OUR JUDGES
Andrew Shaw
Andrew Shaw’s wine journey began as a teenager working in a Somerset vineyard, sparking a lifelong passion for the industry. He later completed his university dissertation on the UK wine market has been in the industry ever since. Andrew’s early career included roles at Avery’s of Bristol, Oddbins, and Amphora Design before expanding his expertise into winemaking with hands-on experience in New Zealand and Burgundy. In 2002, he co-founded the award-winning independent wine merchant Stone, Vine & Sun. This venture set the stage for his move to Waitrose in 2007, where he advanced to become the buying manager for the wine department by 2010. In October 2012, Shaw joined Bibendum as buying director, overseeing a diverse portfolio of wines. His career then took him to Marks & Spencer in 2021, where he served as head of trading for Beers, Wines & Spirits, further solidifying his reputation as a leading figure in the wine industry. In 2024, Andrew took on the role of wine director at Coterie, continuing to shape the future of global wine distribution and retailing.
Anne Jones
Anne is a drinks industry consultant, now with a focus on sustainability having previously worked in the Waitrose buying team for twenty years. She is an experienced international judge in both wines and spirits, She is also a Director of the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation and consults to WineGB and Sustainability in Drinks, along with other clients such as the Wine Society, Gusbourne and Levy's (Compass Group). A sustainability expert to the OIV on behalf of DEFRA, Anne is on the BRC and MONDRA Carbon Removals Task Force. With clients she manages strategy, competitor benchmarking and transition plans. She also acts as a writer, speaker and judge (for The Drinks Business, Concours Mondial Spirits Selection, Decanter, IWSC, IWC, London Wine Fair, Tim Atkin, Jancis Robinson, France24 etc).
Emily Brighton MW
Emily Brighton MW is Head of Technical & Sustainability at North South Wines, the first UK wine importer and distributor to achieve B Corp accreditation in 2023 – the subject of Emily’s MW research paper. She is currently the youngest female Master of Wine in the world, having attained the qualification in 2024. Her remit includes working with producers across the winemaking world on quality, blending, QA/QC, NPD, and meeting the requirements of UK customers, as well as running educational tastings, and using her expertise to further the commercial needs of the business. Beyond the Drinks Business Awards, she judges for international wine competitions such as Decanter and IWC, recently chairing a panel at the Balkan Wine Trophy.
Jonathan Pedley MW
Having studied Biochemistry at Oxford, it was apparent to Jonathan Pedley that neither he nor his subject were likely to benefit from further acquaintance. With a research career thus eliminated, he made another mistake by not following many of his contemporaries into the City. What to do? Wine has exerted a fascination on many people over the years, and the wine trade appears to be a civilised and benign way to waste one's life. So Jonathan wrote his fifty "giz a job" letters and was taken on by Grants of St. James's in 1985. He spent periods working in buying, sales, marketing and distribution before getting involved in re-establishing the School of Wine. With wine sales growing in Britain, the need was felt for an operation which would help to build product knowledge within the drinks industry. Customers of this commercially oriented wine training have included supermarkets, pub and hotel chains, and drinks wholesalers. In 1994, Jonathan was able to establish the School as a stand alone organisation. As well as continuing his work in wine education (Constellation - the world’s largest wine company at the time - and Waitrose have been major clients), Jonathan has acted as wine consultant to Crown Cellars (the wine division of Carlsberg Britvic), Maxxium, First Drinks and the Louisvale winery in South Africa. Projects have included making a series of television programmes for Channel 5 (with the late Keith Floyd) and a couple of series for Sky Business, lecturing at Edith Cowan University in Perth, writing two wine books for Harper Collins and wine judging in the UK, Australia, the Czech Republic and Turkey. He also sits on the panel that sets the WSET Diploma examination. Jonathan completed and passed the gruelling Master of Wine course in 1992, joining an institute which still numbers just over four hundred members world-wide.
Sarah Benson MW
With a strong background in languages, Sarah transitioned from a career in translation and having completed several WSET courses, she secured her first role with Accolade. Since then, she has gained extensive experience in wine buying and marketing, working across both independent and large retail environments and with a UK bottler. Her passion for wine has also led her to work vintages during holidays in various countries. Currently, Sarah buys wine for the Co-op, where she is responsible for sourcing, selecting, and blending wines from France, Spain, South America, and Greece. Sarah has also conducted consumer profiling research with Lallemand, gaining insights into consumer preferences for different wine styles, and works extensively to foster consumer engagement. A passionate advocate for ethical and sustainable practices Sarah drives the sustainability agenda at the Co-op and has supported the conversion of several wineries in Fair Trade certification. She judges on numerous prestigious wine panels, actively mentors the next generation inside and outside of the wine trade, and continually expands her expertise by traveling extensively to wine regions and wineries worldwide, further deepening her passion for the industry.