DWWA Southern Italy Judging Panel

Richard Baudains .jpg Richard Baudains was born and bred in Jersey in the Channel Islands and trained to be a teacher of English as a foreign language in order to satisfy his wanderlust. After several years in various foreign climes, Richard settled down in beautiful Friuli-Venezia Giulia, having had the good fortune to reside previously in the winemaking regions of Piemonte, Tuscany, Liguria and Trentino-Alto Adige. Richard wrote his first article for Decanter in 1989 and has been a regular contributor on Italian wines ever since.His day job as Director of a language school conveniently leaves time for a range of wine-related activities including writing for the Slow Wine Guide, editing, translating, leading tastings and lecturing in wine journalism at the UniversitÃ delle Scienze Gastronomiche. Sebastian Payne MW.jpg Sebastian Payne MW started in the wine trade in 1970 with Fred May, a shipper specialising in the wines of France, Germany and Hungary. He joined The Wine Society in 1973 as Promotions Manager, responsible for publications and passed his MW in 1977. In 1985 he became Chief Buyer, travelling to all major wine regions in the world. In 1995, he served as Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine and as Chairman of Masters of Wine Examiners in 1996. Sebastian is also a Chevalier dans l'Ordre du MÃ©rite Agricole. Having stepped down as Chief Buyer, Sebastian remains an integral part of The Wine Societyâs buying team and currently writes for the Society List and website, as well as blogs in his inimitable style. Sergio de Luca.jpg Sergio de Luca is Director of Buying for Italy at Enotria World Wine. He has 30 yearsâ experience in the UK market and has been at Enotria for more than 25 years. Sergioâs family is in farming and all his experience is connected with the wine world, having studied and completed a degree in winemaking in Italy. Michael Garner.jpg Michael Garner has worked in the wine business for more than 30 years and has specialised in Italian Wine for nearly 25 years. He is the co-author of Barolo: Tar and Roses, is a regular contributor to Decanter and has taught for the WSET. He lives in rural Devon with his family and two large Briard dogs. Luciana Lynch.jpg Luciana Lynch held senior positions with companies including Hedges & Butler, Findlater Matta, Remy AssociÃ©s and Enotria before setting up her own business and consultancy in the late 1980s. Her entire career has seen her engage in selling and sourcing wines, especially from Italy, although she has also been involved in wine education. She is now retired, having worked in the wine trade for 35 years. Michael Palij MW.jpg A Canadian, Michael emigrated to the UK in 1989 and qualified as a Master of Wine in 1995 at the age of just 29. His first trip to Italy was as a wine buyer in 1994. He promptly fell in love with both the country and its wines. Michael now writes and teaches widely on his specialist subject. He lives in Oxford. Daniele Cernilli.jpg Daniele Cernilli was born in Rome and graduated with a Masters in Philosophy. He entered the wine trade in 1979 at Vini & Liquori, a monthly magazine. He then co-founded what would become the annual Gambero Rosso Vini dâItalia as an aid to wine lovers in 1987. Daniele has held various editorial positions, including Editor-at-large of Gambero Rosso magazine and Wine Travel Food. In 1988 he was named Editor-in-Chief of Vini dâItalia (also published in English as Italian Wines), where he directed the tastings of wines entered from all over Italy â a few hundred in the first edition to over 18,000 in the 2010 edition. In 1999, Daniele started writing for Rai Sat / Gambero Rosso Channel and, in 2009, he was made Editor-in-Chief of the programme. Daniele has consulted for the Associazione Italiana Sommelier (AIS) and the Worldwide Sommelier Association (WSA), and is currently working on his own Italian & English web magazine, Doctor WIne (doctorwine.it). Elizabeth Ferguson.jpg Elizabeth Ferguson joined the UK wine trade in 2001 after spending three years living in Italy and Greece. She is currently Marketing and Wine Director at Metzendorff and has an incredible passion for Italy and its wines thanks to being married to an Italian and previously working as an Italian Brand Manager. Ignatius Chan.jpg Ignatius Chan is a sommelier and restaurateur who founded Iggyâs in 2004 at The Regent Singapore.The restaurant relocated to The Hilton Hotel Singapore in September 2010.He joined the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore as a waiter in 1987 after graduating and was later promoted to Sommelier at its French restaurant, Fourchettes. In 1990, he won the Veuve Clicquot Champagne scholarship, as well as the prestigious Singapore Best Sommelier for French Wines and Spirits Competition. In 1991, he joined Raffles Hotel as Cellar Master. He was a founding partner of Les Amis and in 1998 was selected as the only Asian member of the prestigious Grand Jury EuropÃ©en. Lindsay Talas.jpg Lindsay Talas joined Thierryâs in 2004 as Buying Director where she is responsible for Spain, Italy, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Portugal. She embarked on her wine career in 1988 during a gap year spent working for Oddbins. She then moved to Bordeaux to take a bilingual European Business Studies degree and followed this up with the WSET Diploma, during which she was awarded the Italian Scholarship. Lindsay has spent 12 years in the multiple grocer sector where she worked as a Senior Buyer for Sainsburyâs and later, as Senior Product Development Manager at Tesco, was responsible for the launch of the Finest* wine range. She has a passion for Italian and Spanish wines and has judged in major wine competitions for more than 10 years. Angelo Sabbadin.jpg Angelo Sabbadin, Wine Director Angelo was born and raised outside the city of Padua in northeastern Italy. His interest in wine began when he was stationed to do military service in the hills outside Gorizia, close to the Slovenian boarder, where he fell in love first with the vineyards and consequently with the local wines. After working as a sommelier for twenty years in many of Paduaâs top restaurants, Angelo joined the wine team at Le Calandre in 2006. He gradually worked his way from cellar manager to wine buyer for all six restaurants of the Alajmo family restaurants, including Gran Caffe & Ristorante Quadri in St. Markâs Square, Venice. In January 2010, Angelo revolutionized the wine list at Le Calandre, organizing it by grape variety rather than region and formatting for Ipad. His hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed. He was named Sommelier of the Year in 2011 in Italyâs Espresso Wine Guide. Anne Forrest.jpg Anne Forrest is the Italian Buyer at Laithwaites Wine and is also responsible for Portugal, Argentina, fortified wine, and spirits. Before she got into wine, her first love was for languages and she speaks Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Her first wine job was with Arblaster and Clarke Wine Tours where she worked during university holidays. After graduating, she taught English in Rome for a year and then in Madrid for three years. She returned to the UK in 2005 and began working with Laithwaites Wine in its sales team. She quickly moved into the Buying Department and has looked after a number of different regions in that time.

DWWA Southern Italy Judging Panel

Latest Wine News

Andrew Jefford: ‘Fine wines, like humans, seem to be moving into the semaglutide era, too’

Baudains: Wines from the Tuscan coast

Hawksmoor cofounder recalls £4,500 wine mistake for lucky diners

International Pinot Grigio Day: 15 to try

Celebrate 100 years of Rioja DOCa at the DFWE New York