Friday night service, tables are full, glasses clink, and conversations roll. Chefs are calling orders and bar staff are curating cocktails. But dancing on the floor, gliding through it in angelic white linen, is Nina Throsby. It’s here, among the chaos of service, that Throsby’s quiet authority and passion for wine are most visible. No glass is empty and no table unsatisfied with WA’s Sommelier of the Year hard at work every second of every shift. Her passion for wine is immediate, visible through her large hand gestures and lyrical descriptions, as if she were describing a great love.
Born and raised in WA, Nina Throsby has made it her mission to put an “underrated wine region” on the map. A gentle smirk from the wine guru as she states, “hospitality wasn’t the career I was planning on getting into, it was something I just fell in love with along the way”. At the time she was studying a master’s in forensic science when she commenced working at The Shorehouse in Cottesloe, what was meant to be a just a pay check soon became a career.
It was during that first year that she fell in love.
“I was always curious about wine and then the perfect introduction just landed in my lap”.
Now working at The Shorehouse and Gibney, both seaside restaurants in Cottesloe, she is responsible for crafting their extensive wine lists and creating unique experiences for patrons.
Nina has now twice been named Wine Sommelier of the year, once in 2023 and now 2025, along with restaurant Gibney receiving Best New Wine List in Western Australia in 2024. Nina is described as a quiet achiever by work colleague Alex, who says her passion is immense and she is an inspiration to those around her. “Often found encouraging the newbies” he says, her support, and leadership skills are truly valued.
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Her enthusiasm is evident; however, it isn’t all happy times for the 31-year-old.
“I have run into many people throughout the industry that are not from Perth but have only heard negative things,” she says.
“I find this so disheartening because they are obviously looking in the wrong places”.
She mentions that she sees a lot of colleagues and friends in the hospitality field “feeling the need to move” from WA in order to grow their careers. Whilst Nina rejects this mindset herself, she hopes to see this shift as WA blossoms in the coming years.
Whilst tourism in WA is rising, it still falls far behind other states like New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland. Nina is committed to reshaping Perth’s “underrated” food and wine culture. “It will take a village,” she says, “but slowly we can share what WA has to offer with the world”.
She describes the wine lists at both restaurants as a wine lover’s dream, featuring bottles from Perth’s shining stars, Margaret River and the Swan Valley, alongside the great beyond such as Italy and France. It still remains her passion though to let WA wines shine and its fans grow. She mentions that the direct flights from London and Rome are having a positive impact on Perth’s hospitality industry and hopefully signal a turning point. “We are seeing a lot more overseas patrons in the restaurant and it is great to expose them to our WA regions which they are always impressed with,” she says.
In Throsby’s capable hands, a wine list is more than a menu, it’s an advocacy for an underrated region and its reputation. With each dining experience, diners are reminded of what Perth, and Nina Thorsby herself, uniquely bring to the table. A romantic dance between sommelier and wine, Nina represents all things poetic, a storyteller by the glass and a voice for its region.
