DWWA judge profile: Matthew Forster MW
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Matthew Forster MW is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards.
Matthew Forster MW
Matthew Forster MW is an independent wine consultant and education specialist.
He started his wine career with Berry Bros. & Rudd where he lectured as a wine school tutor. After writing content for jancisrobinson.com and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), he joined WSET full-time in 2014, leading the team responsible for the design and award of WSET qualifications in wines, spirits and sake globally.
He became a Master of Wine in 2016, having been awarded the IMW Lallemand Scholarship and the AXA Millésimes Noval Award for his research paper on vintage madeira.
Having lived and worked in Madrid, Lisbon and São Paulo, Matthew is particularly interested in the food and wine culture of Spain, Portugal and South America and uses every opportunity to travel to these regions.
See more judges for 2025 DWWA.
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
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.