DWWA 2013 Languedoc-Roussillon Judging Panel

Rosemary George MW DWWA 2013 Regional Chair Rosemary George MW was one of the first ever female Masters of Wine, becoming an MW in 1979. Rosemary has worked as a freelance wine journalist since 1981, and is a vice-president of the Circle of Wine Writers. She has written 11 wine books, including two on Tuscany, most recently Treading Grapes: Walking through the Vineyards of Tuscany . She has a second home in the Languedoc, and writes a blog on the region, tastelanguedoc.blogspot.com . Roberto Della Pietra DWWA 2013 Judge Roberto Della Pietra began his wine career as Commis de Rang at the Grand Hotel Moroni in Finale Ligure, Italy, in 1993. He then moved to the UK and joined the team at Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey as Commis de Rang, before being appointed as Sommelier. In 1999, Roberto moved to LâOrtolan in Berkshire, to take on the role of Head Sommelier, during which time he competed and came third in the MoÃ«t UK Sommelier of the Year competition (2000). A year later he followed his employer, John-Burton Race, to The Landmark to open the John-Burton Race restaurant, which was subsequently awarded two Michelin stars. In 2002 he became Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer for the Michelin-starred Roussillon Restaurant in Pimlico, before joining Gauthier Soho Restaurant in 2010. After several years on the floor, Roberto currently dedicates his time to the restaurantâs retail side, Gauthier Wines. Tony Aspler DWWA 2013 Regional Chair Tony Aspler has been writing about wine since 1975, and has been Wine Columnist for The Toronto Star for 22 years. He is the author of 16 wine books, including The Wine Atlas of Canada , and three wine murder mystery novels: Blood Is Thicker than Beaujolais , The Beast of Barbaresco and Death on the Douro . In 2001, Tony co-founded the charity Grapes for Humanity to raise money through the wine community for victims of landmines and children with disabilities. In 2007 Tony was awarded the Order of Canada and in 2012 he was elected to the New York Media Wine Writers Hall of Fame. Alex Hunt MW DWWA 2013 Judge Alex Hunt MW joined the wine trade as a van driver for Oddbins while studying philosophy and psychology at Oxford, where he captained the varsity blind tasting team. After graduating in 2000, he joined Mayfair Cellars, holding both sales and buying roles, before moving to Berkmann Wine Cellars in 2006, where he is currently Purchasing Director. Alex has been a recipient of the Madame Bollinger Medal for excellence in the Master of Wine tasting exam, and since February 2012 he has written a monthly column on taste and tasting for JancisRobinson.com . Mark Andrew DWWA 2013 Judge Mark Andrew is the Senior Wine Buyer at Kensington-based merchant, Roberson Wine. In addition to its award-winning shop on Londonâs Kensington High Street, Roberson supply wine to many of the UKâs top restaurants. When Mark is not seeking out interesting new wines he runs Robersonâs Wine School and fine wine tastings. In his spare time he is editor of Noble Rot magazine and studying towards the Master of Wine qualification. Arabella Woodrow MW DWWA 2013 Judge Arabella Woodrow MW joined the wine trade in 1979 after leaving university with a BA and a D Phil in Biochemistry. She worked first in the Fine Wine Division of Harveys of Bristol, which gave her an excellent grounding in all the classic wine regions, and after taking the WSET Higher Certificate and Diploma examinations in the early 1980s, Arabella was awarded the Vintnersâ Scholarship in 1983 and passed the MW exam in 1986. Since then, Arabella has worked in many different sectors of the trade and has been based in various locations from the south of England to Scotland, and currently resides in West Yorkshire, where she works from home, consulting for Broadland Wineries as their Wine Director. Outside of work, Arabella has been a keen sportswoman for a number of years and has run over 40 marathons and numerous triathlons, but her main athletic challenge currently lies in orienteering events. Elizabeth Gabay MW DWWA 2013 Judge Elizabeth Gabay MW has specialised in the wines of south-eastern France since the 1980s. Starting as an independent wine merchant and consultant, she became a Master of Wine in 1998, and since moving to south east France in 2002, she has been writing, teaching, holding masterclasses and judging. Elizabeth writes on Provence, Hungary and northern Italy for several magazines, has contributed to winetravelguides.com and updates the Provence section for both Oz Clarkeâs Pocket Guide and Jancis Robinsonâs World Atlas of Wine . Passionate about history, Elizabeth lectures on the history of wine at academic conferences and is writing the definitive history of punch. Simon Field MW DWWA 2013 Judge Simon Field MW joined Berry Brothers & Rudd in 1998, having spent several misguided but lucrative years working as a Chartered Accountant in the City. His passion for opera and travel is well suited to buying trips down the Rhine and into the darker recesses of Andalucia. In addition to buying the Spanish and fortified ranges, Simon is also responsible for purchasing wines from South America and England. He gained his Master of Wine qualification in October 2002. David Allen MW DWWA 2013 Judge David Allen MW discovered a love of wine when he worked for Oddbins before University, and after graduating in 1990, he spent 10 years running wine shops in South London for the company. Following this, he moved to Oddbinsâ Head Office to work in marketing and logistics roles, and began studying for the MW, a journey which took him around the world several times. In 2004, David left Oddbins to join Uvine, and from 2006 to 2008, he worked for wine distributers Top Selection. David was appointed to his current role of Fine Wine Manager at Coe Vintners in 2010, and although his areas of interest are varied, he particularly loves Claret, Champagne, Riesling along with the wines of Australia, Greece and New Zealand. Vincent Gasnier MS DWWA 2013 Judge Vincent Gasnier MS was born in 1974 in the Loire wine country, and trained in some of the best restaurants in Paris before moving to the UK. In 1996, Vincent joined the staff of the newly-opened Hotel du Vin in Winchester and found himself receiving many awards for his work, including UK Sommelier of the Year 1997. Since 2000 he has been Managing Director of his own wine consultancy company, VincentGasnier.co.uk , and is a Wine Buyer and Sommelier for many hotels and restaurants, as well as managing cellars for private clients, hosting events and appearing on TV shows. Vincentâs books include Drinks (Dorling Kindersley 2005) and How to Choose Wine (Dorling Kindersley 2006). Justin Howard-Sneyd MW DWWA 2013 Judge Justin Howard-Sneyd MW's career in the wine trade started when he worked in a shop, ran wine education courses, and worked six vintages in South Africa, Hungary, Romania and France. He then settled down in England to become a buyer for Safeway, and passed the MW in 1999, winning the Tim Derrouet Award as the outstanding student from his year. A year later, Justin joined Sainsbury's, where he was a buyer until 2005, when he moved to Waitrose to head up their wine team for 5 years. Justin is now Global Wine Consultant to Direct Wines and founder of The Hive Wine Consulting Limited. In addition to the day job, he and his family make 4,000 bottles a year of Domaine of the Bee, a blend of Grenache and Carignan from Roussillon. Simon Taylor DWWA 2013 Judge Simon Taylor studied History of Art and spent 23 years at Sothebyâs as a picture expert and Manager before switching careers. He gave up the big salary to found Stone, Vine & Sun, a mail order wine merchant specializing in Languedoc-Roussillon, the RhÃ´ne, South Africa and South America. Simon makes as many overseas trips as he can afford in order to prospect for new wines. Dominique Vrigneau DWWA 2013 Judge Dominique Vrigneau joined Majestic on a work experience placement in 1986 after completing a five-year PhD in agriculture and oenology in France. He was soon promoted to the position of Buying Manager, and in 1991 he joined Thierry's Wine Services after a chance encounter with founder Thierry Cabanne. He became the company's Buying Director for France, Austria, Germany, Australasia and the US, and in November 2012 Dominique moved to a new venture, Watermill Wines, and now combines his buying capabilities with selling to key accounts. Dominique is also a Chevalier du Tastevin and has judged in key international competitions for many years. Susan McCraith MW DWWA 2013 Judge Gearoid Devaney MS DWWA 2013 Judge Gearoid Devaney MS works at Flint wines, an independent merchant based in London. He was voted UK Sommelier of the Year 2008, Restaurant magazineâs Sommelier of the Year 2007 and is now a Master Sommelier. He was Head Sommelier at Londonâs Capital Hotel and has additionally worked at Londonâs l'Oranger and the three-Michelin starred Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. In 2003 he assisted Tom Aikens in opening his signature restaurant and was part of the team instrumental in the restaurant winning a Michelin star. Igor Ryjenkov DWWA 2013 Judge Igor Ryjenkov MW was born in Russia but moved to Canada shortly after graduating with a degree in journalism. He became interested in the wine industry after a visit to the Niagara Peninsula, which led to a period of studying, tasting and travelling. From 1995 to 2003 he completed WSET courses to Diploma level and achieved his MW, during which time he was twice awarded the North American Scholarship and also received the Henkell-Sohnlein Award for Best Dissertation. Igor "turned pro" in 1999, working first in on-trade sales for a wine agency and then as a retail product specialist with the LCBO. As seven years on the front line in Ontarioâs two largest retail locations, Igor was promoted to European Wines Product Manager for Vintages, the premium wine division of the LCBO. Igor has contributed to a number of wine books and manuals, has judged in several international wine competitions, and regularly travels to the key wine producing areas for business or as a part of educational MW visits. Margaret Rand MW DWWA 2013 Judge Margaret Rand is a past Editor of Wine Magazine , Wine & Spirit International and Whisky Magazine . She now writes for The World of Fine Wine , Drinks Business , Decanter and the FT among others, and is General Editor of Hugh Johnsonâs Pocket Wine Book and Mitchell Beazley's forthcoming Pocket Beer Book . With Oz Clarke, she co-authors Grapes & Wines , of which an updated edition is imminent, and her latest book, Exploring Wine , will be published by Anova Books when they get round to it. Chris Murphy DWWA 2013 Judge Chris Murphy has worked at Marks & Spencer all his life, and has spent the best part of the last three decades sourcing wines from around the world. For the past six years he has concentrated on the M&S Wine Club, âWine Onlineâ, and has judged at wine competitions both at home and abroad. Chris has tried to adhere to the advice given him by Christopher Tatham when he was first starting out, that âthe first duty of a wine is to be deliciousâ. Arnaud Goubet DWWA 2013 Judge Hailing from Normany, France, Arnaud Goubet quickly realised that he wanted to work in the wine trade. He joined the catering team at the five-star Intercontinental Paris Le Grand after completing one year at University, and after four years there, he moved to the UK to take WSET courses and work as a sommelier, after which he worked for Harveyâs of Bristol. Drawing on his professional experience, Arnaud participated in the TrophÃ©e Ruinart in 2000 and 2001, and he has since held positions at The Vineyard at Stockcross and Cliveden House in the UK, and Pierre Gagnaire and Lasserre in Paris. Arnaud is currently working at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, where he has been Chef Sommelier since 2006. Jean-Michel Valette MW DWWA 2013 Judge Jean-Michel Valette MW is Chairman of Vinfolio, a US-based internet retailer and seller of fine wine. He has also been chairman and MD of Robert Mondavi Winery, as well as CEO of Franciscan Estates. Outside of wine he is a Director of the Boston Beer Company, maker of Sam Adams beer, and the Chairman of Peet's Coffee & Tea. His interest in vines and wine started at an early age during summers spent with his grandparents in Vouvray, and since becoming one of North America's early Masters of Wine, he has been active in education, examination and governance of the Institute of Masters of Wine, where he is currently Chairman.

DWWA 2013 Languedoc-Roussillon Judging Panel

Latest Wine News

Angry French grape growers smash bottles outside Lidl

France will uproot 27,500 hectares of vineyards to combat oversupply crisis

Jason Millar: ‘What’s actually wrong with a little throaty roar in a 15% Roussillon red?’

Napa Valley estate once home to ‘Two Buck Chuck’ producer is up for sale

Concha y Toro becomes the largest producer to join the Bottle Weight Accord