DWWA South Africa Judging Panel

Allan Cheesman has been in the UK wine trade for 40 years, 31 of them at Sainsbury’s where he was Trading Director. Responsible for own-label development in the 1970s and 1980s, Allan is attributed with demystifying and popularising wine in the UK. Now semi-retired, Cheesman is a non-executive and consultant for several global wine businesses. He is also a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino and is on the board for the WSET and London Wine Trade Fair. He is an Officier dans l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole and has lifetime achievement awards from Off Licence News and the IWSC. In 2011 Allan was awarded by the King of Spain the Order of Isabel the Catholic, the highest civil award for services to Spanish wines.