Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright, CWM
Judge at the 2026 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada
Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright was born into the South African wine industry. Her mother, Norma Ratcliffe, from Edmonton, is known as the First Lady of South African wine, being the first female winemaker in the country. Jenny has worked on all sides of the wine industry , from being co-owner of an estate in Stellenbosch – Warwick – to production, global sales, media, and writing, as well as being a wine buyer for a South African grocery chain. She was the founding editor of WineStyle magazine, a South African wine and lifestyle publication.
Jenny is a Cape Wine Master, the highest qualification in wine education in South Africa, and she was the youngest person at the time to have achieved this title in 2004.
In 2018, she moved to Canada where she works for the Peter Igel Group, leading the wine department supplying bulk wines sourced globally to North American customers and specializing in private label wines to grocers.
Jenny is the first Canadian panel chair for the MundusVini wine competition in Neustadt, Germany and is a Senior Judge at the International Wine Challenge in London, UK