DWWA 2013 Central, Eastern and Northern Europe Judging Panel

Angela Muir MW DWWA 2013 Regional Chair Angela Muir MW started her career with John Harvey & Sons of Bristol, shortly after leaving Bristol University with a degree in Politics and Economics. She then joined Grants of St James's and Victoria Wine as a Buyer. In 1988 Angela set up her own prize-winning wine shop and school which she followed up with Cellarworld International, a wine consultancy, and then Cellarworld Argentina in 2002. Angela also lectures in French, English and Spanish on wine production and the UK market. She is an MW of more than 30 years' standing, a past chairman of the MW Education Committee, and past president of the Wine and Spirit Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Georgi Mihov DWWA 2013 Judge Georgi Mihov has worked for luxury hotels in Europe, China and the Middle East, as well as on Cruise Liners, for the past ten years. Presently, he combines his work as Head Sommelier of private membersâ club The Residence Exclusive Club in Sofia, Bulgaria, with a guest sommelier and consultant role for TV culinary show Bon Apeti. Georgi is often involved in wine training and consultancy, and holds the title of Best Sommelier of Bulgaria 2011. Caroline Gilby MW DWWA 2013 Regional Chair Caroline Gilby MW has been visiting Hungary for over 20 years since becoming the first major buyer to import the country's wines whilst at Augustus Barnet off-licences. She has a doctorate in plant biology but abandoned life behind the microscope for a career in wine soon after winning the Decanter-Macallan Malt Whisky Taster of the Year Award while still a student. Caroline passed her MW in 1992 and then spent seven years as a senior wine buyer before switching to a career as freelance writer and consultant, specialising in Central and Eastern Europe. She contributes to Hugh Johnsonâs Pocket Wine Guide , and in the past has written for Dorling Kindersleyâs Wines of the World , The Oxford Companion to Wine , The Wine Opus and Tom Stevensonâs Wine Report , as well as to various websites and magazines. David Bird MW DWWA 2013 Judge David Bird MW started his working life as an Analytical Chemist for Colmans of Norwich. A promotion to Quality Control Manager of the new wine department in 1973 sparked a huge interest in wine, leading to David passing the MW in 1981, and in the same year winning the Tim Derouet Award and becoming a Chartered Chemist. He was instrumental in the development of the bag-in-box whilst working for Stowells of Chelsea as Quality Assurance Manager and in 1994, David set up his own consultancy to provide a service of quality management to ISO9001 and wine production audits around Europe. The author of Understanding Wine Technology , first published in 2000 and re-published in 2010, David is past Chairman of the Technical Committee of the WSTA, and is Technical Advisor to both The Wine Society and the Royal Tokaji Wine Company. Darrel Joseph DWWA 2013 Judge Darrel Joseph is based in Vienna and began writing about the wines of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in 1995, after his palate was captured by Hungarian Tokaji and Austrian GrÃ¼ner Veltliner and Riesling. Since then his interests have broadened to include Croatia, Slovenia and all Balkan wine countries, plus Georgia and Russia, as well as the aforementioned Austria and Hungary. Darrel's writing has appeared in Decanter , Wine Spectator , Wine Business International and Harpers Wine & Spirit , and he has also contributed to Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Guide and wein.pur's Best of Austria , and Guide to GrÃ¼ner Veltliner . He was also the English language editor of LÃ¡szlo Alkonyiâs book, Tokaj, The Wine of Freedom . When he's not writing, Darrel conducts wine tastings and seminars internationally, and translates a wide range of wine texts from German to English. Igor Sotric DWWA 2013 Judge After graduating with a degree in Microbiology, Igor Sotric moved to the UK and entered the wine industry 18 years ago. Qualified to WSET Diploma level, he is Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer at China Tang at the Dorchester, and has prior experience with Asian restaurants, including Cocoon and the St Martins Lane Hotel. Igor also acts as consultant to several restaurants, and since 2009 he has been making his own Chardonnay in Goriska Brda, Slovenia, with his friend Marijan Simcic. Gabor Cseke DWWA 2013 Judge GÃ¡bor Cseke is a Hungarian sommelier who graduated in 2005 from the College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism in Budapest. Following this, he took further sommelier and WSET courses in London and Budapest, where he worked in the famous Lou Lou and CsalogÃ¡ny 26 Restaurants. Between 2007 and 2011, GÃ¡bor lived in England, working at the two-Michelin-starred Pied Ã¡ Terre, Hotel Andaz and the Hotel Great Fosters in Surrey. He represented Hungary at the Meilleur Sommelier d'Europe competition in 2008 and 2010, won Best Sommelier of Hungary in 2010, and in 2009 GÃ¡bor organised a wine tasting at the Hungarian Cultural Centre in London for the press and trade. Transforming himself to a winemaker, he is currently working in Styria, Austria, at Weingut Tement, while also setting up his own domaine in the Zala wine region of South-West-Hungary. Specialising in Central European wines, GÃ¡bor tastes frequently in Austria and Slovenia, and judges regularly in regional wine contests in Hungary. Mary Gorman MW DWWA 2013 Judge Born and educated in Ireland but now living in New York, Mary Gorman MW is an independent wine consultant with a major focus on education and business strategy. She is also the wine columnist for lifestyle blog and website Apartment Therapy , speaks at seminars and conferences, and holds tastings for both private and corporate clients. Mary decided to follow her passion for wine in 2002, and in 2011 she became a Master of Wine (winning the Vina Errazuriz Award for excellence in the Business of Wine exam paper) and is currently a member of the Instituteâs North American Education committee, as well as sitting on the board for the Society of Wine Educators. Prior to 2002, Mary worked for 17 years in the fields of international marketing, business development and management consulting. Dimitar Nikolov DWWA 2013 Judge Dimitar Nikolov has seven yearsâ experience in the wine industry as a wine buyer, sommelier and wine judge, holds qualifications from the ISG Chicago, the WSET Advanced Certificate, and is currently studying for the WSET Diploma. He is a wine buyer by profession and a sommelier by heart. Starting his career as a sommelier for a major hotel chain in Bulgaria, and at a restaurant in Chicago, Dimitar then returned to his native Bulgaria to work for Metro Cash & Carry, firstly as the Wine Buyer for Bulgaria, and then as Wine Buyer for Metro Cash & Carryâs entire Russian Federation operations, which saw him move to Russia. After five years with the company, Dimitar was appointed to a top management position at a wine importer specialising in Hungarian wines. Together with his wife, he owns the online wine shop apollowine.com, which stocks a selection of high end Bulgarian and Balkan wines. Luis Capitao DWWA 2013 Judge Luis Capitao is a California-based wine industry veteran and international wine consultant. Former roles have included advising Eastern European wineries and government associations on export strategies, a ten-year period in strategic marketing with Constellation Wines U.S., and a tenure as Marketing Director of WJ Deutsch and Sons Inc, during which time he successfully rolled out Yellow Tail in the US. Luis holds an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a BA in economics from Rutgers University. He is currently Managing Partner of the company he co-founded, Touchstone Wines, a sales and marketing firm working with foreign wineries. Jean Reilly MW DWWA 2013 Judge Jean Reilly MW is the Director of Wine Buying for JJ Buckley Fine Wines in Oakland, California. She has over 13 yearsâ experience in the wine trade, working as an educator, journalist, retail buyer, and sommelier, and has travelled to over 50 wine regions, working the harvest at wineries in Burgundy, California and New Zealand. In 2010, Jean became the USAâs 26th Master of Wine, only the fifth American woman to hold this prestigious title, and her dissertation, "US Sommelier Opinions of German Riesling", won the Quinta do Noval Outstanding Dissertation Award. Jean speaks frequently about wine on television and radio, and writes for a variety of publications, including Beverage Media and American Airlinesâ Latitudes magazines. Jean is also a dedicated skydiver.

DWWA 2013 Central, Eastern and Northern Europe Judging Panel

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