Cathy van Zyl MW is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).
Cathy van Zyl MW
Cathy van Zyl became the first Master of Wine from the African continent when she passed the notoriously difficult and prestigious MW examination in 2005.
She served as Chair of the Institute of Masters of Wine (IWM) education committee and was a member of its Council for six years.
Cathy lectures and judges locally and internationally, occasionally contributes to wine journals and websites around the world, but spends most of her time devoted to wine as associate editor of Platter’s South African Wine Guide.
In 2019, Cathy was named Institute of Cape Wine Masters’ Personality of the Year for her passionate promotion of South African wine.
Recently, she was also inducted as Le Grand Maitre de l’Ordre of the Confrerie des Chevaliers de la Chantepleure. “That’s for my love of Chenin Blanc,” Cathy quips.
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See more judges for the 2025 DWWA.
