News

Beth Willard was first involved in wine as a buyer but is now a writer and wine judge. For nearly a decade Beth travelled the world buying wine for Direct Wines and received awards including UK Retail Buyer of the Year from the Drinks Business Awards, as well as Personality of the Year from Wines of Rioja. She has now left the commercial world behind and is writing about Spain, her main passion...

Cindy-Marie fell in love with Pinot Noir at a very young age, then lived in Piemonte, so developed a passion for Nebbiolo, white truffles and all things Italian. For 27 years, she has been organising and leading wine tours – including France, throughout Italy, Spain, Portugal, South America, New Zealand and Slovenia. She is passionate about communicating her love of wine in an approachable styl...

Dijana Grgić is the editor-in-chief of the Croatian magazine Vinum.In. She writes about Croatian wines and organizes wine seminars. Her goal is to educate wine enthusiasts and professionals about Croatian wine production, and share the stories of winemakers, which led her to organise 'Wine story by Dijana Grgić' wine events. This year, she will publish a special edition of the magazine about...

Emily Cappiello is an experienced travel, food and beverage writer, often writing about the intersection of delicious bites, sips and travel adventures. .. Publications she has contributed to include Fodors Travel, SevenFifty Daily, Liquor.com, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Vinepair, Wine Enthusiast, Martha Stewart, Bar + Restaurant News and Edible East End. She has a Master's Degree in...

Congratulations to Randy Caparoso for winning the Old Vine Hero Award 2024 for Communication. Based in California, Randy was awarded for his extensive written and photographic documentation of old vines in California. The award was presented by Tamlyn Currin, Senior Editor at JancisRobinson.com at the online awards ceremony earlier this month.

Congratulations to Jancis Robinson MW OBE on being awarded the 2024 Institute of Masters of Wine Lifetime Achievement Award. The Award acknowledges the substantial contribution of an individual to the global wine community, and recognises vision, determination and innovation. The Award was presented at Vinexposium's V dOr by Julian Gore-Booth, Executive Director at the Institute of Masters of W...

Andrea Eby is the Italian Programs Director at the Wine Scholar Guild (WSG). She is responsible for the creation of all written study materials for the Guild’s Italian programs and organizes and leads tours of Italian wine regions. Andrea worked as a buyer for one of Canada's top wine boutiques for over decade before starting her own company, Vinsanity. At Vinsanity she consults with wineries and...

Welcome back to returning member Julia Kostadinova. Julia first joined The Circle of Wine Writers in 2013, and we are delighted to welcome her back in 2024. She lives in Sofia, Bulgaria, and is responsible for the organisation of DiVino Taste and Discover Vino, one of the biggest wine shows in the country, as well as the annual DiVino Top50 wine ranking. She is also co-host of the TV and YouTub...

Adam Montefiore, a British Israeli situated in Israel, has been awarded The Terravino Lifetime Achievement Award — arguably the most prestigious award an individual can receive in the Israeli wine trade. Born in London, brought up in England, he is now living in Israel. His career started in hotels and restaurant on-trade before he moved to winery marketing and exports. Today Adam is a wine wri...

Janet Z. Wang's book Chinese Renaissance: A Wine Lover’s Companion was first published in January 2019 by Ebury Press, Penguin Randomhouse, and has this month been followed with its second reprint. This second edition contains some minor updates, including a summarisation and explanation of the decline in wine production and consumption in China in recent years, a deeper delve into the unique l...