New Zealand Winegrowers Hosted International Guests
As a partner of Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, New Zealand Winegrowers are bringing a highly influential group of international media and sommeliers to attend the event. If you have any enquiries please contact New Zealand Winegrowers Global PR Manager – Juliana.Foster@nzwine.com
UK/Europe
Susy Atkins, Wine writer and communicator, Telegraph Media Group (Daily Telegraph); Delicious magazine
@susyatkins
Susy has been a wine writer for over 30 years with long-standing columns on the Sunday Telegraph and Delicious magazine. She has written/co-written 15 books on wine and drinks and has won several major awards for her wine writing. She has been on TV and radio numerous times, including 12 years as one of the wine experts on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen. She also hosts wine events and tastings around the UK.
Tom Fahey, Sommelier (and owner), Terrace Rooms & Wine
@the_terrace_ventnor
Tom was a restaurant guidebook writer for 15 years then, four years ago, ended up running a restaurant for his family. While learning everything he could about wine buying, pricing, storing and positioning, Tom put his extensive consumer experience to work in creating the sort of wine list he had always wanted to drink from. Tom eventually discovered trade tastings and was consistently drawn to New Zealand wines as having the best price-to-deliciousness ratio. Tom has completed over 70 stages in Michelin-level kitchen so cooks once a week for a small group of guests with wine pairings which he also created.
Rebecca Gibb MW, Winewriter, Vinous
@rebeccagibbmw
Rebecca Gibb is a Master of Wine, business owner, award-winning wine journalist and author of Vintage Crime: a short history of wine fraud, and The Wines of New Zealand. Rebecca secured her first editorial role at wine trade magazine Harpers after being named UK Young Wine Writer of the Year in 2006, she’s gone on contribute to and edit several print and online wine titles. Rebecca is currently an editor for online wine publication Vinous, which has subscribers in more than 100 countries, publishing in-depth wine coverage and reviews. Her specialisms include the wines of the Loire Valley and New Zealand. In 2015, aged 34, Rebeccas became the 384th Master of Wine in the world. In a record class of 24 graduates, she was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Bollinger Medal in recognition of outstanding tasting ability. Rebecca is also the founder of Puzzle Cru, a wine and spirit-themed jigsaw puzzle business.
Roger Jones, Winewriter, The Buyer
X – @littlebedwyn and Instagram – @rogerjoneslittlebedwyn
Rodger is the receipient of the 2024 Decanter Legacy Award, and has sat on the Decanter World Wine Awards for 15 years. He has also been a Senior Judge at IWSC and Ambassador to The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. In additon to The Buyer, Rodger also writes for The BBQ Magazine (Drink with Roger Jones). He is now a retired Michelin Star Chef, and has owned The Harrow at Little Bedwyn which was rated as one of the finest Wine Lists in the World, including over 100 New Zealand bins. The Buyer has bespoke mailers in their data base of 4.9k subscribers and a social media presence of 35k followers across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The Buyer has become one of the world’s leading and most influential digital content platforms for the drinks industry – specialising in providing unique content for the premium on and off-trade and the producers and supply chain that supports it. The Buyer has a global monthly audience of around 70,000 unique users a month.
Sarah Neish, Winewriter, The Drinks Business
@thedrinksbusiness
Sarah has headed up The Drinks Business since November 2021, and is responsible for commissioning, editing and writing longform features to ensure delivery of the latest news in drinks from a range of regions around the globe. Sarah Neish’s coverage primarily revolves around the food and beverage industry, with a strong emphasis on wine industry, wine production, wine trends, wine regions, wine business . Her articles often cover company acquisitions, product promotions, and marketing strategies within the industry.
Helena Nicklin, Wine and lifestyle writer, The Sun, Daily Mail, Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, TalkTV, TheThreeDrinkers.com, Decanter, Club O, The Guardian, City A.M.
@helenasips
Helena ( www.helenanicklin.com) is an award-winning (Top 100 Most Influential People in Drinks 2024, Winner ‘Best contribution to wine & spirits tourism 2022’, Top 10 Women to Watch in the Wine Industry 2019 to name a few), freelance, wine and spirits writer, broadcaster, wine consultant, drinks influencer and judge for various international wine and spirits awards. With twenty four years in the drinks industry, a stint at drama school and the WSET Diploma under her belt, she specialises in communicating with exploring consumers through TV and radio appearances, live events, written articles for various titles and engaging video content. She writes regularly for major news brands The Daily Mail and The Sun both in print and online as well as for lifestyle titles such as BA’s High Life and Luxury Lifestyle Magazine. You can see her action in her returning, global, drinks and food travel series, ‘The Three Drinkers’ on Amazon Prime, which she co-produced and co-presented. At the end of 2024 Helena is launching The HelenaSips Wine Academy – a global, online members club with built-in, video-based, beginner’s wine course. There will be a steady stream of up to date videos, articles and social that go with it both for members and followers /potentnial members. Her trip to New Zealand times perfectly with potentially being one of the first guides she produces for the Academy.
Olly Smith, Wine TV presenter and winewriter, BBC Saturday Kitchen, Decanter, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Iconic Magazine
@ollysmith
Olly Smith has six award-winning wine Glass House wine bars across P&O Cruises fleet, host of A Glass With podcast (past guests include Sam Neill, Kylie Minogue), International Wine and Spirits Communicator of the Year, Drinks Writer of the Year for the Great British Food Awards and the UK’s drinks ambassador for the Food is Great campaign to China. He is listed in Debretts as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK. He is also Celebrity Drinks Ambassador for the Ideal Home Show and is one of Three Wine Men (with Oz Clarke and Tim Atkin) taking wine tasting on tour across the UK every year.
Dominik Vombach, Editor and wine writer, Falstaff
@vombachdotcom
Dominik is the Editor in Chief Switzerland of Falstaff magazine – founded in 1980 as a wine magazine in Austria. Falstaff now is an established media platform in German-speaking Europe with leading publications and websites in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Falstaff print and e-magazines make Falstaff the biggest wine, food and travel magazine in German-speaking Europe with a total circulation of around 150,000. Dominik will be producing content for all 3 editions – Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With the homepages falstaff.at, falstaff.de and falstaff.ch, the newsletters, the social media presence and the guide apps, Falstaff’s total audience and community is in the millions.
John Wilson, Winewriter (Freelance), The Irish Times plus Vertdevin, Checkout magazine
@wilsononwine
John has worked in the wine trade in various positions, before becoming a wine writer 20 years ago. John will be producing content for the The Irish Times, which has a 280k readership.
USA
Shana Clarke, Freelancer, Sevenfifty, Vinepair, Imbibe, Conde Nast Traveler
@shanaspeakswine
Shana Clarke is a wine, sake, and travel writer and author. Her work has appeared in Decanter, Saveur, Conde Nast Traveler, Fortune, NPR, Wine Enthusiast, Vinepair, SevenFifty Daily, and Hemispheres, among others. She was shortlisted for the Louis Roederer 2020 International Wine Writers’ Awards and ranked one of the “Top 20 U.S. Wine Writers That Wineries Can Work With” by Beverage Trade Network in 2021. She holds a Level 3-Advanced Certificate from Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is a Certified Sake Sommelier. In addition, she is the author of 150 Vineyards You Need To Visit Before You Die and the contributing author to the North America section of The Wine Lover’s Bucket List.
Jenna Isaacs, Sommelier, Verse
@surliejenna
Jenna originally aspired to be a chef and her dad would take her to great restaurants for inspiration. Now being a Sommelier is her calling and her favourite part of the job is that there’s connection, meaning and, beauty. Wine lists curated by Jenna focus on small producers whose stories we know and love, and who are focused on soil health and chemical-free practices in the vineyard.
Christina Pickard, Editor at Large, Wine Enthusiast
@christinakpickard
Christina has been telling wine stories for 15 years, first from her former home in London, England, then from her second former home in Perth, Australia, and now in her current home in New York’s Hudson Valley. She has written for publications around the globe including Decanter, Gourmet Traveller Wine, James Halliday’s Wine Companion, Afar and Food & Wine. Christina is currently a writer at large for Wine Enthusiast, covering the wines of Australia, New Zealand, New York and Great Britain. She tastes and reviews over 1,500 wines per year from these regions. As a presenter and educator, Christina was the co-host of one of wine’s first podcasts, The Crush. She was a regular television and live presenter in the U.K. and the founder of School of Wine in Western Australia.
Amber Rill, Assistant Beverage Director, Corkbuzz Wine Studio
@rilltravels
Amber is the Assistant Beverage Director at Corkbuzz Wine Studio in Union Square & Chelsea Market and is responsible for Corkbuzz consumer wine classes, private classes, and participates in curating the wine list. In 2017, she earned her Diploma in Wine & Spirits through the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and passed the Certified Sommelier exam with the Court of Master Sommeliers-America. Amber has twice participated as an Associate Judge for the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC), serving on panels judging wine and spirits alongside Master Sommelier’s and Master of Wine’s in London. She currently sits on judging panels for Wine & Spirits Magazine, critiquing and scoring wines for consumers and enthusiasts. In March 2020 Amber was an instrumental part in pivoting an on-premise beverage program into a thriving online business, creating dynamic online classes, and reimagining Corkbuzz as an online wine marketplace. To date, Corkbuzz has seen more than 3,500 guests take online classes since March 2020. Amber is currently enrolled in the Master of Wine program, as a Stage 2 student and candidate. Aside from teaching about wine, you can usually find her at her favorite yoga studio, and then hosting dinner parties with friends and sharing outlandish stories from her adventures in more than 40 countries.
Kathleen Willcox, Freelancer, Wine Enthusiast, Paste Magazine, Modern Farmer, Wine Searcher, The Drinks Business & SevenFifty Daily
@kathleenwillcox
Kathleen Willcox is an award-winning journalist specialising in wine, spirits, food, real estate and travel. Kathleen writes for several publications on a regular basis, including Wine Searcher, Wine Enthusiast, the Drinks Business, Best Products and more. Her work has also appeared in VinePair, Edible Capital District, Bust magazine, and Gastronomica, and on United Stations Radio Networks, among other venues. She recently coauthored, with Tessa Edick, “Hudson Valley Wine: A History of Taste & Terroir.” She lives in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Canada
Jacky Blisson MW, Master of Wine and bilingual (English/French) wine writer, educator, and consultant, Extra-Brut, Quench, Good Food Revolution, and jackyblisson.com
@jackyblisson
Jacky Blisson MW is an independent wine educator, video presenter, writer, and consultant with over two decades of experience in all facets of the global wine trade. She is the first Master of Wine in Québec and one of only ten across Canada, as well as being a Bourgogne Wine Official Ambassador. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies at Concordia University, Jacky pulled up stakes and moved to Burgundy to pursue an Advanced Masters in Wine Science and International Trade at the CFPPA de Beaune and AgroSup Dijon. During her 11-year sojourn in France, Jacky held successive positions as UK and North American Export Sales Manager for Burgundy fine wine brokerage Domaine Wines and major Southern Rhône Valley winery Gabriel Meffre. She also worked harvest seasons in Beaune and the Walker Bay, South Africa. Since returning to Canada, Jacky has built a solid reputation for her written and video wine education content, her frequent speaking engagements, and her consultancy work. Jacky writes for Quench magazine, Extra-Brut, and Good Food Revolution. She produces a self-titled YouTube wine education channel, a wine review website, and is proud to be a judge for the National Wine Awards of Canada.Jacky writes for Extra-Brut (French language, Québec, specialist wine focus magazine, over 700 points of sale in Québec), Quench (longest-running food and drink magazine in North America, readership of over 184 000 per print issue), Good Food Revolution (online food & drink website, Ontario-based), and jackyblisson.com (personal blog), youtube.com/jackyblisson (4.5K subscribers).
Christopher Sealy, Michelin Best Sommelier of the year 2022, Beverage Director and Sommelier for Alo Group, Independant wine writer (Quench Magazine) and educator
@crstfr
Christopher is a wine professional and communicator in wine and currently the wine director for alo restaurants food group in Toronto, as well as a wine-writer. He is a certified Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers and WSET 3 Certified, and in the last 17 years continues to expand on his global understanding of wine by travelling to numerous wine regions, exploring and studying different wine cultures, the people and the factors that make them unique. Chris has been instrumental in the building of full wine and beverage programs, being a General Manager, teaching wine education, and building and opening his own wine bar & tavern and most recently working in one of Canada’s top fine dining restaurants. At the moment he also contributes wine and lifestyle adjacent articles to Quench Magazine Canada.
Asia
Richard Hemming MW, Head of Wine, Regular Contributer, 67 Pall Mall Singapore. JancisRobinson.com
@richardhemming
Richard Hemming is Head of Wine, Asia, for 67 Pall Mall in Singapore. As Head of Wine, he ensures the wine proposition at the Singapore Club is peerless. He became a Master of Wine in 2015. He has written for JancisRobinson.com since 2008, contributing regular articles and tasting notes covering every aspect of the wine world. Richard has also been published by the Business Times, Financial Times, Club Oenologique, Decanter, The World Of Fine Wine, Noble Rot and many other titles. JancisRobinson.com has more than 500k unique visitors/month and 67 Pall Mall 12k Members globally (with 3k in Singapore). Both audiences are highly engaged wine drinkers with broad, global demographic. Richards wine industry career began with 6 years of UK retail management with Majestic Wine, followed by surviving the 2008 vintage in McLaren Vale as a cellarhand and spending 1 year as a viticultural assistant at Gusbourne Estate in Kent. Richard then spent 11 years as a freelance writer, communicator and educator in London before relocating to Singapore in 2019. More about Richard at richardhemmingmw.com.
Yang Lu MS, Master Sommelier, TOP|SOMM Studio, Grapea & Co Institute
yang.lu_ms, 吕杨-侍酒师大师
Yang Lu is the first Chinese Master Sommelier in the world, and one of the most important wine figures in Asia. He founded Grapea & Co. Institute in 2017 (the leading education and service company in Mainland China) and TOP|SOMM Studio in 2020 (the most prestigious wine hospitality consultancy firm in Greater China). He is also the brand ambassadors for lifestyle and luxury brands such as Gaggenau, San Pellegrino and Christofle.
Bungo Matsunaga, Retail Sales Manager, Cellar Door Aoyama
@bungomatsunaga, @cellardooraoyama
Bungo is the Retail Sales Manager & Sommelier at Cella Door Aoyama. Cellar Door Aoyama is a retail (‘The Boutique’) and wine bar (‘The Salon’) space in Tokyo, with a focus on organic, biodynamic and family-owned wineries. Bungo manages sales planning, and online sales (having previous experience in the e-commerce division of Enoteca, prior to taking his position at Cellar Door Aoyama when it opened in 2021) alongside his role in the wine bar, including events such as winemaker dinners and masterclasses. Bungo was awarded a JSA Sommelier Scholarship in 2018 – this is one of the biggest sommelier competitions in Japan for younger sommeliers (under 28). More recently, Bungo placed 6th at the 2023 All Japan Sommelier Competition, the largest Sommelier competition in Japan, held every 3 years.
Fongyee Walker MW, Co – Founder, Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting
@fongyeew
Wine took on a new significance for Fongyee Walker while she was studying at the University of Cambridge and became involved with its Blind Tasting Team. Training the Cambridge squad, Fongee realised how much she enjoyed teaching. Moving to Beijing in 2007, she went on to co-found Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting with her husband and fellow Master of Wine Edward Ragg, though it was not until almost a decade later that she attained the elusive qualification. Fongee became China’s first Master of Wine in 2016.
A leading wine education company, Dragon Phoenix is the only education institute in China permitted to offer the WSET Level 4 Diploma, and Walker is one of the country’s most qualified wine educators. Aside from teaching, she has many strings to her bow, working as a wine writer, wine judge and presenter, participating in documentaries and hosting an internet show about wine pairing with Chinese food called Wok ‘n Wine, which has garnered more than 4 million viewers.
Frank Zou, GM, Lookvin
weibo account: lookvin
Frank has been in the wine industry for more than 12 years, studied WSET 3,and has been to many wine regions like Napa/Rioja, etc. Frank will be producing stories and video content for Lookvin, a professional wine media dedicated to sharing and broadcasting up to date wine knowledge and wine-lifestyle experience in China www.lookvin.com.
Australia
Max Allen, Wine writer/ Author/ Educator, AFR/ Jancis Robinson
@maxallendrinks
Max Allen has been writing about wine and drinks for over 30 years, is a wine communicator of the year award winner, and has a particular interest in organic/biodynamic/regenerative viticulture and alternative winegrowing. He is an award-winning journalist and author, and lecturer in wine studies at the University of Melbourne. Max has been writing about booze for 30 years: he is the wine and drinks columnist for the Australian Financial Review, longtime contributor to Gourmet Traveller Magazine, Australian correspondent for JancisRobinson.com and a regular presenter at masterclasses and festivals around the world.
Mike Bennie, Co-Director/ Writer, Freelance – Delicious Magazine, WineFront, Halliday Wine Companion book and mag, Wine Business Monthly
@mikebennie101
Mike Bennie is a respected and high profile freelance wine and drinks writer, journalist and presenter. He is wine/drinks editor for Delicious Magazine (biggest circulation food magazine in Australia) and he is Editor-At-Large and contributor/writer to Australia’s most interactive wine commentary website, WineFront.com.au. His work is also regularly found in Voyeur Virgin Airlines Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald Good Food section, Decanter UK, Men’s Style magazine, Wine Business Magazine and various other publications.
Liinaa Berry, Founder, Liinaa Berry Consultancy
@liinaa.berry
Liinaa has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry with over 10 years curating wine programmes across various venues from wine bars to fine dining restaurants in Australia and beyond. Most recently the Wine Buyer at renowned wine bar, Embla, she is now a consultant for other venues where she selects the wines and trains the staff. Her notable achievements include curating wine lists with over 2,000 references as Head Sommelier, and earning Best Wine List Awards several times. Outside of venues, she is a freelance wine writer, and a regular judge at prestigious wine shows. Liinaa was the first Australian-based ambassador for Star Wine List, starting with South Australia, and now overlooks Melbourne and Victoria – SWL is a guide to the best wine venues across the planet written by wine experts in each city. Since 2024, she has served on the board of the Committee for Sommeliers Australia playing a role in advancing the sommelier profession nationwide and making wine education more accessible and fun for consumers.
Cyndal Petty, Head of Wine, Parker Group Restaurants
@cyndal_petty
Cyndal is a Chef-turned-Sommelier and a hopeless romantic of the culinary world, boasting a 15-year hospitality career while still under 30 (for another few months anyway). After an impressive career as a Chef at some of Australia’s top restaurants, she made a natural switch to Front of House, taking on management and wine-buying roles. Currently, she holds the position of Head of Wine for the Parker Group, overseeing seven wine lists across four venues. Alongside this role, she has dabled as an Independent Wine Consultant, Food and Wine Event Host, and Wine Judge. You will often see her hosting masterclasses, speaking at industry events, and showcasing her talents on stage. Now based in Western Australia’s Southwest, you’ll often find Cyndal at the end of a beach track with a glass of Chardonnay or buried in a book as she completes her WSET Diploma in Wine.
Ash Pini, Group Publishing Editor, HIP Media
@exploredrinks
Ash is Editor of HIP media – Australia’s highest circulating trade publication for the drinks industry. EAV $14.6k. All trade readership. -reaching 18,000 retailers quarterly. 61k trade viewers online monthly.
Katie Spain, National Drinks Writer, Good Food at Fairfax Media
@katiespainwrites
Katie is the national drinks writer for GOOD FOOD (Sydney Morning Herald and The Age), feature writer for Australia’s Wine Business Magazine (WBM), and state editor (South Australia) of Gourmet Traveller. She is also the Australian correspondent for Swedish wine magazine Livets Goda. In 2022, Kaite received RMC’s Winner for Best Rural Journalist – Print, and Wine Communicators of Australia’s winner of Best Wine Book, and in 2021 she won ‘Wine Communicator of the Year’ as well as received the award for ‘Best Published Feature or Column’.
Shanteh Wale, Taster, Wine Pilot/ Freelance
@shantehwale
Shanteh cut her teeth as a Sommelier and Head Sommelier at Quay Restaurant where she worked for over a decade. She has been nominated three times for the Good Food Guide’s ‘Sommelier of the Year award’ and was a Len Evans Scholar in 2019. She is host of her own drinks podcast ‘Over A Glass’ with the Deep in the Weeds Network. She spends her days writing and reviewing wine for Halliday Wine Companion, Wine Pilot and judging wine shows across the country as Chair of Judges, Panel Chair and Judge.