Christine Austin: Christine is a wine writer, broadcaster and a wine judge for several international wine competitions. She has a technical background and spent five years as a buyer for a major supermarket before moving to wine writing. She writes for The Yorkshire Post, Dales Life and organises the York Festival of Food and Drink. She has won both the Lanson and the Roederer prizes for wine writing.

Richard Bampfield MW: Richard Bampfield MW: Richard became a Master of Wine in 1990 and managed Australian company Brown Brothers' UK office for 9 years. He now works in public relations for Yvon Mau in Bordeaux and Albert Bichot in Burgundy, and other clients include Leiths School of Food and Wine, Dom Perignon Champagne and the English Wine Group.  He was European Champagne Ambassador 2009 and is currently Chairman of the Association of Wine Educators. 

Clive Barlow MW: Clive has been in the wine trade for over 20 years. He began working for Safeways in the late 1980's subsequently moving onto Peter Dominics and Wine Rack and establishing his own wine sales and consultanct business. He passed the MW in 1999 and he is currently Chair of the IMW's Education Committee.

Sam Caporn MW: Sam Caporn has been in the wine industry for 15 years and was most recently Wine Development Manager for Constellation Wines Australia & Europe. Prior to that she worked at Direct Wines as a buyer for nearly 3 years, purchasing wines from Australia, New Zealand, the Loire, Champagne and Central and Eastern Europe. Before that, a fun four years at Wine Magazine put her in a very good place for passing her Master of Wine exams first time in 2005. Sam also won the Madame Bollinger Foundation Award for excellence in the MW tastng paper.

Dr Jamie Goode: Jamie obtained a PhD in plant biology and worked as a science editor before deciding that his passions lay with wine. He authors www.wineanorak.com, is the weekly columnist for the Sunday Express and writes for several magazines. In 2006 he won a Glenfiddich award for his first book, Wine science (Mitchell Beazeley), and in 2007 he won a second Glenfiddich award, this time as Wine Writer of the Year. Jamie is currently working on a book titled Natural wine, with Sam Harrop MW.

Conal Gregory MW: Conal qualified as a Master of Wine in 1979. He consults for major airlines and cruise operators and several estates. He writes for The Times and The Scotsman. He was Conservative MP for York 1983-92. His awards include the Mercier Champagne Scholarship. His books include The Cognac Companion and A Caterer's Guide to Drinks. 

Susan Hulme MW: Susan Hulme became a Master of Wine in 2005. She was awarded the 2005 Bollinger Tasting Medal, an award not given every year, for the best tasting papers in the Master of Wine exam. She set up her company Vintuition Ltd in 2000 to run courses for both the general public and trade. She is a former Chairman of the Association of Wine Educators and is the current editor of their newsletter. 

Neal Martin: Neal Martin: It was Neals passion for Bordeaux wines that helped motivate a career in wine writing. His independent website, wine-journal.com, launched his career in 2003 and it soon developed a cult following of over 100,000 readers. Three years later the most influential wine critic in the world, Robert Parker, requested his penmanship and he is now a reviewer for RobertParker.com.

Jane Masters MW: Jane currently runs her own consultancy business Mastering Wine advising wine companies on strategy. Having graduated with a degree in Biological Chemistry, Jane did a postgraduate diploma in Oenology in Bordeaux. In 1992 she joined the wine buying team at Marks & Spencer and subsequently ran the drinks business. Jane became a Master of Wine in 1997.

Helen McGinn: Helen runs a wine marketing & PR consultancy business, Helen McGinn Associates. Her wine career started with Tesco Stores in 1995, where she joined as a graduate buyer. She spent the next nine years there as a Buyer, then Product Development Manager, sourcing wines from most major wine producing countries. Helen has worked with wineries of all sizes developing products and brands for global markets. In her spare time she writes a weekly wine blog – Knackered Mothers' Wine Club – recently picked by The Guardian online as one of the top 5 'mummy blogs' to watch.

Martin Moran MW: Martin has been involved with wine since 1982 and over the years .has worked in almost every facet including the on trade, retail, wholesale, buying, teaching, marketing, wine making, writing and broadcasting. He passed the Master of Wine exam in 1994 and has been short listed for a Glenfiddich award as well as the World Food Media Awards ‘Best Drinks Writer’. He’s judged at major competitions in the UK, Australia and South Africa

Alison Morris-Eisermann: Alison is a trained winemaker, viticulturist, and wine educator. Over the past 15 years she has been making wine, managing a large commercial vineyard, and judging wine throughout Australia ,the US, IWSC and at the IWC. For the past seven years she has worked as a wine educator at the Sydney Wine Academy delivering primarily the WSET courses at all levels. Alison has completed the Master of Wine Practical, Theory and is finalising her dissertation to submit in March 2012.

Jean-Marc Sauboua: Jean-Marc Sauboua began an illustrious career in winemaking over two decades ago at Château Haut-Brion, the most famous château in the Graves district of Bordeaux. Half-French, half-Spanish, Jean-Marc comes from a family with a long history of winemaking. He currently works at Laithwaites Wine where he is in charge of own-label wines, Le Chai specialities and overseeing quality control.

Lisa Shara Hall: Lisa Shara Hall is the author of Wines of the Pacific Northwest and the co-author of The Food Lover’s Companion to Portland.  She is at work on a new book on Oregon wines, to be published in 2012 by UC Press Berkeley, Ca.  She serves as Senior Editor for Wine Business Monthly and its website, and writes for numerous publications including The Oxford Companion to Wine and The Hugh Johnson/Jancis Robinson World Atlas of Wine.  Hall is a frequent wine judge and is a lecturer and educator, as well as the first student in Oregon to attempt the MW qualification.

Joanna Simon:

Nick Stock: Nick Stock is one of Australia’s most prolific wine commentators whose involvement in wine stretches well beyond writing to radio and television broadcasting, wine show judging, public speaking, educating and winemaking. His frank and fearless style has made him one of the most popular and widely read Australian wine critics, culminating in his award for World’s Best Drinks Journalist in 2007 at the World Food Media Awards. Nick has twice been crowned Australian Sommelier of the Year

Joe Wadsack: Joe won the coveted International Wine and Spirit Communicator of the Year award 2005. He studied wine making in Bordeaux and has since worked as a buyer and consultant for a number of leading supermarket chains. Joe's knowledge and experience culminated in him becoming the yougest ever International Senior Judge at The Royal Melbourne Wine Show.

Lilyane Weston: Lilyane brings a wealth of experience to the IWC's team of Panel Chairmen. A Sopexa Lecturer from 1967 to 1990, she is now a regular contributor to Hertfordshire Countryside, Buckinghamshire countryside, Life and Academie Suisse du Vin. She also judges at wine competitions in 19 different countries and is the proprietor of a Wholesale Wine Business (Wine World) in Hertfordshire.

Simon Woods: Since swapping a career as an electronics design engineer for a more enjoyable one in wine communication, Simon has been editor of the Which? Wine Guide, a columnist for the FT and author of a number of books, including the award-winning 'I don't know much about wine but I know what I like.' His unstuffy, entertaining style also means he is much in demand as a speaker for a wide variety of wine events.

John Worontschak: John began his winemaking career at Petaluma winery under the tutelage of Brian Croser in the late 70's whilst reading Geology at Adelaide University. John studied winemaking at the Charles Sturt University where he was awarded the Ron Potter Scholarship. Having worked in every corner of the globe he ran Four Corners consultancy for 20 years providing technical wine production services. Since 2008 he has been co director of Litmus Wines providing international bespoke winemaking solutions. See www.litmuswines.com.

New Panel Chairmen for 2012

Sarah Abbott MW: Sarah Abbott has worked in the wine trade for 15 years, and became a Master of Wine in 2008. She comes from a noisy family of food-obsessed restaurateurs, and it is their heritage of gluttony and curiosity that inspired her passion for wine, and for sharing its joys. She is the director of Swirl, a wine events and education company, and a wine writer and judge. Sarah also works with companies in the wine trade, advising on wine sourcing, and marketing and communications strategy.

Sheri Sauter Morano MW: Sheri is a Master of Wine, wine educator and wine writer. She also works as a marketing research consultant.  She has been featured in numerous magazines and online publications and has appeared on television and radio shows around the United States as well as in France and Argentina. She has extensive experience as a wine judge and has judged at competitions in the US, the UK and Argentina. Sheri resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Cathy Van Zyl MW: South Africa’s only resident Master of Wine, Cathy is a regular judge for the Trophy Wine Show, occasional panellist for several other local competitions and, increasingly, overseas. Co-founder of Grape, she contributes to international magazines and websites, and lectures for the Cape Wine Academy on Tasting and World of Wine Theory. She is currently a member of the Institute of Masters of Wine’s education committee responsible for organising its seminar for second-year students in Bordeaux. 

Toshiro Takahashi - Toshiro started his professional career in the Japanese Ministry of Finance as a sake inspector and has been a sake brewing administrator for over 40 years. Toshiro is one of the leading sake specialists in Japan and his recent contributions to develop overseas sake market are quite remarkable. He is also director of Japan Sake Brewer’s Association.

Satoshi Kimijima - Satoshi is the president (4th generation) of Yokohama Kimijimaya Co., Ltd - a liquor store/wholesale trade company based in Yokohama, dealing Japanese Sake, Shochu, Awamori, and Wine.  The company has more than 300 clients nationwide, including major hotels, top-rated restaurants and French grandes maisons in the metropolitan cities. 
He is also the owner of three restaurants in Tokyo (French, Italian and wine bar).  He gives lectures and seminars of sake/wine to professionals and amateurs, and is also a judge/supervisor of sake for the Appellation Control Committee of Nagano prefecture since 2006.

Ake Nordgren - Ake is a Diploma sommelier, founder & owner of  Akebono Unlimited AB. Founded in 1995 Akebono is today the Scandinavian leading importer and distributor of Japanese Sake. In 1990 he started to travel Japan and visit Sake breweriers to gain a deep understanding of  the process and has since then visit Japan more than 50 times.
The last nine years he has been a teacher of two of Sweden's sommelier schools and weekly been giving
lectures and seminars of sake to professionals and amateurs at university level and trade shows. He also does annually guided gourmet trips to Japans Sake breweries and the interesting Izakaya world.

Beau Timkin - Beau is one of the foremost non-Japanese authorities of sake in the world. He opened the first dedicated sake retail store outside of Japan in San Francisco, California in 2003. Along with a Master Sake Sommelier License (Kikisake-shi), Beau has been presented the prestigious and inaugural Sake Samurai title as well as the 10th Anniversary Honorary Kikisake-shi distinction. He is an educator, promoter, protector of sake who works in breweries whenever time permits.  

Senior Judges - 2011