Eric Asimov is the chief wine critic of The New York Times and the author of “How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto,’’ published by William Morrow, and “Wine With Food: Pairing Notes and Recipes From The New York Times,’’ written with recipes by Florence Fabricant and published by Rizzoli. His weekly column appears in the Food section of The Times. Naturally, he is on Twitter and Instagram, too, @EricAsimov. A collection of his columns is included in “The New York Times Book of Wine,’’ published by Sterling Epicure.

Before he started writing full-time about wine in 2004, Asimov wrote primarily about restaurants and food. He created the $25 and Under restaurant reviews in 1992 and wrote them through 2004. He is a co-author of five editions of The New York Times Guide to Restaurants, and published four editions of “$25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York.’’ In 2013 he was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America. Asimov is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and did graduate work in American Civilization at the University of Texas at Austin. He is married to Deborah Hofmann, has two children, Jack and Peter, and lives in Manhattan.

Gaia Gaja is the fifth generation of her family to own and manage Barbaresco’s renowned Gaja winery and the second generation to run Gaja Family Wine Estates, with Ca’ Marcanda in Bolgheri and Pieve Santa Restituta in Montalcino. The family is also starting a joint venture on Sicily’s Mount Etna. Gaia is involved in every aspect of her family’s business and travels often as the winery’s international brand ambassador. With their reputation as innovators in Italy, the Gajas in the last 15 years have particularly focused their attention to studying ways to mitigate the effects of climate change in their vineyards in Piedmont and Tuscany.

“Standard bearer for the natural wine movement, Legeron is one of the 50 most powerful women in wine.”
(Drinks Business)

“I have long been an admirer of Isabelle’s energy and determination. She is a real powerhouse with an international reputation and has truly achieved something hugely distinctive.”
(Jancis Robinson)

As France’s first female Master of Wine, and one of only 369 MWs worldwide, Isabelle’s wine life started very classically indeed. She won the Madame Bollinger award for Excellence in Tasting and the Villa Maria award for Viticulture when she became an MW, and was awarded the ‘Wine Woman of the Year’ award in Paris shortly after.

However an about turn at the end of her wine studies, saw her take a different path to most. Having decided to dedicate her work to helping people think about what they drink and promoting the need for transparency in the wine world, in 2012 she created RAW WINE, which has grown to become the world’s largest community of low-intervention organic, biodynamic and natural wine producers. Featuring annual fairs in London, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and Montréal, RAW WINE leads the charge globally for fine, clean, low-intervention wine, and is commonly considered ‘the fair of note for artisan and natural wines’ (El Mundo) and by many in the industry as ‘showing the world the right approach to wine’ (Ottolenghi).

A huge advocate of organic farming practices and proper living wines, Isabelle does not sit on the fence. For her, the world’s best wines are natural and that is all she personally drinks. Although initially considered a bit of a misfit by her industry, her work is today internationally acclaimed. She was chosen as one of “the 2017 most innovative women in food and drink” by Fortune, as one of the Dream Team of the 50 most influential French people in the world by Vanity Fair, and even as one of “the 50 most influential travellers of our time” according to Conde Nast Traveller. Perhaps best of all though, she was honoured to have won the first WSET Outstanding Alumni Award, which was voted on by her peers from across the world.

Her first book, Natural Wine: an introduction to organic and biodynamic wines made naturally (published by RPS CICO), was shortlisted for the Fortnum & Mason Best Drinks Book as well as the Louis Roederer and André Simon awards. Described by The World of Fine Wine as “an infectious, accessible guide [that]… may prove to be the most important wine book yet written”, it is available in English, French, Italian, Cantonese, Japanese and Russian.

Alongside RAW WINE, Isabelle has curated wine offerings for a variety of fine dining establishments including Neptune (on Russell Square), Bibendum Restaurant & Oyster Bar (Kensington), 2-Michelin starred Hibiscus (Mayfair), The Richmond (Hackney), Bib Gourmand favourite Elliot’s (in Borough Market), as well as eco-luxury resorts Kittitian Hill (St Kitts) and Soneva Fushi (Maldives). She founded and ran the wine school at Divertimenti (Marylebone High Street) for 10 years, as well as Bacchanalia, a private members wine club and investment portfolio for a select group of management consultants, lawyers, bankers and energy professionals in the City.

Isabelle has extensive media experience, appearing as an expert on programmes such as MasterChef, Sunday Brunch, BBC Newsnight, BBC Breakfast and Radio 4, as well as hosting her own wine series for the Travel Channel, four seasons of which were aired in 20 languages to 117 countries across the globe. She contributes to various international publications (including Decanter Magazine, Financial Times and Conde Nast Traveller). She speaks regularly at conferences worldwide (including the WSJ “The Future of Everything” Festival) and been part of numerous judging panels over the years (including the Decanter regular panel tastings, Decanter World Wine Awards, International Wine Challenge and the Concours Mondial).

She lives in east London with her partner, and their Border Terrier, Huckleberry Finn.

Ronald is the Moderator of the Global Mediation Group and the Senior Advisor to the International Real Estate Group at Clifford Chance where he was a partner for over 35 years.
A one time student at the Université du Vin in Suze-La-Rousse, he founded the firm’s Wine Advisory Committee to ensure that, working with its suppliers, the wines served by Clifford
Chance reflect both the Firm’s brand and the level of its guests: this is resulting in improved systems and wine education for those responsible for events.

Having commenced his career in London, Ronald practised in Paris since 1970 having qualified as a solicitor, conseil juridique, conseil juridique et fiscal and avocat.

Ronald is a CEDR Accredited Mediator, a Mediateur Agrée by the CMAP, a former Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a former member of the Board of the RICS Paris Dispute Resolution Group, and a former member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Task Force revising the ICC ADR Rules. For many years he has been the Chair of the Rules Revision Working Group of the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition.

He practised as a legal adviser at all stages of the cycle in international real estate transactions, acting for English, Japanese, German, French and other investors in landmark transactions. He advised on French and Belgian investments of various types in Nigeria and on numerous legal aspects of Formula One Motor Racing. He is developing a mediation culture in Clifford Chance through his creation of the Global Mediation Group of which he is the Moderator. Ronald acts as a mediator in business disputes and has lectured on mediation to the Paris Bar School (EFB) and the Institute of Construction (ICH). Ronald has written numerous articles and spoken at numerous conferences on real estate, sports law and mediation.

Dirk Niepoort was born in 1964 and discovered the world of wine while studying in Switzerland.

In 1987 he joined his father Rolf Niepoort in the family business and set himself on the challenge of innovating while maintaining good traditions.

The first important step towards the creation of the Niepoort wines was the acquisition of Quintas and vineyards: Quinta de Népoles and Quinta do Carril in Cima Corgo region that traditionally produces the best Port Wines.

Niepoort has been a family and independent business for over a century and a half. Five generations have succeeded since Franciscus Marius Niepoort founded the company in 1842. Currently Eduard Dirk Niepoort is leading the company, which has thus passed into the hands of the fifth generation of Niepoorts since Eduard Rudolf Niepoort formally retired.

In 1993, Niepoort launched its first red wine: Redoma, harvest of 1991. Today the range of wines includes white REDOMA and Rosé and the red wines Vertente, Batuta and Charme and the elegant Tiara Branco.

Dirk’s passion for wines, respect and curiosity for the Douro terroir have defined the spirit of the team over the last two decades and are a constant inspiration and challenge for Niepoort.

Dirceu Vianna Jr (‘Junior’) is originally from Brazil, where he studied Forest Engineering and Law, before moving to the UK in 1989. With almost three decades of experience in the Wine Industry he now consults for several businesses in different parts of the world. He is also a judge at selected wine competitions, a wine educator and author. Junior, the first Brazilian Master of Wine, lives in London with his wife, Adriana and daughter, Sophia.

Martin Brown is the founder and CEO of Wine-Searcher, which transformed the commercial landscape for wine by providing global retail price transparency. The website, apps and chatbot locate and price the wine, beer, and spirits of the world. Wine-Searcher also supplies daily wine trade news and encyclopaedic content.

Wine-Searcher started 19 years ago and is an important wine related website, used globally, with over 5 million unique visitors a month.  Wine-Searcher is important to the wine trade a tool to sell wine from fine and rare to cheap and cheerful.

Wine-Searcher operates from Auckland, New Zealand with a staff of 65 people.

Michel Bettane biography.

In 1977, while teaching as an associate professor of “Lettres Classiques” (ancient Greek and Latin), Michel Bettane decided to enroll in classes at the “Academie du Vin” in Paris.  The “Academie du Vin” was run by some of the most passionate and knowledgeable wine educators and tasters in the world. These classes would be the beginning of an extraordinary career in wine journalism, now spanning over 30 years.  He has spent countless hours in the wine cellars of France, meeting the winemakers and tasting their wines, with a desire to truly comprehend the foundation of his country’s most fabled drink. Since 1996, along with his colleague Thierry Desseauve, Bettane has published an extensive guide to French wines and wineries, allowing him to become one of the most respected tasters in the world. He travels the world in search of a better understanding of the trends in the wine industry, in public tastes, and also to share this unparalleled knowledge with wine professionals and enthusiasts alike. His desire to comprehend wines from around the world, his wonderful ability to communicate his knowledge, his exceptional palate and his amazing ability to recall precise vintages and characteristics of wines that he has tasted, has made him one the of greatest wine critics of our time.

Copyright :  Fabrice Leseigneur

After graduating in 1985 in Madrid as Technical Specialist Oenology and Viticulture, Jaume Gramona finished his Diplome National Oenologie in 1987 and became Technical Director in Gramona, taking over as CEO in 1995. He is an Associated Lecturer of Oenology at the University Rovira i Virgili, and since 2009 has been working as lecturer of sparkling wines at the Institute of Corporate Trainin. Other positions have included the President of Institut del Cava, a trade association; the President of Innovi (Wine Cluster), part of the Cava Regulatory Board as spokesperson for Sub-census 3 and President of Aliances per la Terra, a Biodynamic Grape Growers Association.

Rui is the most influential wine journalist in Portugal and one of the most respect voices about Portuguese wines. He has published several books about Portuguese wines and holds a very special enthusiasm over the immense diversity of Portuguese fortified wines. Over the last years he has been travelling across the world helping to spread the word about Portuguese wines, working as an ambassador for some of the most preeminent wine regions of Portugal. Rui Falcão is the author of eight books, including a book about Portuguese wines divided in 11 chapters. He has a regular presence at international published media.

A Hong Kong resident for nearly 30 years, Master of Wine Debra Meiburg is an award-winning author, journalist, TV personality, international speaker, and is widely considered the global authority on the Asian wine market. She is founding director of MWM Wine School, by Debra Meiburg MW; Meiburg Wine Media, Asia’s leading wine marketing and events agency and education provider; and the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition, the world’s first truly pan-Asian wine competition. Her other key roles include wine consultant for Cathay Pacific Airways and Cathay Dragon, and Chair of the Education Committee for the Institute of Masters of Wine.

Heini is the Founder of Vivino, the world’s largest wine community. Heini’s drive to solve problems and never-get-too comfortable attitude have propelled Vivino’s exponential growth. With more than $37 million in funding, Heini continues to drive Vivino’s global expansion. Having co-founded several startups, including global internet and mobile security company BullGuard, Heini has a storied background in software development and mobile innovation and a track record for building successful global businesses. Heini leads the team from Vivino’s headquarters in San Francisco, where he resides with his wife and three children.

Dr. Laura Catena is a Harvard and Stanford trained physician and the founder of the Catena Institute of Wine in Argentina in 1995.  She is currently managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata and of her own Luca winery. Recently, Bodega Catena Zapata (est. 1902) received Argentina’s 2017 Extraordinary Winery Award from Parker’s The Wine Advocate, and was named most awarded winery in the world by Vivino’s Wine Style Awards 2018. Catena has been called the “face” of Argentine wine and is author of Argentina’s definitive wine guide, “Vino Argentino”.  She appeared in Oprah Magazine as one of the World’s Top Women Vintners.  Her work has been featured in the NYT, the Wall Street Journal, Food and Wine Magazine, La Nación, Decanter and The Economist 1843 Magazine in an article about the Catena Institute titled “Argentine Wine’s Premier Crew.” In December of 2017 Laura introduced her second book in Latin America, “Oro en los Viñedos”, an illustrated book about the world’s most famous vineyards.

Mariette du Toit-Helmbold is an international destination marketing and tourism thought leader, a writer and public speaker on tourism, destination marketing, brand innovation and digital marketing.

She established Destinate, a boutique international destination and tourism marketing agency, in 2013 after an enviable tenure of 10 years as the CEO of Cape Town Tourism.

The agency has gained recognition globally for digital marketing campaigns like #Stellenblog for Stellenbosch, #72hrsSoweto for the Soweto Wine Festival and a number of digital pop-up campaigns. Du Toit-Helmbold is also in demand internationally as a speaker on tourism, trends in marketing and the role of digital and social in destination and tourism marketing. She has just developed South Africa’s first national wine tourism strategy and is now leading the implementation thereof in association with VinPro, who represents 3 500 South African wine producers, cellars and industry stakeholders.

Mariette and the Destineers work with brands and destinations within and beyond South Africa to unlock their full potential, applying their knowledge and pursuing their passion for innovative, people-centered marketing and tourism. Their areas of expertise include global consumer trends, new markets, city tourism dynamics, wine tourism and the impact of new technology and the web on tourism.

Felicity Carter is editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International, the world’s only global, English language wine business magazine. Published in Germany, it has subscribers in more than 40 countries. A wine judge, Felicity has judged in Portugal, Germany, Bordeaux, Brussels and Georgia, and in 2015 formed part of the ‘empowerment of women in wine’ panel for Wines of Argentina.

Felicity is a regular speaker at international wine events from ProWein to WineVision. Before taking her current position, she wrote for major Australian publications, including The Sydney Morning Herald.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alberto Antonini is an Italian oenologist and grower-producer and a consultant to a large number of wineries in various countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, the U.S., Argentina, Canada, Chile, Uruguay, Armenia, Australia and Israel.

Career
Alberto Antonini was born in Empoli near Florence, Tuscany, on June 10, 1959. His education includes a Doctorate in Agricultural Studies from the University of Florence, and an oenology degree in Bordeaux and at the University of California, Davis.
He lives with his wife Alessandra and their three children Angelica, Margherita and Carlo on his family estate “Poggiotondo” in Cerreto Guidi (near Florence in Tuscany). His career after his university studies started as an assistant winemaker at Frescobaldi Winery and then as technical director at the Col D’Orcia Winery in Montalcino. Afterward he was named Head Winemaker at the Antinori Winery before starting his own consulting business in 1997. In 2013 “The Drink Business” Magazine ranked him among the Top 5 Wine Consultants in the world, and in 2015 “Decanter” Magazine ranked him again in the top 5 Wine Consultant in his professional category.
He is cited as a key player in helping Argentine Malbec wines gain international appreciation and reputation. He is also playing an important role in helping and encouraging wine producers in different viticultural regions to overcome the colonization of the Bordeaux recipe and go back to traditional, indigenous grape varieties and local winemaking techniques, focusing on authentic, pure, terroir-driven wines. His mission is to give a small contribution towards making the world of wine wider, more diverse and more interesting of it is now.

Professor Charles Spence is a world-famous experimental psychologist with a specialization in neuroscience-inspired multisensory design. He has worked with many of the world’s largest companies across the globe since establishing the Crossmodal Research Laboratory (CRL) at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University in 1997. Prof. Spence has published over 800 articles and edited or authored, 10 academic volumes including, in 2014, the Prose prize-winning “The perfect meal”, and the recent bestseller “Gastrophysics: The new science of eating” (2017; Penguin Viking). Much of Prof. Spence’s work focuses on the design of enhanced multisensory food and drink experiences, through collaborations with chefs, baristas, mixologists, perfumiers, and the food and beverage, and flavour and fragrance industries. Prof. Spence has also worked extensively on the question of how technology will transform our dining experiences in the future.

The research conducted at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory in Oxford has garnered widespread media attention across the globe, including in The Economist (February 4-10th, 2012, p. 74), and The Financial Times (3rd June, 2013, p. 14;
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6bc0fa04-c175- 11e2-9767- 00144feab7de.html#axzz2VEbNyXiR) and has been profiled in The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/02/accounting-for- taste). Over the last decade alone, Prof. Spence and the CRL have been featured in more than 3,000 newspaper articles, radio interviews, and television programs.

Prof. Spence frequently delivers consumer neuroscience lectures and courses to global companies, and business schools and schools of business administration, such as at Los Andes, Rosario University, and Javariana University in Colombia, the Saïd
Business School, Oxford, and the Singapore Business School.

Prof. Spence has been awarded numerous national and international prizes for scientific excellence, including the 10th Experimental Psychology Society Prize, the British Psychology Society: Cognitive Section Award, the Paul Bertelson Award, recognizing him as
the young European Cognitive Psychologist of the Year, and, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany): ‘in recognition of past accomplishments in research and teaching’. In 2008, together with Dr. Max Zampini, he was awarded the 2008 IG Nobel prize for nutrition for his work on ‘the sonic crisp’.

Contact details
Prof. Charles Spence, Sensory Marketing Consultant
Department of Experimental Psychology
University of Oxford
South Parks Road
Oxford
OX1 3UD
ENGLAND
Tel: +44-1865- 271364;
E-mail: charles.spence@psy.ox.ac.uk

Photo by Kitchen Theory

With over 20 years of in depth wine industry experience, Maureen Downey stands out as an independent expert on fine and rare wine, and the foremost authority on counterfeit wine and has compiled the largest database on the subject in the world.

Dubbed The Sherlock Holmes of Wines, Maureen Downey an independent expert on fine and rare wine, and foremost authority on counterfeit wine, has compiled the world’s largest database on the subject. Specializing in authentication and valuation Ms. Downey has personally inspected hundreds of millions of dollars worth of counterfeit wine, advising the world’s top collectors, auction houses and wine merchants. She assisted the government prosecution in the first and only wine counterfeiting case tried by the U.S. government. Today Ms. Downey is considered one of the top women in wine.

As a son of an Upper Austrian gastronome, he studied French/Italian and learned his craftsmanship by the renowned wine distributor A. V. Stangl in Salzburg. Later, he played a significant role in the development of the Austrian wine distributor chain Wine & Co, before demonstrating pioneer achievements for Austrian wine at an international level as executive manager of Freie Weingärtner Wachau. Finally, as the right hand for the Italian cult vintner Angelo Gaja, he was responsible for more than 50 export markets. Mr. Willi Klinger is married, has two children and lives in Vienna.

Born in France, Gerard moved to England in the mid-1980s where he embarked on a successful career as a sommelier. His titles include: Best International Sommelier for French Wines 1992, Best Sommelier of Europe 1996, Best Sommelier in The World 2010.

His awards include: The Calvet Cup in 1989, 1990 and 1992,The Marqués de Cáceres Award 1993, The 1996 Dom Perignon Cup, The 2004 Sopexa UK On Trade Personality of the Year in 2004, The Catey Special Award in 2010, The 2010 IWC Personality of the Year, The 2011 Harpers Wine and Spirits Personality of the Year in 2011, The 2011 Imbibe Industry Legend, Harpers Wine and Spirits Magazine Best Ambassador/Communicator for French Wines 2013 and again in 2014, Decanter Man of the Year 2013 and The 2014 Wine & Spirit Ambassador Catey.
Gerard is currently the only person in the world to be simultaneously a Master Sommelier, Master of Wine, Wine MBA and OIV MSc.

Gérard is the European President of the Court of Master Sommeliers and he was made WSET Honorary President for three years (2014, 2015, 2016).

In 1994 with business partner, Robin Hutson, Gerard co-founded the Hotel du Vin which they sold in 2004 after having created six hotels. In 2007, with his wife Nina, Gerard opened Hotel TerraVina.

In 1997 Gerard was given The Medal of Saint–Etienne, where he was born, by the mayor of Saint-Etienne (Michel Thiolliere).

In June 2011, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Gerard received an OBE which The Princess Royal Princess Anne gave him at a ceremony in October 2011 at Windsor Castle.

In January 2018, Gerard was made Chevalier du Mérite Agricole by the French Government.

Photo by Taisuke Yoshida

Magazines/Newspapers: 14 years as wine critic of the London Sunday Telegraph; founder editor Wine International; helped to launch and now editorial consultant Meininger’s Wine Business International. Contributor to many other publications.

Wine Competitions: Founder co-chair of the International Wine Challenge in London. Chair of IWC in China, Japan, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, Poland (and the person who introduced international blind wine competitions to some of these countries); Chair of the Adelaide Hills Wine Show; Tri-Nations in Sydney; Swiss International Competition in S. Africa; Board of directors MundusVini; participant of competitions in New Zealand, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, France, Germany etc.)

Books: White Wines of France; Art of the Wine Label; Robert Joseph Good Wine Guide (13 editions); Bordeaux & its Wines; White Wines of France; Wines of the Americas; Wine Travel Guide to the World; Complete Encyclopedia of Wine.
To be published 2018: The Future of Wine Has Changed.

Awards: Marques de Caceres; Glenfiddich; Wine Guild of UK; Golden Vine; Gourmand International award: ‘Best Wine Guide in the World’. Named as ‘One of the 50 people who will influence wine drinking in the 21st century’ by Decanter.

Wine Business: Launched le Grand Noir as a ‘New World Wine from the Old World’ with 2 partners in 2005. It now sells 200,000 cases in 42 countries. Launched Greener Planet as an organic brand which has achieved international sales of 20,000 cases. Launching 2 new innovative brands in 2018.

Consultancy/Teaching: Has been visiting professor at the Burgundy Business School and lectures there and at Sonoma State in the US. Consultancy/Advisory services to companies/regional organisations including Torres, Accolade, Pernod Ricard, Origin Wines, Wines of Georgia, Wines of Moldova, Wines of Brazil, Wines of Australia, Wines of New Zealand.