DWWA judge profile: Gareth Ferreira MS
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Gareth Ferreira MS is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).
Gareth Ferreira MS
Gareth is an award-winning master sommelier (MS), the first South African to have received this title.
He has over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry. He is currently beverage director of the three Michelin star restaurant Core by Clare Smyth in London.
Previous to Core, Gareth was assistant head sommelier and part of the opening team of the revolutionary wine focused private members club 67 Pall Mall under the tutelage of Ronan Sayburn MS. His career has seen him work at some of the best hotels in the world including The Ritz-Carlton Naples Florida, The Burj Al Arab in Dubai and The Saxon Hotel in his home country of South Africa as head sommelier and beverage manager.
Some of Gareth’s achievements include being named Best Sommelier of South Africa 2016, winner of the U.K. Ruinart sommelier challenge 2016, finalist at the U.K. Sommelier of the year 2017 and 2019. Gareth also represented South Africa at the 2016 A.S.I. Best Sommelier of the World competition in Mendoza qualifying for the semi-final and finishing in the top 15 sommeliers in the world.
Gareth holds a diploma in tourism and the master sommelier qualification through the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) as well as achieving his gold level certification for the A.S.I. sommelier diploma.
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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.