DWWA judge profile: Nigel Wilkinson MS

Nigel Wilkinson MS is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Nigel Wilkinson MS

Nigel passed the WSET Diploma in 1996, he became a Master Sommelier in 2005 and now teaches and examines for both the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Before entering the wine trade, he was named ‘UK Young Wine Server of the Year’ and was also twice runner-up in the ‘UK Sommelier of the Year Competition’.

Nigel is a regular judge for the Academy of Food & Wine Service UK based competitions, the Chaine des Rotisseurs Junior Sommelier Competition, the Decanter World Wine Awards, the International Wine & Spirit Challenge and TEXSOM.

He is a certified sherry educator, a graduate of the Ecole du Vin d’Alsace and is an academician of the Champagne Academy. He has been awarded by the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Bourgogne, is an honorary ambassador of the Grand Conseil du Vin de Bordeaux, an honorary fellow of the AFWS and is a Chaine des Rotisseurs Maitre Sommelier.

Nigel has also worked during the harvest in wineries located in the Yarra Valley & Pipers River (Australia), Gevrey Chambertin (France) and East Sussex (England).

Follow Nigel on X @WilkinsonMS

See more judges for the 2025 DWWA.

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. She serves on the Drinks United Advisory Council board.