Decanter sponsors ‘Wine Professional of the Year’ at the 2025 BIH Spotlight Awards
Meet the four finalists of the Wine Professional of the Year award, as Decanter proudly sponsors the prestigious Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH) Spotlight Awards, promoting racial equity within the hospitality, food and drink industries.
Established in 2020 by Lorraine Copes, BIH is a non-profit organisation that promotes diversity and inclusion within the hospitality, food and drink sectors.
Its annual BIH Spotlight Awards have now become a pivotal platform for celebrating the talent of black, Asian and ethnic minority individuals and businesses across the UK.
This year’s ceremony will take place on Monday 13 October in London, honouring some of the most talented individuals currently working in hospitality, food and drink.
As part of our ongoing commitment to championing diversity, Decanter is honoured to be a sponsor of the awards for the fourth year running. This year we’re supporting the newly introduced category of Wine Professional of the Year, celebrating the work of wine buyers, sommeliers, educators and others who work in drinks.
Ahead of the awards ceremony, we introduce the finalists for the Wine Professional of the Year category below. See here for a full list of finalists across all categories including Chef of the Year, Beverage Innovator of the Year and Rising Star.
Meet the finalists for Wine Professional of the Year
Shane Jones
Wine and sake educator
Born in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Shane Jones is a wine and sake educator based in London. He completed his WSET diploma in Wines and Spirits in 2014, winning the Moët & Chandon Sparkling Wine Prize. A graduate of the Sake & Shochu Academy in Japan, he is also a Certified Sake Sommelier (SSA). He is also a Certified Cava Educator, a Certified Port Educator and most recently he was awarded the Italian Wine Ambassador designation by the Vinitaly Wine Academy. Jones is one of only two black wine educators delivering the flagship Diploma in Wine certification at the WSET School in London, where he is known for his approachable and inspirational teaching style.
Leona De Pasquale
Camellia and Vine
Leona De Pasquale is the only Taiwanese certified WSET educator currently working in the UK trade. She also regularly teaches Champagne masterclasses for the Champagne Bureau UK and wine training for the Gold Service Scholarship. Mentorship is central to De Pasquale’s work, which is focused on opening doors for those traditionally excluded from wine education. Since 2015 she has taught thousands of students across WSET, corporate events and hospitality training, always using language, analogies and teaching methods that resonate with culturally diverse learners. Her students praise her approach as ‘inclusive’, ‘clear’ and ‘relatable’— commenting that she’s the first educator to make them feel they belong in the wine trade. De Pasquale believes: ‘My work bridges cultures, disciplines and generations. I don’t just teach wine – I teach it as a tool for connection and empowerment.’
Heidi Nam Knudsen
A Thousand Decisions
Heidi Nam Knudsen is an educator and advocate within the wine industry. Her training course, A Thousand Decisions, teaches members of the trade about how wine comes to be and the transformations from vine to glass. She previously consulted for Imad’s Syrian Kitchen and worked as manager and buyer for Ottolenghi Group, responsible for creating exciting natural wine-focused lists in each of their restaurants. She aims to demystify the often inaccessible world of wine by framing it through both historical context and lived practice, offering a structured yet open learning environment for both newcomers and seasoned professionals. Her approach is framed by a deep commitment to sustainability. She has pursued extensive education in regenerative and biodynamic practices in viticulture and farming, which informs both her teaching and her curation, allowing her to explain not only how wine is made, but why the methods matter—connecting ecological responsibility to sensory understanding.
Shivani Tomar
Awards manager at Decanter & Advisory Council Board Member at Drinks United
Coming from a traditional Indian background where wine was often considered taboo, especially for women, Tomar left a successful aviation career to complete a Master’s in Wine Management at the Burgundy School of Business in France. She subsequently moved to the UK and completed the WSET Diploma. As awards manager for Decanter World Wine Awards, Tomar oversees the world’s largest wine competition and in 2025, she assembled a judging panel of 248 experts from 35 countries, including 72 Masters of Wine and 23 Master Sommeliers. Notably, 100 of those judges were women, the highest in the competition’s history, and an intentional step toward greater inclusion. Alongside this demanding role, she also serves on the Advisory Council for Drinks United UK, working to advance diversity in the drinks industry. Tomar believes her unique perspective as an Indian-born woman and a first generation migrant to the UK influences the way she leads within a space that has historically excluded people like her. ‘I do not simply follow tradition. I focus on raising standards while opening the doors wider for others to do the same.’
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