James Davis MW

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James Davis MW is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

James Davis MW

James Davis MW is the wine director at Chestnut, and was formerly the general manager at Bolney Wine Estate (Part of Freixenet Copestick & Henkell). He is currently a doctoral student in wine business.

For nearly 4 years, James was commercial and retail director for Adnams, based on the beautiful Suffolk coast in Southwold.

He worked for Tesco supermarkets for 7 years, latterly heading up their wine buying team, and it was there that he became fascinated by wine.

Davis has also worked for brewer and retailer Greene King, where he became a Master of Wine in 2013.

He enjoys teaching about wine, whether through the MW Institute, or at Dijon Business School where he occasionally lectures.

He first joined the DWWA as a judge in 2019.

See more judges for 2026 DWWA.

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Shivani Tomar
Shivani Tomar
Awards Manager

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.