DAWA vice-chair: Sarah Jane Evans MW
Sarah Jane Evans MW is an award-winning journalist who began writing about wine in the 1980s.
It was during her time studying for a French and Italian degree that Natalie began her foray into wine: tutoring French in exchange for WSET lessons in her spare time (she now realises who got the better deal!). She moved to the Languedoc after graduating to work for a vineyard tour company, before returning to the UK in 2016 to join the tastings team at Decanter.
She worked across Decanter's panel tastings and wine competitions before becoming awards competition manager, overseeing the competitive and judging elements of the Decanter World Wine Awards, Decanter Asia Wine Awards and Retailer Awards, and completing her WSET Diploma in 2019.
In 2021 she made the shift to the Decanter editorial team, and is now the Regional Editor for France (outside of Bordeaux and Burgundy).
She will always be drawn to the wines of the Languedoc and Roussillon, but her wine tastes are wide-ranging and she can't resist a glass of Manzanilla Sherry or the lure of an obscure grape variety.
Sarah Jane Evans MW is an award-winning journalist who began writing about wine in the 1980s.
A lawyer by training, Poh Tiong Ch'ng published the world’s first Chinese Bordeaux Guide in 2000.
Following a competitive final at the Savoy Hotel in London....
Emanuel Pesqueira is Food and Beverage Operations Manager at Crowne Plaza Albert Embankment.
Jane MacQuitty is a wine writer, author, judge and commentator.
Alessio Spadone manages the cellar of his family business, La Bandiera.
James Reed is a buyer at Majestic Wine.
Bérenger Piras is the Head Buyer of the leading French online wine retailer VINATIS.
Peter Nixon has been with Australia's leading multi-channel drinks retailer, Dan Murphy's, for almost a decade. He established the their Wine Panel and in January 2018, he took on the additional role of Category Manager for International Wine at Dan Murphy's.
Panos Kakaviatos is a published wine writer and runs his own wine website called wine-chronicles.com. He also organises educational wine tasting dinners and offers cellar consulting and wine tours for individuals.
Bob Betz MW is the consulting winemaker of Betz Family Winery in Washington State, a company he and his wife established in 1997; he currently also consults for a number of other North American west coast wineries on winemaking, sensory and blending issues.
Sebastian Payne MW is an integral part of The Wine Society’s buying team and currently sources its Italian and Eastern European wines, as well as writing for the Society List and website.
Eric Zwiebel MS is Cellar Master at Summer Lodge Country House Hotel in Dorset.
Helen Williams is part of the wine buying team at the Hakkasan Group since 2015. Based in the London Head Office, she buys fine wines for the five London sites, including the Michelin-starred Hakkasan Hanway Place and Yauatcha Soho.
Peter Wallbridge is a Buyer for Spain and South America for Enotria.
Pierre Vila Palleja is a wine writer, journalist, and Sommelier at 2 Michelin Star Restaurant Lasserre in Paris.
Jonas Tofterup MW works for Viña Valdivieso Chile as Export Manager Europe and Brand Ambassador. He is a founder of the Iberian Wine Academy in Spain where he runs WSET courses.
Gill Sykes is Manager of the Wine House, Melbourne, Australia and a founder member of the Melbourne Female Tasting Group.
Elisa Errea is the Founder and Director of The Wine Studio, an internationally-awarded Spanish wine school offering WSET qualifications as well as custom training.
Geoffrey Dean is a freelance wine writer for a number of publications and a Master of Wine student.
Bartholomew Broadbent is the owner of Broadbent Selections, a fine wine importer in the USA and he also produces Broadbent, his eponymous brand of Port, Madeira, Vinho Verde and Gruner Veltliner.
Linda Jotham MW is a member of the tasting panel for the Wotwine consumer-facing app, judges in international wine competitions and participates in the education programme of the Institute of Masters of Wine.
Hamish Anderson is a journalist and CEO of Tate Catering, whose wine lists have won numerous awards.
Satoru Mori, award-winning Executive Sommelier, is a judge in the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2018.
Sarah Heller MW, content creator, visual artist and wine branding expert, is a new addition to the judging panel for the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2018.
Vice-President of the Sommelier Association of Singapore, Gerald Lu, is a judge at the 2019 Decanter Asia Wine Awards
Where to eat and drink...
Romana Echensperger MW is a wine educator, consultant and an independent wine journalist with her own wine column. She is an ambassador for German Wines for the German Wine Institute.
For the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018 Karen Macneil will be joining the Regional Chair panel, taking over USA & Central America.