The Wine List

Being born into wine is one thing, being born into the Mondavi family is another. Tim Mondavi’s grandfather, Cesare, and dad, Robert, are California wine royalty. Tim grew up around the vines in St Helena, traveled to Europe, studied wine at UC Davis, and then jumped right into the family business at Robert Mondavi Winery . He had a big influence on their growth and innovation including Opus One,...

The pride of Rancho Cucamonga, Mikey Giugni attended Cal Poly and stumbled on wine after just trying to get a buzz. Intrigued by the juice, Mikey starting working in tasting rooms, farming, and wineries and traveled abroad before he came back to the US to settle into wine and cider. Mikey started Scar of the Sea in 2012. He partners with growers all around California who care about farming for the...

Born in Queens, NY, Joe Campanale, the kid with the Italian name, grew up with a Jewish mother. He attended NYU and studied abroad, where he found his love for Italian wine during a semester in Florence. Joe came back home with the wine bug and jumped right into retail and hospitality. He worked various jobs including Italian Wine Merchants and Babbo, before opening some of downtown NYC’s best Ita...

Jancis Robinson shies away from being called a wine critic, but is truly one of the most respected wine writers in the world. She is an award-winning journalist and author, penning or co-penning “ The World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition ”, “ Wine Grapes ”, “ The Oxford Companion to Wine ” and many others. She writes a weekly column for the Financial Times and knocks out a ton of daily content on her o...

Austrian-born Michael Moosbrugger grew up around skiing and his family’s hotel in Lech/Arlberg. Michael jumped into the wine business in 1992 as an apprentice and four years later took over the Schloss Gobelsburg winery. He is now the CEO and winemaker of this storied and historic winery. Michael believes in tradition along with innovation. His wines are a true expression of the terroir of Schloss...

Paul Hobbs hails from upstate NY and grew up with his ten siblings on a farm around orchards. One taste of a sweet Sauterne with his dad at an early age launched his love and interest in wine. His Dad encouraged him to head west and study wine. Paul attended Notre Dame and UC Davis and worked with Robert Mondavi and Opus One, eventually settling in Sonoma County where he opened his own winery. He...

Maya Dalla Valle was born in exclusive Napa Valley, grew up in a cult winery, and even had one of those cults named after her. Maya lost her dad at a young age, left town to study international relations, but eventually came back to wine, first receiving two Master's Degrees in wine, from Cornell and Bordeaux Agro Science. She put her boots on the ground and worked at some of the finest wineries a...

Philly born, Penn State grad Tahiirah Habibi returned to Philly to study wine, eventually heading to Miami to Somm at the St. Regis Bal Harbor and Michael's Genuine. Trying to further her studies with the Court of Master Sommeliers, her frustration with the Court caused her to leave and start Hue Society , a hub for Black wine professionals. Tahiirah Habibi is a Sommelier, Entrepreneur, and Activi...

From Youngstown, Ohio to Brooklyn, with a stop in DC, Justin Chearno was on the music scene in DC in the early ‘90s with his band Pitchblende and later in NY with Turing Machine . He eventually settled in Brooklyn and was at the forefront of natural wine at retailer Uva and natty wine distributor Zev Rovine Selections . Justin Chearno is now a partner and wine director at the Four Horsemen in Will...

Straight outta Poughkeepsie, Lee Campbell did it all, from restaurants, to retail, to wine importing, wine festivals, Sommelier, and Wine Director. Lee is also kind of an OG in natural wine. She now works as a consultant and recently helped open Victoria Blamey ’s new restaurant Mena in NYC. So, the question is, what’s left to do, how about putting Virginia wines and Early Mountain Vineyards on th...

Guillaume Bott and Tomoko Kuriyama are the magical duo behind Chantereves in Savigny-les-Beaune in Burgundy. As a couple in both life and the vineyard, they started their winery in 2011. A true Burgundian, Guillaume studied wine in Beaune, earned a degree in oenology, worked with Gerard Boudot at Etienne Sauzet and Simon Bize. Originally from Japan, Tomoko, headed to Germany where she also receive...

Elaine Chukan Brown is recognized as one of the world’s top wine communicators and wine educators. As a writer, Elaine contributes to an impressive list of publications including the current 8th edition of the “ World Atlas of Wine ,” the 4th edition of the “ Oxford Wine Companion ” and “ On California ”. You also may know Elaine as wine reviewer Hawk Wakawaka . Elaine is a prolific speaker, and w...

Born in LA, David Choi grew up in DC and eventually set roots again, literally, in California. David is proprietor at Magna Carta Cellars and Angel Falls Wines . He came through the ranks in wine retail, import and distribution before making wines. Savvy in social media, David found his way onto TikTok and has now become one of the early wine sensations on the platform with “ Wine with David ”.  H...

New Yorker Daniel Eddy jumped into the food scene in 2004. He bolted NYC after 4 years, and hooked up with Daniel Rose at critically acclaimed Spring Restaurant in Paris. He eventually headed back to the States to become the opening Chef at wine-centric Rebelle on the Bowery, where he earned a Michelin star; Walnut St Café in Philly followed. This baguette obsessed Brooklynite opened his own resta...

Peter Liem is an award-winning author, wine critic, educator and truly one of the world’s great Champagne experts. Peter is the author of “ Champagne: The Essential Guide to the Wines, Producers, and Terroirs of the Iconic Region .” Peter oversees Champagneguide.net , an online comprehensive guide to the wines and producers of Champagne. He is the co-founder of La Fete du Champagne and is a prolif...

I caught up with Raj Parr at his Phelan Farm in Cambria, CA., where he has devoted his time to preserving and expressing the farm's unique natural slate and growing his favorite varietals. Next we speak with Tom and Peter Stolpman from Stolpman Vineyards in Los Olivos, dedicated to preserving the natural environment via conscious farming and sustainable employment. Finally we talk with Mike Roth a...

Josh Greene is the Editor and Publisher of Wine and Spirits Magazine since 1986; the magazine was founded in 1982, and Josh eventually purchased it in 1989. Josh also serves as wine critic at Wine and Spirits for Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Portugal, Italy, and Napa Valley to name a few. You can find Josh’s commentary and long form stories in every issue. Josh and his staff taste over 15,000 bo...

Christophe Baron’s family dates back to the mid 17th Century in Charly sur Marne in Champagne. He studied viticulture in Champagne and Burgundy. After meeting an American in Burgundy, Christophe was convinced to head west to Oregon and Washington and discovered their stony vineyards. He bought his first vineyard, Cayuse in 1997, now farming biodynamically. Christophe has unstoppable energy, ambiti...

Gary Vaynerchuk is the Chairman and CEO of Vayner X , overseeing companies including VaynerMedia , VaynerSports , VaynerNFT , Tracer , Gallery Media Group , to name a few. He is a prolific angel investor with ties to Facebook, Twitter, Uber and Snapchat among others. He is co-founder of Resy , Empathy Wines , VCR Group , and his latest passion VeeFriends . A true entrepreneur at heart, Gary can’t...

Matthew Conway headed east to NYC in 2003. After three years with Chef Grey Kunz, Matthew hooked up with Marc Forgione, at his eponymous restaurant for over a dozen years as Beverage Director and GM, creating a unique wine program with a nod to the Northern Rhone. Matthew also helped Marc Forgione re-open neighborhood fav Peasant . The Pandemic reunited Matthew with family in Charleston, SC. After...

St. Louis born William Carroll headed east and grew up in Irvington, NY. William literally went from bus boy to Burgundy expert and everything in-between. He did fine wine sales, studied at Le Cordon Bleu, worked at Restaurant Lasserre in Paris, and headed back to NY for a lengthy stint at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns as Beverage Director. William recently left North Fork Table to become...

Vermont born Cerise Zelenetz headed to Paris after High School to study at the Parsons School of Design, stayed in Paris for a while and also did a residency in Spain. Cerise makes jewelry, clothing, and is a prolific illustrator. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Paris Review, Nylon Magazine to name a few. She has also designed menus and wine labels for numerous clients. Cerise recently pu...

Jersey Boy Raj Vaidya has been grinding in the wine business for over 20 years at some of the best restaurants in the country. His longest tenure was with legendary chef Daniel Boulud in NYC where he served as beverage director. Like many Somms, Raj left the floor to join Daniel Johnnes as Director of Operations of Gracie Events, the people behind La Paulee, La Fete du Champagne, La Tablee, and Pr...

Straight out of DC, Rachel Signer attended college in Virginia, headed to New York to get her Master's at the New School and an intensive writing program at CUNY. She settled into freelance writing gigs, while waitressing at various outlets including Vice , Vogue , Eater , The Guardian , and Wine and Spirits before starting her own wine publication, Terre , eventually becoming Pipette . Pipette is...

New York born Audrey Frick headed west to pursue music and become a Buff at the Univ. of Colorado. She got the hospitality and wine bug in Boulder at Bobby Stuckey’s Frasca, working her way to the opening team at Tavernetta in Denver. She has worked harvests around the world, found a love for Italian wines, and has an advanced certification from the CMS. The real question is, how do go from playin...