Lindsay Oram, DipWSET
Lindsay has a wealth of experience in the wine trade covering judging, education and promotion. She studied grape growing and wine making at Plumpton College and has made wine in France and England. She holds the WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) Honours Diploma of Wine, (winning the prize for the best individual research project). Lindsay has studied in the prestigious Master of Wine Programme.
She is a member of both the Association of Wine Educators and Circle of Wine writers
Patricia Stefanowicz, MW
A native of Augusta, Georgia (USA), Patricia has lived in the UK since 1987.
She is an expert in the wines of North America and in the wines of Champagne, France, England and Wales, Italy, and Central Europe. She has depth of knowledge of Spain, Portugal and New Zealand. She has post-graduate qualifications in viticulture and oenology, and an executive MBA. In 1993 Patricia was awarded the Vintners Cup as the top WSET Diploma student. She became a Master of Wine in 2001. Patricia acts as a mentor and tutor for MW students, international wine judge, wine educator in the UK, France, Scandinavia, India and North America for Wine and Spirit Education Trust APPs and independently for professionals and consumers
Beth Willard, Diploma Wine Management
Beth has been involved in the wine trade as a buyer and international wine judge. For nearly ten years Beth travelled throughout the world buying wine for the global business Direct Wines and during this time received the award of UK Retail Buyer of the Year from the Drinks Business Awards. She is the current Regional Chair for Spain at the Decanter World Wine Awards and is a regular contributor to panel tastings for the publication. She is a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino and the Confrérie de Tokaji. Beth is currently working alongside the importer Winetraders to source new and interesting wines for the UK market. She is a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino and the Confrérie de Tokaji. Beth is currently working alongside the importer Winetraders to source new and interesting wines for the UK market.
Kathleen Smith, DipWSET
A DipWSET certified professional and a project management IT consultant that wears many hats in the wine industry - she’s a published journalist throughout Europe & USA as well as an accomplished wine judge for a number of globally recognized competitions throughout Europe, USA and Canada. She's also a very proud ambassador for women only in wine competition, Concours Mondiale des Vins Féminalise, an ambassador for wines made by women and women owned Iola Wines, and a blogger @thehappyvineks Fully bilingual (French and English) with proficient Spanish.
Blog: https://www.thehappyvine.net
Ketevan Jurkhadze, WSET Advanced
Ketevan is an experienced international wine judge who regularly participates in local and international wine competitions such as Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Saperavi International Wine Competition and International Qvervi Wine Competion. Ketevan has WSET Advanced certificate. She has a multi involvement in several companies in Tbilisi, Georgia: a winery and a wine school. Ketevan is a member of Georgian wines and spirits tasting commission.
Quentin Sadler, DipWSET
Quentin Sadler’s 35 plus years in the trade have not dimmed his passion for wine. Quentin is a wine educator, training members of the trade as well as interested consumers in both WSET qualifications and bespoke courses. He is a popular speaker for wine clubs as well as giving presentations to the trade and hosting wine events and entertainments. He loves presenting tastings about anywhere that produces exciting and idiosyncratic wines.
In addition to all this Quentin regularly judges at international wine competitions, including the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, the Michelangelo International Wine Awards in South Africa, Dubrovnik Festiwine, Mondial du Chasselas in Switzerland, the Berliner Wein Trophy and Mundus Vini in Germany, Horeca in Beirut and the Grenaches du Monde competition.
Pina Akkaya, WSET Advanced
Pinar founded 2011 after successful multinational career, she currently leads her two brands. Signature Communication and Collaï. Pinar is a certified trainer from World Bank, an accredited INSIGHTS facilitator, a certified intercultural consultant from Berlitz, a certified Trimetrix trainer, a member of International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and a certified trainer in Personal London and participates in various international contests as a jury member. Pinar holds an advanced degree on wine & viticulture from WSET London and is currently completing Diploma. She has a dedicated brand for her wine business, Juliette Wine as well s producer and the presenter of Juliette’in Kadeh podcast on wine and writes a weekly column in Turkish news platform Politikyol. Fluent in English and French
Krystal Wen, DipWSET
As a wine professional with 12+ years of global sales, marketing, and data analytics success, she bring a strategic and data-driven approach to solving companies' challenges. With a proven track record in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, France, and the UK, she possesses a diverse and global perspective. Fluent in multiple languages, she aims to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers and foster greater understanding and collaboration within the wine community.
Dennis Smith, DipWSET, Italian Wine Professional
After nearly 40 years in Aerospace including working at NASA and the White House, Mr. Smith focused his attention on his real passion – Wine. Mr. Smith is certified as WSET Diploma, Italian Wine Professional, American Wine Expert, Napa Valley Wine Expert and Oregon Wine Expert, among others. While still working as an Aerospace Consultant with small and large American companies, Mr. Smith works as a wine educator, judge and consultant, working with importing companies, wine retailers, wine resorts and social media personalities. Mr.Smith also supports charity wine events to raise funds for socially conscious organizations and their community support projects. Mr. Smith and his wife own property in the Barolo region where he is writing a collection of Italian wine experiences
Abbie Bennington, DipWSET
Abbie is a wine educator, writer and judge. She is a council member for the Association of Wine Educators and is an accredited tutor for both Bordeaux and Rioja regions. She is a regular contributor on BBC Radio too. Abbie has judged across sparkling wine categories through Glass of Bubbly for a number of years. A table lead judge for The People’s Choice Drinks awards and a regular judge for English Vineyards Association covering the south east. This is Abbie’s return visit to the TWC and is excited to be part of the team/panel
Chris Martin, DipWSET
Chris is currently the WSET Head of Educator Training, developing and delivering the Educator Training Programme, which is the course that trains future WSET Certified Educators in Wines, Spirits and Sake. He has over 17 years of teaching experience, including teacher training, and teaches WSET levels 1-4 in Wines. His areas of expertise are fortified wines, Germany, USA and Asian wines. He judges in competitions in London, Spain, Japan and Korea. He is currently stage 3 on the Master of Wine programme.
Alexandra Tilling, DipWSET
Having done a harvest in Bordeaux and 2 harvests in South Africa, she returned to London in 2007 and spent 8 years doing fine wines sales. Alex passed the WSET diploma in 2010 winning the Sogrape Scholarship before going on to become a qualified wine educator. She was awarded the Wine Australia Young Wine Writer of the Year in 2012, in 2013 she won the Reh Kendermann Master of Wine Scholarship and was an IWC judge for many years. Alex currently works for Maisons Marques et Domaines as the Brand Manager for Champagne Louis Roederer.
Yalin Isleyici, WSET Advanced
Yalim Isleyici is a second generation winemaker who has been crafting wines since 2011. His passion for wine led him to pursue WSET education, earning his WSET Level 3 certification and continuing his studies with the DipWSET and Weinakademiker programs. As a member of the Turkish Society of Wine Experts and Educators, he is an active participant in the wine community.
John McHale
John is a experienced investor who has visited many wineries on all continents with a view to investing and advising. John has decades of experience as a wine consumer. He has consulted with wine businesses as a counsel on strategy and finances.