Bhatia Dheeraj, Head Sommelier at Merivale Group, Sydney, is a judge in the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019
Bhatia Dheeraj
Bhatia Dheeraj is currently the Head Sommelier at the Merivale Group in Sydney, having previously been Head Sommelier of Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia. After finishing his contract as Chief Sommelier at three Michelin starred Robuchon au Dôme in Macau, he relocated to Australia. Previously he had been Chief Sommelier at The Peninsula Hong Kong, overseeing the wine program for all of the hotel’s restaurants as well as being dining room sommelier for their French fine dining restaurant, Gaddi’s.
Throughout Dheeraj’s wine career, he has worked in Hong Kong, South Africa, Singapore, India, Dubai, and continues to manage projects for the Raffles Hotel chain in the Seychelles and Beijing. His earlier roles include apprentice sommelier at the world-famous Burj Al Arab in Dubai, sommelier and beverage consultant at The Roundhouse in Cape Town, and Head Sommelier of Raffles Singapore.
In 2011, he was named Best Sommelier at the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore, and more recently he won the Ruinart Sommelier challenge 2016 held in Melbourne and represented Australia in Champagne.
Bhatia Dheeraj has been a Decanter Asia Wine Awards judge since 2013.
