The judges

Jim Budd

Budd is the DWWA Regional Chair for Loire. He has written about wine since 1988 and contributed to Decanter since 1989. Budd also writes the awarded Jimsloire. blogspot.com and is a member of Les5duvin.wordpress.com blog. He contributes to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine book and is a keen photographer. Kissack has published the subscription site theWinedoctor.com, since 2000. He has focused on the Loire for many years, and has been a frequent visitor since 1993, visiting domaines, experiencing the vineyards and harvests, and reporting on the winemakers and their wines throughout the year.

Laure Patry

Patry attended sommelier school in Angers in the Loire before moving to London in 2003. She worked for eight years for Gordon Ramsay Holdings at Claridges and Maze and then joined Jason Atherton at Pollen Street Social. She and Atherton have now set up Social Wine and Tapas, a retail and wine bar.