Bruno Besa
Leading expert in fine Italian and European wines, currently serving as the managing director of Astrum Wine Cellars. Based in the UK.
The DWWA Judges
Read the profiles of the world’s best wine tasters, and find out which judges sit on which panels.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Greece & Cyprus: Terry Kandylis
Terry Kandylis is the Group Head Sommelier at the Noble Rot Restaurant & Wine Bar.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Burgundy & Champagne: Charles Curtis MW
Charles Curtis MW writes regularly for a number of magazines.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Australia: Huon Hooke
Huon Hooke is an educator, international wine judge and writer, having published 19 books on wine.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Piedmont: Michaela Morris
Michaela Morris is an international wine writer and educator, based in Vancouver, Canada.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Chile: Amanda Barnes
Amanda Barnes is an award-winning wine journalist and expert in South American wines and regions.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Tuscany: Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW
Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW is the Regional Chair for Tuscany at the DWWA and a consultant tutor at the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) in London.
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DWWA Co-Chair: Beth Willard
Beth Willard, former wine buyer and now a key figure in Spanish wine industry, is a Co-Chair at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Spain: Pierre Mansour
Pierre Mansour is Head Buyer at The Wine Society.
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DWWA Regional Chair for the USA & Central America: James Tidwell MS
James Tidwell MS consults for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and founded the TEXSOM conference and awards.
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DWWA Regional Chair Veneto: Richard Baudains
Richard Baudains, a longstanding contributor to Decanter, also works as a Cambridge University English language examiner.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Portugal: Sarah Ahmed
Sarah Ahmed, aka The Wine Detective, is an independent, London-based wine writer, educator and judge.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Loire: Jim Budd
Jim Budd is a wine writer and has been writing for Decanter since 1989.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Provence: Rod Smith MW
Rod Smith MW is a wine educator, marketer and salesman, based in the South of France.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Canada: Barbara Philip MW
Barbara Philip MW is category manager at BC LIQUOR in Canada, as well as a lecturer, radio columnist and consultant.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Languedoc-Roussillon: Justin Howard-Sneyd MW
Howard-Sneyd founded The Hive Wine Consulting and is a winemaker at Domaine of the Bee.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Port & Madeira: Richard Mayson
An expert in the wines of Iberia, Richard Mayson writes regularly for Decanter, contributes to The Oxford Companion to Wine, and has written 5 books.
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DWWA Regional Chair for New Zealand: Cameron Douglas MS
New Zealand’s first Master Sommelier, Cameron Douglas MS is in charge of the wine and beverage programme at AUT University in Auckland.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Northern Italy: Michael Garner
Michael Garner is a regular contributor to Decanter, and co-owner of Italian Wine Specialists Tria Wines Limited.
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DWWA Regional Chair for Beaujolais, Southwest and Rest of France: Dominique Vrigneau
Dominique Vrigneau is Buying Director at Watermill Wines and a Chevalier du Tastevin.
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DWWA Regional Chair for the UK: Simon Field MW
Simon Field MW worked for Berry Brothers & Rudd for over 20 years. In 2015, he was admitted into the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino.
