Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Master of Wine, is a leading wine educator, columnist, and author. She was the first woman in America to become a Master of Wine, and is one of 26 Masters of Wine in the U.S. Mary is president of International Wine Center (www.internationalwinecenter.com) in New York City, which offers challenging wine courses for serious consumers  and individuals in the wine trade. She is also executive director of U.S. programs for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust® (WSET®), the world s largest wine and spirits educational organization, which has affiliated schools in 25 U.S. markets.
She is author of Wine Style (Wiley), and has co-authored, with husband Ed McCarthy, the best-selling Wine For Dummies, 4th Edition, and nine other wine books in the &For Dummies series, including California Wine For Dummies to be published in April 2009. She is a columnist for Wine Review Online (www.winereviewonline.com), and for ten years served as wine columnist for The Daily News in New York.  She is chief judge of the Critics Challenge wine competition and frequently judges at other major national and international tasting competitions.
Mary is a director of the Institute of Masters of Wine (North America) and served as its president for the past several years.

Robert Whitley writes the nationally syndicated Wine Talk column for Creators Syndicate and is Publisher of Wine Review Online. Over a long and distinguished career in journalism, Robert has been a writer and/or editor at numerous major print publications, including Newsday, The Washington Post, Charlotte Observer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Robert also is Director of the Winemaker Challenge, the Sommelier Challenge, and the Monterey and San Diego International wine competitions. Robert also is one of the chief reviewers for Wine Review Online, is the publication's main blogger, and contributes a column as well.

Dr. Michael Apstein is a regular contributor to Wine Review Online and a frequent contributor to the wine section of the San Francisco Chronicle. Michael has written numerous wine articles and columns for the Boston Globe, Wine News and Boston Magazine. In 2001 Michael won the prestigious James Beard Award for his work at the Boston Globe.

Jon Bonne is Wine Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, responsible for each week’s Wine section as well as the annual Top 100 Wines. Previously Bonné was Lifestyle Editor and wine columnist for MSNBC.com and wine columnist for Seattle Magazine. His writing has won him numerous awards from the Association of Food Journalists, and he shared in a 2007 James Beard Award. He also writes regularly for Food & Wine, and has reported for The New York Times, Newsweek, National Public Radio and Wines & Vines.

Gerald Boyd's career in wine journalism is longer and deeper than just about any other wine journalist in America. He has been Editor of Wine Spectator and Wine Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle in a remarkable journey over the past 30 years. Gerald has written wine articles for Decanter, Wine News, Quarterly Review of Wines and Vineyard & Winery Management, and he also writes a monthly column for Wine Review Online.

Stephen Brook was born in London and studied English literature and philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge. After 15 years as an editor in the U.S. and England, he became a freelance writer in 1982. Stephen has written many travel books and guidebooks. His books on wine include "Liquid Gold: Dessert Wines of the World," "Sauternes," "Pauillac," "A Century of Wine," "The Wines of California," "Bordeaux: People, Power and Politics," and "The Wines of Germany." He is a contributing editor to Decanter, and was for many years a regular contributor to The Times and Vogue. In 2003, Stephen completely revised and updated "Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion." Over the past 15 years he has won major awards for wine writing in Britain, the U.S. and Australia. His encyclopedic study of Bordeaux and its wines, "The Complete Bordeaux," was published in late 2007.

Patrick Comiskey writes about wine for the Los Angeles Times. He also holds a position as Senior Editor of Wine & Spirits Magazine and is a former columnist for Wine Review Online. Patrick also has written wine articles for the San Francisco Chronicle, Bon Appetit and the Robb Report.

Michael Franz is Editor of Wine Review Online. He was wine columnist for the Washington Post between 1994 and 2005, when he took the reins at Wine Review Online. Michael is a regular contributor to France Magazine, and does a bi-weekly wine segment on National Public Radio station WAMU in Washington, D.C., and is one of the principle wine reviewers at Wine Review Online.

W. Blake Gray has written about wine, sake and spirits for more than 10 years. A monthly columnist for Wine Review Online, Blake was once a staff member writing about wine for the San Francisco Chronicle. He also publishes his own blog and assorted wine and spirits articles at The Gray Market Report (wblakegray.blogspot.com).

Paul Lukacs writes wine columns for Saveur, the Washington Times and Washingtonian Magazine. He also has written for Wine & Spirits and Food Arts, and in 2001 won a prestigious James Beard Award for his book American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine. Paul is a regular contributor to Wine Review Online and is one of the publication's main wine reviewers.

Ed McCarthy is a wine writer, certified wine educator (CWE), and wine consultant who has been active in the wine trade for over 25 years. With his wife, Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW, he is co-author of "Wine For Dummies," "White Wine For Dummies," "Red Wine For Dummies," "Wine Buying Companion For Dummies," "French Wine For Dummies," and "Italian Wine For Dummies." "Wine For Dummies," nominated for a James Beard Award, is one of the largest-selling wine books ever. It has been translated into 15 languages and sold over 650,000 copies. Ed's own book, "Champagne for Dummies," was also nominated for the James Beard Award, and he is considered one of the leading Champagne authorities in the U.S. Ed regularly writes for Wine Review Online, QRW, Wine Enthusiast, Nation's Restaurant News, and Beverage Media. He and Mary Ewing-Mulligan co-authored Wine Style, published in October 2005.

Elin McCoy is wine columnist for Bloomberg News and author of the definitive work on uber wine critic Robert Parker, the 2007 book Emperor of Wine. Elin is a contributing editor to Food & Wine Magazine, gourmet editor for Smoke, and has written about wine for Forbes, Money, New York, House & Garden, House Beautiful and Drink.
 
Linda Murphy writes a column on California and other West Coast wines for Decanter, and she was formerly Wine Editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. Linda also writes a column for Wine Review Online and reviews California wines for JancisRobinson.com. Linda is Chief Judge of the Monterey Wine Competition and has judged wines at competitions the world over.

Rebecca Murphy writes a wine column for the Dallas Morning News and also has been a contributor to Wine Review Online. Rebecca is the founding Director of the Dallas Morning News Wine Competition and has judged at numerous international wine competitions the world over.

Nick Passmore is a British-born, New York-based independent wine writer, wine consultant and wine-event organizer. For five years he contributed a widely read monthly wine column to Forbes.com, and is now Artisanal Editor at Four Seasons Magazine and Contributing Editor to Businessweek.com. In addition his work has appeared in Forbes, Sky, Town & Country, Departures, Epicurious.com, Elite Traveler, Wine Review Online, the Robb Report, Wine Enthusiast, and Saveur, among others. More of his work can be found at NickOnWine.com.

Leslie Sbrocco is known for an entertaining approach that makes learning about wine and food fun. Her first book, "Wine for Women: A Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wine" won the Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year award. Her second book, "The Simple & Savvy Wine Guide," was released in October 2006. Leslie is a columnist for Epicurious.com. and a contributor to Wine Review Online and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her work has been published in O, the Oprah magazine, Coastal Living, Woman's Day, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, and Santé. Leslie has appeared as wine expert for the cooking show Seasonings, cable television's On the Vine series, CBS's Evening Magazine, and the Today Show. Her current television project is as host of the PBS series Check Please! Bay Area, for which she won a James Beard Award and an Emmy. Leslie is wine consultant for the Kimpton Hotel Group and Virgin America Airlines and a wine educator for Crystal Cruises and Holland America Cruise Lines.

Marguerite Thomas is a regular contributor to Wine News and writes a wine column for the Los Angeles Times International Syndicate. Marguerite is a columnist for Wine Review Online and has written about wine and spirits for Gourmet, Saveur, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Sante and numerous other national publications.