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.
She began her wine career in 2003, working in Taiwan before moving to the UK in 2012. She has worked for various UK wine companies, including Vinopolis, Bibendum, Walker & Wodehouse, Berkmann, and was the head of training for WineEd, a London-based on-trade wine training company, a sister company of Jascots Wine Merchant.
Leona earned her Certified WSET Educator qualification in 2017 and became an Accredited Madeira Wine and Bordeaux Wine Educator in 2022, as well as a Rioja Wine Educator in 2023. She is the Champagne Bureau UK education consultant and is also a Master of Wine student.
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.
