DWWA judge profile: Fiona Hayes
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Fiona Hayes is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA)
Fiona Hayes
Having studied languages at Manchester University, Fiona Hayes first worked in the wine trade at Berkmann Wine Cellars, in their York office.
Fiona moved to London after a year and became a buying assistant for Wine Importer Fields, Morris & Verdin, having fallen in love with working with wine and wanting to be closer to the various tastings and events taking place in the capital.
After a number of years, Fiona became an agency buyer for FMV and for five years was a buyer for their parent company Berry Brothers & Rudd, responsible for buying Rhône, USA, Austria, Germany, Alsace, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence and South West France.
She now works for The Wine Society as a buyer, and is currently studying on the Master of Wine programme.
She has also co-founded a wine subscription and consultancy business Grape & Nectar.
Fiona joined DWWA for the first time as a judge in 2019.
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See more judges for the 2026 DWWA.
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.