DWWA judge profile: Dominic Smith
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Dominic Smith is a judge at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards.
Dominic Smith
Dominic Smith embodies both music and wine, being a professional musician for over 20 years and working as a sommelier at the Clove Club in London.
His music career has seen many celebratory moments. He won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997, with the Roni Size Reprazent. His band won a MOBO and a Q award for best live act. Also a radio presenter, he spent 3 years on Kiss FM hosting the national chart show.
A chance encounter with a very smooth bottle of wine led Dominic down the glorious rabbit hole that is wine education. Achieving his WSET level 3 with distinction and while contemplating his next move, a meeting with Daniel Willis led him to training at the legendary Clove Club in London. After a few years of part time shifts, he was offered a full time position in 2020, and is now one of the four sommeliers at the refined establishment.
His experience as a sommelier and passion for wine is now blossoming more than ever. A recently curated wine case sold out in days and he regularly gives online tastings.
Dominic joined the Decanter World Wine Awards as a judge for the first time in 2021.
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Born and raised in India, Shivani is the awards manager at Decanter, managing the 300-strong cohort of worldwide judges for the world's largest wine competition, the Decanter World Wine Awards, ensuring a seamless judging process and driving the competitive integrity of the awards. After earning a master’s in wine management from the Burgundy School of Business, she moved to London in 2016 and completed her WSET diploma. While Burgundy holds a special place in her heart, Champagne is her go-to bottle. Alongside her full-time role, she has been dipping her toes into wine writing, relishing the opportunity to bring wine stories to the surface.