Wataru Iwata
Wataru Iwata
(Image credit: Wataru Iwata)

Award winning sommelier Wataru Iwata is joining the judging team at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019

Wataru Iwata

Iwata was named the Best Sommelier of Japan in 2017, and also won the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale Asia-Oceania Best Sommelier Competition in 2018. He achieved 11th place in the A.S.I Best Sommelier in the world competition 2019.

Iwata starts as sommelier in a new hotel The Thousand Kyoto from October 2019. In the meantime, he has been working as wine ambassador for several Japanese companies.

Natalie Earl
Natalie Earl
Regional Editor for France (excluding Bordeaux & Burgundy)
It was during her time studying for a French and Italian degree that Natalie began her foray into wine: tutoring French in exchange for WSET lessons in her spare time (she now realises who got the better deal!). She moved to the Languedoc after graduating to work for a vineyard tour company, before returning to the UK in 2016 to join the tastings team at Decanter.