Dimitar Nikolov is a judge at the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).
Dimitar Nikolov
Dimitar Nikolov has over 15 years of experience in the wine industry as a sommelier, wine buyer, wine judge, wine writer and educator.
Starting his career as a sommelier for a major hotel chain and at a restaurant in Chicago, Nikolov then returned to his native Bulgaria. There he worked for Metro Cash & Carry as the wine buyer for Bulgaria. Following this, he promoted to category manager for Metro Cash & Carry’s entire Russian Federation operations, which saw him move to Russia.
After five years with the company, Nikolov was appointed to a top management position at a wine importer specializing in Hungarian wines. Upon returning to Bulgaria, he created apollowine.com, an online wine shop where he offers a selection of boutique wines from Bulgaria. He holds qualifications from the ISG Chicago, the WSET advanced certificate, and is currently studying for the WSET diploma.
Dimitar co-founded the Wine and Spirits Academy Bulgaria (WSAB) located in Sofia, Bulgaria.
He is now the Business Development Director at an independent online wine shop, Apollo Wine.
Dimitar first judged at the DWWA in 2011.
See more judges for the 2024 DWWA.
