DWWA judge profile: Leona De Pasquale
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Leona De Pasquale is a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).
Leona De Pasquale is a triple-award winner in 2025, including the prestigious BIH Wine Professional of the Year, sponsored by Decanter.
Based in London, she is a bilingual wine writer and educator. Her cross-cultural background, born in Taiwan and married to an Italian, shapes her distinctive perspective on wine, with particular expertise in Asia, Southern Italy and the rapidly developing English wine scene.
Leona teaches WSET qualifications up to Diploma level and runs Camellia and Vine, where she merges her deep knowledge of wine and tea into innovative education and training. As a seasoned judge at global competitions, including the DWWA, she is committed to elevating wine appreciation with both rigour and curiosity. She is currently completing her second MSc in Viticulture and Oenology at Plumpton College, reflecting her dedication to lifelong learning and to bringing practical, science-based insight into her teaching and judging.
Leona joined for the first time as a judge for the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2023.
Follow Leona on Instagram and see more about her company here.
See more judges for 2026 DWWA.
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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.