Meet the 2026 WineGB WIne judges
The entry deadline for the 2026 WineGB Awards has now closed. As we edge nearer to judging week, here’s a closer look at this year’s wine judging panel.
WineGB Award Chairs: Susie Barrie MW & Peter Richards MW
An award-winning Master of Wine, Susie is known for her engaging blend of enthusiasm, authority and down-to-earth charm.
A TV presenter, broadcaster, podcaster, author and writer, Susie’s credits include more than a decade on BBC1, plus Radio 4 and LBC, The Sunday Times, Decanter, ITV, Food Network, Good Food/Watch and UKTV. Susie co-presents her own award-winning podcast ‘Wine Blast’ with her husband and fellow Master of Wine, Peter Richards.
Susie is an international competition judge, regular Decanter contributor and author of several books, the most recent being The Essential Guide to English Wine, which she wrote with her husband and fellow MW, Peter Richards.
Peter is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. A familiar face from more than a decade presenting on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, Peter’s broadcasting credits also include the likes of Sky One, BBC2, ESPN, ITV, Food Network, Amazon Prime, iTunes and BBC Radio.
He has written four books and contributed to many more; other writing credits include The Guardian, FT, Times Online, Food & Drink, Sunday Times, Decanter, Daily Mail, FHM, The World of Fine Wine and Square Meal.
Critical acclaim for Peter’s unique mixture of erudition and accessibility has led to awards including EWP Communicator of the Year, IWSC Communicator of the Year, Ribeiro Best Wine Communication, Young Wine Writer of the Year, a Gourmand World Book Award plus nominations for Louis Roederer Awards and Imbibe Personality of the Year. Also an international competition judge, Peter’s consultancy work leads him to advise hotels, restaurants, airlines, travel operators and other businesses on their wines and F&B programmes.
Luke Harbor DipWSET
Luke Harbor is Group Beverage Director at The PIG Hotels, a returning WineGB Awards judge and will also be chairing the panel this year.
He started his hospitality career as a kitchen porter and subsequently worked his way up to becoming a commis chef, gaining valuable experience in the kitchen.
It was during his tenure at the prestigious country house hotel, Combe House, that Luke discovered his deep interest in front-of-house operations and was introduced to the fascinating world of wine. Following the sale of Combe House to hotel group, THE PIG, led by esteemed hotelier Robin Hutson, Luke accepted a position as a Commis Sommelier.
Working under Robin’s guidance, Luke has been fortunate to explore endless opportunities in the wine industry. He regularly visits wineries, attends supplier tastings, and has pursued wine education with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). Luke has achieved certifications including WSET Level 2, Level 3, and the prestigious WSET Diploma. Luke has also completed the WSET educator course and now leads THE PIG’s wine education initiatives across the collection.
Oz Clarke OBE
Returning to the judging panel as mentor, Oz is the best-selling author of Oz Clarke’s Story of Wine and Oz Clarke’s English Wine. His extensive wine knowledge, remarkable palate and the enthusiastic, jargon free way he describes wine in print, on TV or online have earned him huge public affection and admiration worldwide.
Oz is greatly respected throughout the wine community for his precision and depth whilst describing what he tastes in a way everyone can relate to. This has merited him with many awards including the Louis Roederer International Wine Writer (for Bordeaux), the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Drinks Communicator of the Year, the Drinks Retailing Lifetime Achievement Award, a James Beard and three Glenfiddich and Wine Guild awards.
For fronting the BBC’s Oz and James Drink to Britain (with Top Gear’s James May) he was named International Wine Challenge Personality of the Year; the accompanying book received a Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
Sam Caporn MW
Sam Caporn has been in the wine trade for 30 years, becoming a Master of Wine in 2011. She was awarded The Madame Bollinger Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Practical Paper and her dissertation was on English sparkling wines.
Having previously worked at Wine Magazine, as a wine buyer at Direct Wines and also as a Wine Development Manager, she decided to become a freelance consultant; The Mistress of Wine. Today that involves being Aldi’s wine expert, consulting for a buying consortium, one of six Co-Chairs for the International Wine Challenge, a corporate wine host, lead judge for Which? Magazine’s tasting panels and a wine writer.
Her debut book ‘The Wine Flavour Guide’ was published in 2024 by Penguin Random House and was one of only three books (and the only wine book) to be Shortlisted for the Fortnum & Mason Debut Drink Book Award. Her second book ‘English Wine: Your Essential Companion from Vine to Wine’ is being published by Bloomsbury in September 2026.
Melania Battiston
Melania is a UK-based wine judge for the International Wine & Spirit Competition and Decanter, with five years of international judging experience.
Having worked with Aman Resorts in Greece and Thailand, she has developed a broad global perspective on wine and hospitality.
Winner of Young UK Sommelier of the Year 2023 and a two-time winner of the Gérard Basset Tasting Trophy, Melania will take the position of Wine Director at Brown’s Hotel by Rocco Forte, where she will leads the wine programme at one of London’s most iconic luxury hotels.
Matt Hodgson, DipWSET
Matt established Grape Britannia in 2019 to focus solely on the burgeoning English and Welsh wine industry.
Grape Britannia has gone from strength to strength, winning either Decanter or IWC retailer awards every year since then as specialist in this region, with the largest range of domestic wines available anywhere.
Matt has judged on several WineGB and Decanter panels, and been quoted extensively in articles on English and Welsh wine
Georgie Rice DipWSET
Georgie is the Wine Manager for the Hawksmoor restaurant group in Manchester.
She has completed the WSET Diploma and WSG’s French Wine Scholar and is currently studying the WSG’s Champagne Masters programme.
As a keen foodie and traveller, Georgie has travelled extensively to wine regions around England, Europe, South Africa and Australia.
Ben Cahill
Ben has been in the wine trade for over 25 years, starting in an independent wine merchants before moving to the South of France, where he sold the finest wines in the world to the rich and famous on the Cote d’Azur.
After returning to the UK, Ben became Buyer at Coop, where he oversaw several categories including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile and Argentina, as well as Sparkling and Champagne.
He is now Head of Wine at The Liquorman, where he is responsible for sourcing wines from all over the world. He has judged at many international wine competitions, is a member of the Champagne Academy and has been inducted into the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastvine in Burgundy
Zara Cassidy
Zara is a Buyer at Sainsbury’s, having begun her career at Majestic Wine in 2017. In 2022, she was selected for Majestic’s Academy Buyer Trainee Programme and promoted to Buyer by late 2023.
Zara has been recognised as a Rising Star Wine Buyer at the Wine Buyer Awards (2025), named #45 in Drinks Retailing’s Top 100 Most Influential (2025) and featured in Harpers 30 Under 30 (2024).
She is an experienced wine judge, having been on panels at the International Wine Challenge and the International Wine & Spirit Competition.