The 2013 Air New Zealand Wine Awards is pleased to announce the three international judges for this year’s Awards. US wine writer Dan Berger, Australian sommelier and consultant Sophie Otton, and Swedish Master of Wine Madeleine Stenwreth will be in New Zealand in early November to judge over 1,300 wines at New Zealand’s premier wine competition, the Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

Dan Berger has been writing about wine since 1976, and was a wine columnist and reporter for the Los Angeles Times from 1988 to 1996. In addition to writing about wine, he has judged a number of wine competitions in Australia, Slovenia, Belgium and the United States. He also coordinates two wine competitions in California and is the author of "Beyond the Grapes: An Inside Look at Napa Valley" and "Beyond the Grapes: An Inside Look at Sonoma County."

Mr. Berger began writing about wine for The Associated Press in 1976, while he was a general assignment and sports reporter, and wrote a wine column for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner before joining the staff of the San Diego Union in 1979.