Our Judges

Liinaa is a freelance wine professional with a 20-year background in the hospitality industry who worked as a head sommelier/wine buyer for the past decade.
As a Wine Consultant today, she leverages her expertise to pioneer innovative approaches to wine sales by curating and developing wine programs for hospitality venues, staff education and culinary events.
Notable achievements include curating winelists with over 2000 references earning prestigious Best Winelist Awards several times, with her last accolade being The Best New Winelist of Australia.
Drawing insight from extensive European travels encompassing more than 50 wine regions and contributions to esteemed publications, she also
contributes to wine judging panels at renowned wine shows. Liinaa does the list at Embla, and is the Melbourne ambassador for Star Wine List - a guide to the best wine venues across the planet written by wine experts for each city.

Sophie Carbonneau, originally from Montreal, Canada, is a seasoned wine industry professional with over 20 years of experience.

She is currently the National Sales & Education Manager and Senior Buyer at Bibendum Wine Co. one of Australia's leading wine importers and distributors. Sarah's career includes 10 years as a sommelier in Australia and abroad, and another 10 years in wine imports. WSET diploma certified, she travels annually to Europe for buying trips and visits domestic wine regions monthly.
Known for her refined palate and strategic insight, she has also judged several wine competitions, contributing her expertise to the field.

Gilles Lapalus has wine flowing through his veins.

The third generation of a wine-producing family from the Cluny region of Burgundy, Lapalus embarked on a prestigious winemaking career that has taken him across three decades to the French regions of Burgundy, Languedoc, Medoc, and Beaujolais, and further afield to Italy, Chile and Australia.

In 2001, he moved to Australia to become the manager of biodynamic viticulture and winemaking at Sutton Grange Winery near Castlemaine, central Victoria.

In 2011 he established boutique Australian vermouth brand Maidenii with business partner Shaun Byrne, and in 2015, launched his own wine company Maison LAPALUS, with wine consulting and production under the Bertrand Bespoke label and Maison LAPALUS label.

Australian-French Loic Le Calvez is the Senior Winemaker at Chandon Australia.
Loic graduated as an Oenologist in Bordeaux, he soon worked as an Assistant at Château d’Yquem in Sauternes followed by the prestigious Vérité Wines in Sonoma, California.
Arriving in Australia, Loic was the Winemaker, Chief Winemaker and then COO of Taltarni in the Pyrenees & Clover Hill in Tasmania over 14 years, before becoming the agent for Tonnelleries Vicard in Victoria and Tasmania.
He has developed his wine judging skills through the AWRI’s Advanced Wine Assessment Course and WSET Level 3 programs.

Christian has spent many years in Michelin starred restaurants in France and London UK. Upon arrival in Australia, he further developed his skills by focusing on oenology and was appointed to the position of Sommelier at Hotel Sofitel Melbourne in 1994 subsequently being awarded Best Hotel wine list in 1997.

In 2000 the Age Good Food Guide handed Christian the inaugural award for Service Excellence as well as the New Zealand Wine advisory Award by the New Zealand Wine Institute.
In 2002 his long love affair with Champagne has seen him being the Australian winner of the Vin de Champagne Award.

Following his role of Head sommelier at Langton's Restaurant and wine bar in 2005 the establishment was awarded the Age Good Food Guide Best Restaurant Wine List, and subsequently Best Club Wine List at the Australian Wine List of the Year Awards four years in a row followed by Hall of Fame, during his tenure as Wine director at the RACV Club and Resorts.

At his current position as Operation and Beverage Manager at University House, Christian oversees the wine purchasing, wine lists, member events and the running of the house at the University House Club, Melbourne University.

His love of travel as taken him to lead many small group bespoke Gourmet Wine tours to all corners of France, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay
He is also a senior judge with over two decades of experience having judged at the French Chamber of Commerce ‘Concours des Vins du Victoria’ since 1997, Sydney International Wine Competition, Victorian wine show and more recently the International Cool Climate Wine Show as a Panel Chair.

In the televised media, Christian has been the co-host of the food and wine segment on SBS television with celebrity chef Gabriel Gaté and writes regular wine column for various publications.

Christian also operates a wine consultancy business which has seen him consulting for Six Senses in Thailand, and conducts corporate speaking engagement on various wine themes.

Alexandre compliments his experience in the field with a Masters in Wine Marketing and Management (Bordeaux International Wine Institute), and has used his qualification in diverse management roles across the United States, China and Australia. In 2012 he made the move to Melbourne and became Key Account Manager for Craggy Range Australia. This allowed Alexandre to gain insightful knowledge of the local trade and develop relationships with Australia’s finest venues and operators.

As Alexandre continued to engage with Australia's vibrant wine scene, a greater vision for his own venture began to form. He imagined a new platform for sharing his passion, unique knowledge and the finest French wines which he grew up with. And so Clos Cachet was launched in 2014.

Camm is the Sommelier for the RACV City Club.

He has over 30 years’ experience in the food and beverage industry spanning many countries including the USA, Russia, United Kingdom, and Australia. Camm’s wine palate was first honed at Circa, the Prince in St Kilda where he joined the Sommelier programme and was awarded Dux. Since then, he has curated wine lists in many award-winning restaurants including Attica and the Healesville Hotel, the latter of which won Gourmet Traveller’s ‘Best Representation of a Region’ due to its focus on Yarra Valley wines. Camm’s ongoing attention at the RACV is on staff wine education and the development of wine lists across multiple venues.

Hailing from Alsace, Adeline has been immersed in the wine industry from an early age, learning integral aspects of the business through family run a Domaine (est. 1693).

She completed her Master in International Business in China where she focused on the Chinese perception of French wines. Keen to continue her wine education, Adeline is currently studying for the Masters of Wine and is a certified Educator of WSET, teaching from level 1 to Diploma in Melbourne.

Today, Adeline is the Australia, NZ & Pacific islands sales manager for Barton & Guestier, Listel and Patriarche. This role provides her with the opportunity to share her passion for wine with trade and consumers.