2019 Judges

Brendan Carr

Brendan has been part of the winemaking team at Xanadu, Margaret River since 2012.

Brendan is an alumni of the Curtin University in Margaret River. During and post studies, he has gained invaluable experience working for local and international wineries. Vintages in Canterbury, New Zealand; France’s Southern Rhone Valley; Canada’s Okanagan Valley; the Colchagua Valley, Chile and the Somlo wine region of Hungary have been instrumental to gaining experience into the different winemaking and viticulture techniques from both the old and new world.

Brendan has completed the AWRI AWAC course and has previously judged at Margaret River, Royal Sydney, Yarra Valley and Geographe wine shows as well as associating at the Mount Barker Wine Show of WA for the past two years. In his spare time, Brendan enjoys long walks along short beaches and stealing omni bins from Deep Woods...

Damian Hutton

My mother’s side of the family grew up in the Swan Valley and my Grandfather lived and worked at the Valencia winery in Caversham for 35 years.

I moved back to the swan Valley in 1987, and got a summer holiday job at the age of 15 at Houghton’s, where my uncle was the viticulturist, my first vintage being 1990 after Graduating from High school.
Completing my winemaking studies at Adelaide University between 1998 and 2001, whilst working at Tintara Winery in McLaren Vale.

After graduating I worked at Alkoomi in Frankland River before moving to Millbrook for the 2003 vintage.

I have judged at the following shows; Swan Valley, Wandering Wheat Belt, Perth Hills, Boutique Wine Show of WA, the Perth Royal and Rutherglen wine shows

Ying Tan - INTERNATIONAL JUDGE

Ying Hsien Tan MW qualified as the first Singaporean Master of Wine in 2015. He was one of the first
two Asian men to attain the qualification that year.

Ying started tasting and studying wine as a hobby in 1983 while pursuing law studies at university in
the United Kingdom. In 2009, after more than 20 years as a corporate and banking lawyer, he
embarked on a different career path building on his enthusiasm for wine to become a wine journalist,
speaker and educator.

Whilst on the MW education programme, Ying won the Institute of Masters of Wine Champagne
Trinity Scholarship 2010 and was nominated to attend the Master Napa Programme in September
2013. He also won a French Wine Society scholarship for the Sud de France Master Level Program in
2013 and the 2013 AXA Millésime Scholarship for MW students.

Ying has judged at international wine competitions frequently, including the International Wine
Challenges held in Singapore, Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Competition, Decanter Asia
Wine Awards, UWWR Russian Wine Challenge, Sydney International Wine Competition and the
Concours de Mondial. He was also on the tasting panel of Wine & Dine, Singapore for several years
and a wine consultant to the World Gourmet Summit 2013 in Singapore.

He is also actively engaged in the education of MW students and sommeliers. He judged at the
Singapore National Sommelier Competitions in 2014 and 2016 and the Sopexa French Wine
Sommelier Competition 2015.

He owns Taberna Wine Academy where he conducts tastings, classes, wine dinners as well as hosting
many leading wine producers.

A member of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin and
Commanderie de Bordeaux, Ying has visited all the classic wine regions of France, the Russian Tsar’s
former cellars at Massandra in Crimea, as well as wine regions in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia,
Bulgaria, China, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland, Thailand and the USA.

Kate Morgan

Kate is a Margaret River based winemaker making wine under her own label, Ipso Facto Wines, as well as working as Senior Winemaker for Byron & Harold Estate, where she is responsible for making wines from across the Great Southern and Margaret River. After gaining a Bachelor of Science (Viticulture & Oenology) she travelled & worked vintages around Australia and overseas before settling back in Margaret River where she has been for the last 10 years.

Kate has been involved in the Perth Royal Wine Show and the Margaret River Wine Shows for the last few years and is thrilled to have been invited to judge at the Wine Show of WA this year.

Ben Rector

Ben has called Margaret River home since his first vintage with Deep Woods Estate in 2007.  He commenced there with the Fogarty Wine Group as Assistant Winemaker, and is now the Senior Winemaker at Margaret River Vintners; WA’s largest winemaking facility.

His journey in the industry began at age 16 in his native Hunter Valley with Brokenwood, before venturing across Australia and abroad as a self-proclaimed ‘flying cellar-hand’.  In 2006 as an immature aged student, he attained a Bachelor of Applied Science (Oenology) at Adelaide University, and completed the AWRI AWAC in 2012.  Ben has previously held associate judging roles at WA Wineshow and Margaret River Wine show.

Gwyn Olsen