000 members is no mean feat. Andre has worked for the last 13 years in the exclusive and luxury world of London Private Members' Clubs. He was born and raised in the north of Portugal, with a wine affinity that stems from his grandparents who have produced wine for many years, and also his father's rich and well-trained palate.

Andres Ituarte

Group Head Sommelier

Tamarind Collection

Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, Andres has worked in the food and beverage industry since he was 19 years old. Andres has worked in almost every facet of the wine world. In 2009, he became a certified sommelier and moved to London where he worked as head sommelier at Coq d’Argent in the City for a number of years. He is now group head sommelier for Tamarind Collection.

Angela Reddin

Consultant

Freelance

Carlos Ferreira

Head Business Development/Consultant Sommelier

Martins Wine Advisor/Humble Grape

Carlos is a Portuguese wine lover with over 18 years of experience in the on-trade market in UK and Portugal. Carlos fell in love with hospitality when he was only 15 years old and his passion for wine has been growing since. Carlos moved to London in 2008, helped open New Street Wine Shop then moved to The Don as a Manager/Sommelier. He is currently working as Head of Business Development at Martins Wine Advisor as well as a Consultant Sommelier and recently joint Humble Grape's team.

Charlie Young

Director

Vinoteca

Charlie is a career restaurant person who fell in love with wine and then opened his first wine bar. Since then his chain, Vinoteca, has gone from strength to strength.

Christopher Cooper

Wine Buyer/Consultant

Drinkonomics Limited

Christopher Cooper has been a busy man since leaving Soho House and has launched his own consultancy Drinkonomics in the summer of 2014, providing drinks business solutions, wine consulting and creative drinks communication. Putting his vast experience at the Gordon Ramsay Group, Corbin & King and the Soho House Group together, Christopher is delivering clients a fresh approach to drinks; while promoting innovation and creativity to businesses wanting to get more from their beverage department. Cooper says ‘there’s been a lot of interest in businesses considering everything around drinks differently’ and believes he’s ‘providing something that speaks everyone’s language’

Giuseppe Longobardi

Business Manager and Wine Buyer

The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston

Hamish Anderson

CEO

Tate Catering

Hamish has worked for twenty five years in the restaurant trade as a sommelier, buyer and most recently as CEO of Tate's catering business. The lists at Tate Modern and Tate Britain have won numerous accolades under his guidance. Outside of Tate, Hamish consults for various restaurants and contributes a regular column on wine to Imbibe and The Saturday Telegraph Magazine.

Jade Koch

Consultant

Freelance

Jade is a freelance wine adviser specialising in creating seasonal, energised and award-winning lists for restaurants and shops. She has 18 years experience in London working mainly as a sommelier and wine buyer (from London suppliers, shipping direct and en primeur) before becoming freelance in 2012. Before that she managed restaurants and worked for a year in a professional kitchen with a Michelin-starred chef, enabling her to understand and create great matches between food and wine. She also judges both food and wine competitions.

James Fryer

General Manager

Woodhead 17 ltd

Jan Konetzki

Director of Wine

Ten Trinity Square /Hotel /Private Club

Jan is the head sommelier at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and is celebrated as one of the world's most inspiring and exceptional sommeliers. In the course of training as a baker, bartender and waiter Jan found his great and enduring passion for wine and fine cuisine. He also discovered the rare talent for the art of the sommelier, a talent soon to be spotted by some of the greatest restaurateurs of our time – which was the catalyst of his career, Jan has worked in several Michelin star restaurants.

Laura Rhys MS

Consultant

Laurent Richet MS

Head Sommelier

Restaurant Fitzgerald - Rotterdam

Growing up in the Loire Valley, Laurent attended catering college in Saumur where he passed his sommelier exams. After finishing these, he went on to work at prestigious hotels including La Réserve de Beaulieu in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco, Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales, The Breakers Resort in Florida, Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest, Restaurant Sat Bains with rooms and now Restaurant Fitzgerald in Rotterdam. During his career, he has had the pleasure of working with incredibly talented and knowledgeable people who have motivated him in wanting to be the best he can be. All his hard work paid off in 2010 when he won the Gastronomy Team of the Year competition and 4 years after starting the Master Sommelier qualification, passed its final level also gaining the Crew Cup. In 2014, Laurent also passed the Sake Sommelier exams.

Lionel Periner

Consultant

Lionel Periner Consulting

After taking the position of Head Sommelier at Michelin star, Adams in Birmingham, Lionel set up his own business, consulting for professionals and organising masterclass tastings for private guests. Lionel's passion for wine and thirst for knowledge increases year on year. His wine related travels have taken him to France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, the USA and many more. He is equally passionate about his clients' experiences whether it be the quality of wine or the service they receive. After working in Michelin-starred restaurants in France, he was looking for a new challenge and more open mindedness about wine and found that in the UK. In 2007 he joined Hotel du Vin in Bristol, then moved to a 2 rosette restaurant called Bells Diner after he completed his certified sommelier qualification by the court of Master Sommeliers. He worked with Matthieu Longuère MS at La Trompette (1 Michelin star) in London to increase his knowledge and successfully passed his advanced sommelier training. He then moved to the Cotswolds for 4 years as group beverage manager at The Lucky Onion. Other awards include: - Winner of Sud de France, Sommelier of the Year 2012 - Winner of Wines of Portugal Sommelier Challenge 2012 - Country Inn Wine List of The year 2014 (Imbibe) The Wheatsheaf Inn, Northleach, Gloucestershire - Imbibe Personality of the Year Awards 2016 shortlisted for Hot Stuff - Harper’s Hot 100 in 2017. N*83

Martin Lam

Consultant

Martin Lam Food & Wine Services

Martin is a consultant on wine and food related matters, following 45 years of experience as a former chef and restaurateur. In 2014 Martin won the Imbibe Industry Legend award. Martin is also a wine judge for the Decanter World Wine Awards, as well as an academician-mentor of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and a fellow of The Riesling Fellowship.

Sarah Jane Evans MW

Freelance

Freelance

Sarah Jane is an award-winning wine writer and wine judge at competitions worldwide. She is the Co-Chairman of the Decanter World Wine Awards and a former Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine. She is also a Certified Sherry Educator and Vice-Chairman of the Gran Order de Caballeros de Vino.

Tom Forrest

Consultant

TomFDrinks

Adam Michocki

Manager & Head Sommelier

The Man Behind The Curtain

Anja Breit

Independent Sommelier

abWINEconsulting

An independent sommelier with more than 10 years of experience in the London wine trade, Anja has worked for Gordon Ramsay (Maze), Zuma as well as the Ledbury restaurant where she was head sommelier from 2012-2015. Anja is a certified WSET educator and trains restaurant teams. She also consults on wine lists for restaurants, hosts private dinners and wine tastings. Anja holds the WSET Diploma as well as the Court of Master Sommelier Advanced certificate and is currently studying for her Master Sommelier Diploma.

Chris Delalonde MS

Head of Wines

The Dorchester

Claire Love

Wine Consultant

Loves Consultancy

Having previously owned restaurants for 15 years, Claire now designs wine lists, assists wine buyers and trains front of house teams and sommeliers in independent restaurants across the Midlands. She has judged for SWA since 2011 and is currently studying at the Institute of Masters of Wine.

Diana Rollan

Group Head of Beverage

D&D

Diana has been in the wine trade for over 18 years. Working previously as wine buyer at Hakkasan Group, she has recently joined D&D as group head of beverage.

Emanuel Pesqueira

Food and Beverage Operations Manager

Edwardian Hotels London

Emanuel is an experienced food and beverage manager with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. He is skilled in wine, catering, the hospitality industry, event management and beverage and menu costing. He is a strong operations professional and has experience working in cruise liners, hotels and private members’ clubs.

Guillaume Mahaut

Wine Buyer

ETM Group

Harry Crowther

Freelance Consultant

Grape Times UK

Immacolata Cannavo

Head Sommelier

Hakkasan Mayfair

Immacolata is an experienced head sommelier with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. Skilled in catering, menu engineering, restaurant management, food & beverage and new restaurant openings. She is a strong operations professional certified Court Master Sommelier and obtained WSET level 3 Sake as well as being a WSET educator.

Julien Sahut

Head Sommelier

Sexy Fish

Julien is currently the head sommelier at Sexy Fish in London. He has worked with renowned establishments and chefs, including Susur Lee in Toronto, Hibiscus and China Tang at the Dorchester. Julien studied hospitality management in France for five years, before venturing to Switzerland, Canada, and now London. Julien also just launched Wine Picker, a wine application for smartphones. Wine Picker is defined by two main goals: to increase users' wine knowledge, particularly across the younger generations, and to help prevent restaurants from failing by improving their overall wine sales.

Mattia Mazzi

Restaurant Manager & Sommelier

Cornerstone

Mattia is currently the sommelier at the River Café, as well as studying towards his Master Sommelier advanced exam. Mattia started his wine journey many years ago in Australia. His ambition took him to London, where he successfully ran the opening and operations of some fantastic venues, mostly fine-dining establishments. Mattia turned his focus on the world of wine, and after a stint a Vinoteca he aimed to polish his skills by working towards the renowned Master Sommelier title.

Michael Fiducia

Club Head Sommelier

The Royal Automobile Club

To say I have been round the block, is probably an understatement... I started my Sommelier career in 2007 as a commis, I have worked for some amazing Michelin Starred restaurants and I returned to where I consider myself at home, the Royal Automobile Club as the Club Head Sommelier. I return for my third year as a Senior judge with SWA.

Nigel Lister

Sommelier

St. Swithins Wine Shippers

Nigel has worked with some of London's best restaurants including; Asia de Cuba, Royal Thames Yacht Club, The Ledbury, Bread Street Kitchen, The York & Albany.

Olivier Gasselin

Director of Trade

OenoTrade

Olivier has been in the wine trade since 2001 and is an experienced sommelier, with stints in the UK, the Middle-East and Asia. He is now based in London and has been with Oenotrade since April 2019. He is a long-standing SWA judge and has been Senior Judge for the last 3 years.

Raphael Thierry

Wine Consultant

Self Employed

Rebecca Coates

Consultant and Winemaker

Independent/ Urban Foxes Winery

Rebecca's wine career began with a degree in Viticulture and Oenology from Plumpton College. Soon after she headed to sunny California to make wine in Sonoma County before returning to London and joining Hakkasan's Wine Buying Team. After 3 years with Hakkasan, Rebecca returned to the winery and is now making wine with a fellow Plumpton alumna under their own label. She continues to judge wine in a number of international competitions and also consults privately advising independent clients.

Rémi Cousin

Head Sommelier

Le Gavroche

Rémi is currently the head sommelier at Michel Roux Jr’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Gavroche. Prior to this Rémi worked for 8 years as assistant sommelier at Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin-starred restaurant, The Fat Duck. Rémi won the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs UK young sommelier award in 2011 and holds the title of Advanced Sommelier from The Court of Master Sommeliers. From a very young age Rémi always thought he wanted to become a chef. However, after a short spell in the kitchen of the George V in Paris, he took a different route and went onto join Le Meurice as trainee sommelier where he tasted for the first time a Château d'Yquem 1988. It was then that Rémi knew he had found his career path! Rémi moved to the UK in 2004 where he started working at the Hotel du Vin in York and in Bristol.

Romain de Courcy

Bar Manager

The Ritz Paris

Romain is the beverage manager at Gazelle in Mayfair where he carefully curates a progressive drinks list and spends most of his time talking to guests, sharing his taste for the finer things in life. After business studies in France, the UK and the USA Romain started what promised to be a successful career in luxury fashion. On the side he regularly hosted cocktail parties for a select few friends and what began as a hobby quickly became his true calling. Two years ago he took a leap of faith and started over as a bartender for The Drink Factory, one of the most highly-regarded companies in the industry. On this new path Romain discovered a passion for hospitality and exceptional wines.

Sue Jones

Owner

The Harrow at Little Bedwyn

Sue bought The Harrow at Little Bedwyn with her husband Roger in December 1998. They created a destination restaurant in the countryside majoring on the finest food, a substantial amount of wines (most recently 900) and professional but relaxed service. Sue ran the front of house team at The Harrow and over the last 10 years, developed and run annual events such as the Tri-Nations Wine Challenge, the Mamba Awards and the World Sparkling Challenge at The Harrow and all over the world. The restaurant shut in March 2020 to allow Sue to pursue other challenges, but food and wine remain very close to her heart.

Sunaina Sethi

Owner

JKS Restaurants

Sunaina is one third of the trio behind JKS Restaurants, which started with the opening of Trishna in 2008. The group consists of 15 restaurants, and Sunaina is responsible for the beverage programme across the group, as well as the people side of the business.

Tanguy Martin

Wine Director

Blandford Comptoir, Cabotte, Greenwich Kitchen

Tanguy joined the London scene around 3 years ago and is now managing the wine department for 4 separate outlets in Liverpool Street, a challenging and exciting position. Tanguy started studying winemaking and wine growing from the young age of 16. He has been lucky to have worked beside Gérard Basset MW OBE for several years.

Terry Kandylis

Head Sommelier

67 Pall Mall

Valentin Radosav

Head Sommelier

Gymkhana Restaurant London

Valentin is the current head sommelier at Gymkhana Restaurant London. Valentin's past experience includes working at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London for two years, one year at Burj Al Arab in Dubai and one year at Purnell's Restaurant in Birmingham. He is an advanced sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, a WSET Diploma Graduate, winner of Sud de France Sommelier Competition in 2016, winner of Bellavita Best UK Sommelier 2017, part of winning team at the Chile Wine Bar War in 2015 at Imbibe Live.

Alan Bednarski

Head Sommelier

Texture Restaurant & Champagne Bar

Since joining The Texture Restaurant Group in 2016, Alan has risen through the ranks to become Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer at Texture. With almost a decade of hospitality experience, Alan moved from his native Poland to London in 2015 to work at Michelin-starred City Social, before joining Texture’s sister restaurant 28-50 Wine Workshop and Kitchen. Alongside managing the day-to-day running of the bar and cellar, Alan is in charge of seeking out new wines from across the globe, creating innovative cocktails and developing the skills and knowledge of his team across the restaurant and champagne bar. In 2019 Alan will sit his court of Master Sommelier diploma exam.

Alonso Abed

Sommelier

Trivet

Alonso's career in wine started when he worked in Napa for a year where he was able to taste the latest vintages and compare the different producers, there he also was able to obtain the WSET level 3 and Court of Masters Certified level. In 2018, Alonso studied at the Basque Culinary Center, doing a masters degree in sommelier service, wine history and tourism, and finished working in Akelarre (3 Michelin Stars), where he was able to taste and compare the latest trends of Spanish wine.

Anita Vighova

Sommelier

Manor House Hotel

Anita's wine journey began in Cyprus where she was fortunate to learn from Vasos Manolis, chef sommelier, working in a fine dining Italian restaurant. After a few years she traveled to England and worked for Hotel du Vin as a sommelier whilst also studying the WSET courses. She joined Exclusive Hotels and Venues in July 2018 where she is currently developing a new wine list, whilst also working her way up to begin studying with the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Annamaria Juhasz

Wine Buyer

Continental Group

Annamaria graduated from the WSET Diploma programme and worked at The Fat Duck on the sommelier team. She has worked in the wine trade since 2012 and the restaurant industry since 2005. Her background is in psychology, she graduated with an MSc in 2012, but while studying fell in love with hospitality and wine.

Antoin UaRuairc

Director / Sommelier

UK Midland Sommelier Ltd

Ant has a thriving consultancy business advising clients on wines and wine choices and staff training across the east of England and the Midlands. He runs sommelier training courses across the central UK region, as well as being a contributor for a variety of online publications, in the UK and Zambia. He worked in hotels in the Pyrenees and returned to the UK where he qualified with the UK Sommelier Association and Association of Italian Sommeliers.

Antonio Federico Moccia

Senior sommelier / Event supervisor

67 Pall Mall

Antonio Federico moved from Italy to London and has worked in the wine and hospitality industry for 5 years. He is currently the senior sommelier and event sommelier supervisor for a private wine member club called 67 Pall Mall. He is a certified sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers and a WSET diploma student.

Aurore Anguenot

Sommelier

Aviary

Beatrice Bessi

Head Sommelier

Chiltern Firehouse

Italian-born Beatrice Bessi has been working in hospitality for 20 years. In Italy she rose to the position of Restaurant Manager, working with the Alajmo family, one of the 50 best chefs in the world. Thirsty to gain knowledge about wine, she left Italy to join Ronan Sayburn Master Sommelier and his team at 67 Pall Mall , starting as Junior Sommelier. She spent three and a half years studying to prepare herself for the Court of Master Sommelier, recently passing the Advanced Exam, one of the hardest in the world, in preparation for the Master Sommelier exam and her hard work paid off. Beatrice then spent time as Assistant Head Sommelier at 67 Pall Mall before recently moving to Chiltern Firehouse as their Head Sommelier.

Bianca Potenza

Sommelier

212 Amsterdam

Carolina W Seibel

Sommelier

Comptoir Cafe and Wine

Charlie Carter

Assistant Shop Manager

The Good Wine Shop

Charlie is currently the Assistant manager at The Good Wine Shop in Teddington, having moved up from Brighton, where he worked for eight years in Brighton's vibrant wine scene. He has recently graduated from Plumpton College, where studied a BA in International Wine Business. He is also completing the WSET diploma in Wine.

Chiara Sieni

Sommelier and Wine Sales representative

MM Grocery

Chiara currently works at MM Grocery where her focus is on bio-dynamic and organic wines. She gained a distinction in her WSET level 2 and 3, and recently graduated with honours in French and Italian Wine Masterclass at the West London Wine School. Whilst studying she worked as a sommelier in busy restaurants. She started at Petrus in 2014 and moved to Bibendum Restaurant in 2015. From there she worked in Henley on Thames at Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse. Chiara is studying for the Diploma WSET

Cinthia Lozano

Marketing Manager & Sommelier

The Winery Honduras

Cinthia is currently the marketing manager and sommelier at The Winery Honduras. She qualified at the Certified Sommelier Court of Master Sommeliers Americas and Sommelier Accolade Wines.

Clement Loubeyre

Restaurant Manager/Sommelier

The Cross Kenilworth

Clement studied for 6 years at a hospitality and catering school in France. He came to England in 2013 to work at The Cross and improve his English. He thought he would only stay for one year but he liked it so much that he never left. He really enjoys seeing how the industry is evolving and has completed his WSET level 2 diploma, learning a lot from his manger Giuseppe Longobardi along the way.

Corina Stanila

Sommelier

La Dame de Pic at Ten Trinity Square

Daniel Jonberger

Head Sommelier

Rockliffe Hall

Daniel has worked in the industry for over 28 years. Wine has always been his passion and he has been fortunate to work with many well regarded establishments. During his years he has trained many apprentice Sommeliers who have grown onto higher levels. The wine list that he put together for Rockliffe Hall won a notable award from AA this year. Daniel speciality is to find small, but exceptional vineyards whose wine he then gladly presents on his popular wine flight in the Orangery Restaurant. South America and South Africa is his current interest and he has been very lucky to visit some of the vineyards to extend his knowledge.

Daniel Loughlin

Assistant Head Sommelier

The Bull & Bear

Daniel Nuttall

Sommelier

Adam's Restaurant

Dario Barbato

Wine Buyer

Individual Restaurants

Dario is currently head sommelier and wine buyer for Individual Restaurants Company, Ridgefield House in Manchester. He has a diverse background in the hospitality industry, built on a broad foundation of over 15 years. His experience across the globe includes event catering, bars and restaurants, hotels, music venues, pop-ups, and private functions throughout Italy, Bermuda, London, and cruise ships.

Dave Cushley

Restaurant Manager

Llys Meddyg Restauant & Rooms

Elena Serban

Head Sommelier

Heritage Restaurant

Elisa Soggia

Sommelier

Trivet

Ennio Pucciarelli

Wine and Beverage Manager

Kahani London

Ennio moved to London in 2014 and started work at Hakkasan. The opportunity was given to him to strengthen his knowledge and learn about a different culinary tradition. After few years he moved to Murano by Angela Hartnett and then recently to Kahani by Peter Joseph. In this time he has achieved many goals such as improving his knowledge in wine, spirits and sake, which has allowed him to be promoted to a managerial position.

Francesca Turra

Beverage Manager

Mondrian London

Francesca is an experienced Head Sommelier with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. Skilled in Catering, Food & Beverage, Wineries, Hospitality Management. Strong operations professional graduated.

Francisco Macedo

General Manager

Cliveden House

Francisco is currently the General Manager for Iconic Luxury Collection and was previously GM of Bovey Castle. He has has 19 years of experience in the hospitality industry and is a fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, a member of the Champagne Academy, a qualified WSET educator, and a WSET diploma student.

Gabriele Bertotti

Sommelier

Maze Gordon Ramsay

Gabriele has been working as a sommelier for the past two years. His passion for wine started from a young age harvesting grapes with his uncle for production. Since arriving in London three years ago he has been able to seek the path to becoming a sommelier and now works for the wine industry.

Gabriele Galuppo

Head Sommelier

Theo Randall c/o Intercontinental Park Lane

Gian Giacomo Stella

Head Sommelier

Simpsons Restaurant

Born in Italy 50 years ago, Gian was a graphic designer for 15 years before deciding to turn his passion into a real job. He attended the Sommelier course of the Italian Federation and in 2010 passed the final exam and became an official Sommelier. Afterwards he worked for 15 months in a fine Italian restaurant in Birmingham, then traveled back to Italy where he was working in a bistro as a sommelier and wine merchant for visiting tourists. In that time he passed, with merit, the WSET level 3 qualification. In 2015 he worked for 6 months as a sommelier and cheese taster in the Slow Food pavilion at the Universal Exhibition in Milan, and soon after returned to Birmingham where he started working for the Simpsons Restaurant as Head Sommelier where he is today.

Giorgio Scarsella

Sommelier/Assistant Wine Buyer

The Stafford

Giorgio began his career by moving out of his family home at the age of fourteen and attending the Hospitality School of Lavagna. He then started his 5-star experience training at the age of eighteen by attending the summer season at the "Belmond Hotel Splendido" where he fell in love with wine and the restaurant industry. The year after Giorgio went to work for another 5 star company the "Preferred", before traveling to London in 2013 to progress his English. Giorgio started working as a "Commis de Rang" at "Taj 51 Buckingham Gate" and has since moved to "Kona Restaurant" and was promoted to "Chef de Rang" in 2014.

Harry Ballmann

Head of Drinks

Folie

Having moved from the great London establishment Wiltons, to open Folie, a chic French Riviera restaurant in Soho, Harry has retained his interest and love for regional French wine and big-hitter Bordeaux. In his spare time, Harry writes for Emerging Vines, a blog and website dedicated to the growing English wine movement.

Heesoo Kang

Sommelier

Flat Three Restaurant

Heesoo was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She worked and studied hospitality in Australia early in her career. She now lives in London and is currently studying WSET level 4. She has worked in several high end establishments both in Australia and London and is now working at the charming and intimate Flat Three Restaurant.

Honami Matsumoto

Founder/owner of House of Sake

House of Sake

Honami has been working with sake and wine for nearly 15 years and is a Kikisakeshi-qualified sake sommelier, WSET-certified educator for Sake Level 3, Wine Level 1 and Level 2 Having trained at Leith’s School of Food & Wine and Le Cordon Bleu, worked as a sommelier for 7 years before her position of sake, wine and spirit specialist in finest wine retail, Honami is a qualified sommelier and has worked at some of London’s renowned places including a luxury wine and spirits merchant Hedonism Wines. Honami is an official sake selection and sake event consultant for Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, UK representative for Keigetsu by Tosa Brewery. Honami created House of Sake to provide carefully selected accessories, events, promotion and sake education to the UK and beyond.

Ian Howard

General Manager

The Hatton Arms

Ian is the head sommelier and general manager of The Hatton Arms, a beautiful grade 2 listed country Inn in Cheshire. Only being there for 7 months after 16 years at The White Hart Lydgate (one of the top 50 food pubs in Britain) He has worked alongside wine companies to create an AA recommended wine list composing of 100's of wines from "house wines" to extremely exclusive Bordeaux's. This is Ian's 4th year judging at for the Sommelier Wine Awards.

Ieva Markaityte

Head Sommelier/ wine consultant

Portuguese Concepts

Ieva Markaityte’s passion for wines started 14 years ago in Minneapolis (US) where she was managing an Italian wine bar. After working there for 4 years she moved back to her home country of Lithuania, where she worked as a brand manager for an international wine company dealing with fine wine brands, alongside studying economics at university. Craving more wine educations she moved to London and graduated with her WSET Diploma. Since then she has been working as a senior sommelier at ‘Zucca’ restaurant, head sommelier and wine buyer for Portuguese restaurant ‘Taberna do Mercado’ and now along that running a natural wine project curating tastings and workshops called ‘SLO Wine’ at ‘OSM Bar’ in Spitafields Market, London.

Janusz Sasiadek

Sommelier

Mercato Metropolitano

Janusz is currently working as a wine sales representative in Mercato Metropolitano in London. He is a member of the Italian Association of Sommeliers, Sommelier Professionista.

Javier Alonso

Senior Sommelier

Hakkasan Mayfair

Last year I couldn't attend any testing. I would love to attend next time if it is possible, thanks.

Jim Bass

Beverage Service Manager

RED Hotels

Jim is the Beverage Service Manager at RED Hotels and gets to work with great food and wine in a stunning location in North Cornwall. Wine lover and passion for all F&B enrolled on 2nd year of the WSET Diploma in Wines and enjoying the challenge.

Jordan Moore

Bar manager, assistant wine buyer

Trullo

Jose Luis Hernandez

Head Sommelier

Hakkasan Hanway Place

Jose Luis was born in Yecla in Spain and moved to the UK in 2005 where he studied for a degree in Hospitality at Plymouth University and it was there where he became very passionate about wines. He is currently Head Sommelier for the Hakkasan Group.

Joseph Lunn

On-trade Consultant Sommelier

Suave Wine

With a background in the hospitality industry, and a degree in Oenology, Joseph helps people make the right wine choices for their business.

Joshua Castle

Assistant Head Sommelier

Noble Rot

Joshua is the assistant head sommelier at Noble Rot. He studied art history at Melbourne University before becoming interested in wine, which led him to take up work at several wine focused restaurants in Melbourne. He has worked during harvest at wineries in Stellenbosch SA (Jordan Estate), Penedes (Raventos i Blanc) and Hampshire (Hambledon). He moved to Oxford in 2017 where he worked in wine and spirits retail at the Oxford Wine Company. From there he moved to London. Since judging at SWA for the first time in 2019 he has taken on more of a wine buying role at his work, with a particular focus on buying fine wine at auction. He has carried out further winery work with Tirage at Hambledon in the UK, and Vendage at Domaine Cecile Tremblay in Burgundy, and also started studying for the WSET Diploma.

Juan Manuel Marcos Perez

Wine Buyer/Head Sommelier

The Gilbert Scott Restaurant

Juan Manuel is currently the head sommelier at The Gilbert Scott Restaurant. He is a qualified product expert in viticulture, winemaking, sales and the end-customer perspective. He has completed his WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits.

Leonie Loudon

Wine Guide/Sommelier

The Forgotten Grape

Working in wine tourism for Arblaster & Clarke since 2009, Leonie lived in Naples for seven years as a travel writer and qualified as an AIS Sommelier in 2014. She works freelance as a consultant sommelier, hosts at tasting events, both trade and public, and runs small-group private tours focusing on lesser-known wine growing regions and grape varieties.

Lucie Kalertova

Sommelier

Caprice Holdings, Sexy Fish

Lucie has been working at Sexy Fish, Mayfair as a sommelier for a year and half. She has taken the test for the WSET Diploma and is currently awaiting her results. Her favourite style of wine is rich Cabernet Sauvignon, Bolgeri wines and good quality Saint-Emilion. She also enjoy Chablis or heavily oaked Napa Chardonnays, but it depends on the mood and occasion. She is looking forward to meeting more people from the industry to share opinions about wine.

Marco Marcuzzo

Head Sommelier

ZUMA Rome

Markus Dilger

Owner & Sommelier

Dilger Sommelier Selection Ltd

Markus set up his own company, Dilger Sommelier Selection Ltd, having worked in hospitality, food and beverage education and trade for the last 30 years. He grew up in the Black Forest - Germany´s No. 1 destination for wine, beer, spirits and excellent food. His profession has taken him to highly recognised places in Germany, France, UK and USA. For Markus, it is a great honour to judge the SWA and meet colleagues from all over the world!

Matteo Cali

Sommelier

Savoy Grill

Matteo is an experienced Sommelier with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. He is a WSET Diploma student and is skilled in catering, food & beverage management, hospitality management, and has a keen customer service focus.

Melania Battiston

Head Sommelier

28-50 Wine Workshop & Kitchen

Melania is 22 years old and comes from one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world: Piedmont. She started her career as a Sommelier only 11 months ago but with a great devotion, motivation and dedication she has managed to achieve a number of different accolades... Best 12 UK Sommelier 2018, Best 6 Young Sommelier 2018 and SOMMIT 2019 in NZ. She is currently on the waiting list for the Advanced Examination CMS and will start the WSET Diploma in 2019.

Melania Bellesini

Head Sommelier

The Fat Duck

Melania was 16 when she fell in love with the wine, and after many years she finally got the chance to work in the industry. She feels there are endless discoveries to be made and that every day is a learning process. She has worked at The Fat Duck since 2011 and feels it has been, and is still, one of the most powerful learning opportunities for her personal and professional development.

Melody Wong

Head Sommelier

The Mandrake

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Melody has worked in Switzerland, Scotland and is now based in London. After working in Dinner by Heston and Ten Trinity Square's Private Club, she is currently the head sommelier at the Mandrake Hotel.

Michael Harrison

Consultant/Sommelier

Michaelharrisonwines

Michael is a very experienced international wine judge and sommelier. He has been a sommelier at various restaurants and four of the Hotel du Vin venues. He is also a wine buyer and consultant to a number of top restaurants and various English vineyards in the south east.

Michael Moore

Managing Director

Moore Show Cuisine & The London Cookhouse

Michael has been an acclaimed chef and restaurateur for 30 years. Trained in the classical school and then developing his signature global cuisine, Michael has been the recipient of many awards internationally during his career. Michael has great expertise in pairing wine with food and this has been a significant feature in the many restaurants he has managed or owned. Michael has big ambitions that match his creative skills, and his large personality match the excellence of his food.

Michal Kozyra

Sommelier

Elystan Street

Michal is currently working as a sommelier at the Michelin star restaurant Elystan Street. Wine has always been his passion and he has worked in the industry for 20 years. After gaining experience in the hospitality and cocktail industry he came to London to work as a sommelier.

Nelio Pinto

Sommelier

Candlesticks

Noelia Calleja

Deputy Head Sommelier

Hakkasan Hanway Place

Oliver Nagy

Senior Sommelier

Hakkasan Hanway Place

Paola Giraldo

Sommelier

Wiltons

Pasquale Moschettieri

Sommelier

Benares Restaurant

Quentin Loisel

Sommelier

Restaurant Sat Bains

Roberto Sanchez

Sommelier

Sexy Fish

Roberto is a sommelier who has worked at Sexy Fish for one year. He previously worked at ROKA, Canary Wharf for a year and a half.

Ross Antonelli

Wine Manager

Hawksmoor Borough

Ross moved to London from Italy 10 years ago to explore one of the best hospitality scenes in the world. The fast paced and energetic restaurant industry has helped his personal and professional growth and he has become very passionate about this industry. Ross has completed his WSET level 3 course and has since worked as a sommelier in various restaurants. For the past 5 years he has worked for the Hawksmoor Group and is currently the wine manager at the Borough branch.

Sarah McKenzie

Sommelier

Nut Tree Inn

Sarah is a sommelier at Nut Tree Inn, a well established country pub in Oxfordshire. She has enjoyed every step of her wine journey, learning, meeting like minded people and visiting new countries.

Savvas Symeonidis

Head Sommelier

Azumi Ltd. Zuma

Savvas quit his career in medicine to follow his passion... wine. He is currently at diploma level on the WSET courses and is aiming for the prestigious Master of Wine title.

Sean Arthur

Head Sommelier

Cliveden House

Sean is currently the head sommelier at Cliveden House in Berkshire. Previously he was the head sommelier of the Latymer at Pennyhill park and Gravetye Manor hotel. His main focus in recent years has been to experiment more with "natural" wine styles, utilizing the biodynamic and organic produced wines, as well as unfiltered and amphora aged wines, from all corners of the globe. Selling big name bottles that demand high prices is always a thrill for him, but introducing his clientele to these more unusual wines is far more rewarding in his eyes.

Shane McHugh

Head Sommelier

Goodman Canary Wharf

A classically trained sommelier who cut his teeth working with some of London's best chefs' from upscale tapas bars to Michelin Star level. Within that time Shane has spent his time buying and selecting wines for various lists and has also competed in multiple competitions as an individual and also representing his country at European level. Shane now works as Head Sommelier at Goodman Canary Wharf where he selects all listings and coordinates the wine program. Shane also spends time studying for WSET which helps him keep in tune with all styles of wine.

Sonal Clare

Restaurant manager/sommelier

Purnells restaurant

Sonal started working at michelin starred Purnells in 2009 and has been working as the restaurant manager since 2014. He is a keen wine enthusiast and also looks after their wine list consisting of over 250 bins. This year Sonal won Sommelier of the Year at the GQ Food and Drink Awards 2018 and also the Midlands sommelier food and drinks award.

Stefano Barbarino

Assistant Head Sommelier

Chez Bruce Restaurant

Tanya Mann

Director

Consultancy

Tanya Mann (Pahkmutova) is a UK based Russian wine professional, certified sherry educator and CWW committee member. She holds a WSET diploma along with degrees in both chemical technology and psychology. Currently she is studying for her Master of Wine qualification. She started her career with LVMH in 2000 and has since had her fingers in many pies, for example she has worked for Château Margaux, sales in Selfridge's and as a teacher at the Sardinian Forte Village Hospitality 5 star Management School. Tanya now owns Eno Gastropub The Vine in the UK which has won a Harper’s wine list Award.

Tim Smith

Wine Director/Sommelier

Winesurfer Consulting

Tim has worked in the food and beverage industry for over 30 years in Southern California, Hawaii and now the UK. Tim has worked as a GM, wine director and/or sommelier at Osteria Mozza, Michael's, Rix, Fenix at the Argyle, the Princeville Golf Resort and Faith & Flower as well as consulting wine director at Bottega Louie. Tim has now relocated to the UK where he has worked as co-wine director and sommelier at Cuvee Vlll in Surrey and as sommelier at The Ledbury. He is certified with the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Sommelier Society of America, holds the Certified Wine Educator title with Society of Wine Educators and has finished one year of WSET diploma studies.

Timothy Connor

Head Sommelier

Heddon Street Kitchen

Timothy is a senior fermented grape information officer who was one of the opening members of core by Clare Smyth and now is the head sommelier in the Gordon Ramsay group.

Tobias Gorn

Wine, spirits & cigar writer, consultant and judge

C&G Ltd, Fieldsports Magazine, IDS.

Tobias Gorn started his drinks industry career in 2003. Throughout his wine and spirit studies and since early years, he has always loved whiskies. As a Scotch Malt Whisky Society veteran and ex-head sommelier for Michelin star rewarded establishments, he gained a good understanding of unique premium drinks. Toby is a panel chair judge at many wine and spirit competitions around the globe. He's also an enthusiastic clay pigeon shooter, official shooting instructor, coach and referee, and award wining drinks & cigar writer and consultant.

Tomasz Kuszneruk

Manager

Pavilion Wine

Victoria Sharples

Head of Wine Operations

St John Restaurant Group

Victoria joined the wine trade nearly two decades ago. She has established and run specialist wine importing companies in the UK and Australia, she has also spent time on the floor working as a sommelier as well as consultant to winemakers along with marketing and brand experience. Currently she heads up the wine operations for St John Restaurant group blending their St John range as well as working closely with their winery in La Liviniere and their full suite of French wine suppliers.

Viorel Filip

Head Sommelier

Benares Restaurant and Bar

With a bachelor degree in The Economy of Commerce, Tourism and Services, a Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership, WSET educated and over 15 years experience in hospitality, Viorel is ready now for a new challenge and looking forward to adding his contribution to this year Sommelier Wine Awards.

Virginia Fontò

Sommelier

La Trompette

Virginia is a Sommelier in La Trompette, London. She is looking forward to broadening her knowledge and tasting lots of wines from different producers.