Caro Maurer MW has become the first Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) Resident Co-Chair after judging at the competition since 2013 and more recently, as Regional Chair, leading panels for Germany and the South & East Mediterranean.
As the world’s largest and most prestigious wine competition, DWWA has created the Resident Co-Chair role as part of continuous efforts to enhance its famously rigorous judging process, built around world-leading experts.
‘Every day is different’
With more than 30 years of experience, Maurer brings a wealth of attributes to the new role thanks to her work as an editor, writer and educator. In 2011, she also became the first woman in the German-speaking world to attain the coveted Master of Wine title.
Two days rarely look the same in Maurer’s action-packed professional life.
Her regular work includes editing two pages every week on food and wine for General-Anzeiger, a daily newspaper in Bonn, plus writing for Decanter and leading food and wine magazine Der Feinschmecker.
She also teaches about wine in several locations from Paris to Oslo – including for Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma (Level 4) courses – but also finds time to run masterclasses. ‘Every day is different. I never get bored,’ she said.
Journey into wine: ‘I always moved forward’
There was more of a steady progression than a single, eureka-style moment. That said, Maurer had been working as a correspondent in the US in the late 1980s and remembers encountering Riesling on her return to Germany. ‘I thought, “oh, wine can be that good?”.’
A prior focus on lifestyle writing led her to specialise in food and wine in 1994. ‘It was always easy to write about food but it was never easy for me to write about wine,’ she said.
‘I needed to know more, and digging into wine changes your life; when you get familiar with wine, when you start to understand wine.’
She added, ‘It became the major part of my life, next to my husband – let’s say [wine is] the second biggest love in my life.’
After completing a Diploma, Maurer took just four years to navigate the gruelling Master of Wine exams, joining this elite club in 2011 and winning the Quinta do Noval Award for best dissertation – entitled: ‘Erste Lage in Germany – a Classification in Development.’
Rather than setting out with a masterplan, she described herself as constantly moving forward. ‘I just went through all the doors which opened.’
Joy of discovery: ‘Just stay open to everything that comes your way’
Despite having achieved so much, Maurer said discovery remains one of the great joys of wine.
‘For me, the most exciting [region] is always the one I don’t know about. So, the next one I go to, and there are still many left for me to discover.’
Maurer recently returned from Crete. ‘Right now, I’m full of enthusiasm for Vidiano,’ she said. ‘But maybe in three months I will be in Chile and taste Chilean wines I’ve never tasted before. I’ve never been to Romania, and maybe there’s a lot to discover in Romania.
‘So, I think, just stay open to everything that comes your way, and try it, taste it and discover it.’
It’s a thrilling time to be a wine drinker, she believes. ‘Right now, the wines being produced in the world are just amazing. You will find great wines everywhere.’
An exciting new role at DWWA 2026
Founded in 2004, DWWA has a long-standing record of showcasing winemakers and regions that deserve more attention on the international stage, alongside top examples of classic styles. Expert judges blind-tasted entries from 57 different countries at DWWA 2025.
Alongside a commitment to blind-tasting and specialist panels, a big part of what makes DWWA such a benchmark of quality is also the weight of importance given to discussion and collaboration between judges.
Maurer’s Resident Co-Chair role reflects DWWA’s efforts to continually build on these solid foundations.
Each year, a respected Regional Chair at the competition will step into this newly created role to help provide fresh perspective and insight alongside DWWA’s four established Co-Chairs: Andrew Jefford, Beth Willard, Michael Hill Smith AM MW and Ronan Sayburn MS.
Maurer said her new position is in many ways an extension of what she already loves about the competition. ‘The wines and the people – these are the most exciting things about the new role,’ she said.
‘DWWA is always the most exciting place to go, because of the wines, for sure, but also you meet [hundreds] of people who are wine experts and who are sharing their expertise.’
Having enjoyed this aspect for more than a decade, Maurer will now be doing it on a larger scale.
‘I love to discuss wine with people,’ she said. ‘At DWWA, everyone knows so much about wine that you can’t put your opinion above others. I think to consider their opinion and to weigh it against my perception of the wines on those different tables will be the most exciting moment [within the new role].’
Maurer has been judging at the competition since 2013 and more recently as Regional Chair, leading panels for Germany and the South & East Mediterranean.
Advice for wineries, writers and judges
For producers
What would Maurer say to a producer who hasn’t won a DWWA medal?
‘Nobody loves to hear critique,’ said Maurer. In her own experience, she said it can take some initial time to absorb feedback, before then thinking about it as a ‘possibility to improve’ or do things differently.
For wineries missing out on a medal at DWWA, she advised, ‘I would just take time and think about the critique, think about the result, and use it – that’s the most important thing – use it to improve.’
Aspiring wine writers
What would be her advice to aspiring wine writers? ‘Lately, my advice is don’t do it!’,’ she quipped. More seriously, though, she said it’s important to consider the changing media landscape.
‘I’m talking as a dinosaur who is still working with paper,’ she said, albeit this includes publications with an online presence. She suggested the future is more about communicating in a general sense, rather than purely writing.
‘I would say look around at new media. For example, I see my colleague Konstantin Baum MW being very successful on YouTube. I think the future will offer more opportunities and channels which we’re not aware of right now – other ways to communicate about wine.’
That said, she still ‘loves to write’, and the craft isn’t completely finished.
She praised award-winning DWWA Co-Chair Andrew Jefford as a ‘born writer’, for example. ‘If you are writing like Andrew Jefford, you could possibly still make your way into writing because people like him are appreciated.’
Aspiring wine judges
There’s no set path when it comes to judging, but Maurer’s advice was to consider: ‘Everybody wants to judge at Decanter, so what makes you stand out?.’
She added, ‘It is a combination of already knowing a lot, having a reputation and then being willing to apply. And then a bit of luck.’
Caro Maurer and Co-Chair Andrew Jefford discussing wines at Decanter World Wine Awards. Credit: Ellen Richardson
‘You never stop learning’
In general, though, the most valuable lesson in wine is that one can never know everything, Maurer believes.
‘You never stop learning. Every morning when you wake up there is a new wine, a new great winemaker, a new style. And so the most valuable lesson of my life is that I will learn about wine for the rest of my life.’
Article written by Chris Mercer. Interview with Caro Maurer MW by Loukia Xinari.
Entries for DWWAs 2026 are now open. Find all dates and details at enter.decanter.com and sign up to the DWWA newsletter here to receive all updates and information.
