2013 Speakers
We're proud to present this list of exciting and dynamic speakers for 2013!
Antonia AllegraSymposium Founding Director, Career Coach
Antonia (Toni) Allegra is a culinary coach dedicated to working with food and wine professionals regarding their writing and their careers. She coaches culinary starters and stars, having influenced the creation of more than 150 books, columns, blogs, etc. She is a wine/food/travel writer and international speaker as well as teacher. She founded and directs the Symposium for Professional Food Writers at The Greenbrier in West Virginia and also founded the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley. She is launcher of La Cocina que Canta culinary center at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, Baja California. She co-founded C4: Culinary Coaches and Consultants Collaborative and other culinary communities. Toni authored Napa Valley: The Ultimate Winery Guide, printed to a fourth edition, and the Napa Valley Expedition Guide and the Wine Country Deck. Toni was founding editor of Vine Napa Valley and Appellation magazines, both Maggie Award-winning publications. And she was food editor of the San Diego Tribune (1982-88). She launched and was culinary director of the Beringer Vineyards School for American Chefs, working with Madeleine Kamman. Toni has received many accolades and awards from culinary organizations.
Jon BonnéWine Editor, San Franciso Chronicle
Jon Bonne is The San Francisco Chronicle's wine editor, responsible for coordinating the paper's wine coverage as well as the annual Top 100 Wines. He covers wine and spirits throughout Northern California and around the world. Previously Bonne was lifestyle editor and wine columnist for MSNBC.com and wine columnist for Seattle magazine, and has written about wine for Food & Wine and Saveur. His writing has won him numerous awards from the Association of Food Journalists. He shared in a 2007 James Beard Foundation Award and was a 2009 Beard finalist for best wine writing. He lives in San Francisco.
@jbonne on Twitter
Richard BradleyEditor, Worth Magazine
Richard Bradley is the editor-in-chief of Worth magazine and author of three books, the most recent of which is The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78. Bradley has been a writer and editor for over 20 years. During his undergraduate studies at Yale College, he wrote for the Yale Daily News and then worked in Washington, D.C., first as a reporter-researcher for The New Republic, then as a staff writer and columnist for Regardie's magazine, a Washington monthly devoted to business and politics. Bradley earned a master's degree from Harvard University in American history and returned to Washington to become the editor-in-chief of Regardie's. Three years later, he moved to New York to take a job as one of the original editors of George magazine. Starting in May 1995 as a senior editor, Bradley became the magazine's national affairs editor in 1997 and was promoted to the position of executive editor in January 1999. In May 2002, Bradley published American Son, a memoir of John Kennedy and George, which generated tremendous national attention, including the cover of People magazine, a Barbara Walters interview, and a guest appearance on NBC's Today Show. American Son spent seven weeks on The New York Times non-fiction bestseller list, ultimately climbing to number one. In March 2005, Bradley published his second book, Harvard Rules - Lawrence Summers and the Battle for the World's Most Powerful University. The book came out just as Harvard was engulfed by controversy over remarks made by President Lawrence Summers concerning the genetic aptitude of women. Harvard Rules played a prominent role in the debate over the leadership of Harvard, and some months later, Lawrence Summers resigned the presidency of that institution. Bradley's third book, The Greatest Game, was published in March 2008. The Greatest Game tells the story of the 1978 pennant race between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, a dramatic season that culminated in a classic tie-breaking playoff game between the two teams. Starting in July 2007, Bradley served as the executive editor of 02138 magazine, a New York-based lifestyle magazine for Harvard alumni. Bradley joined Worth, a publication of Sandow Media, in March 2008. Founded in 1992, Worth, a bimonthly, covers the worlds of entepreneurship, finance and lifestyle for high net worth readers. In addition to his jobs as a magazine editor and his book writing, Richard Bradley has contributed to many other publications. He is the creator of a popular blog, "Shots in the Dark," found on his website, www.richardbradley.net. Bradley has lived in New York City since 1995.
James ConawayJournalist and Best-Selling Author
James (Jim) Conaway is the author of 12 books, including the upcoming novel, Nose. He grew up in Memphis but lived in Europe for several years before moving to Washington, D.C. A former Wallace Stegner fellow at Stanford University, he's the author of three novels and nine books of non-fiction, the most recent being Vanishing America: In Pursuit of Our Elusive Landscapes, described by writer Tracy Kidder as "an enthralling, lovely tribute to a lot of what is precious in America."
His previous book, The Far Side of Eden, was a Washington Post Best Book of the Year in 2002 and a sequel to his best-selling Napa: The Story of an American Eden, described in the New York Times Book Review as "an important story, emblematic of our time."
His other books include the memoir, Memphis Afternoons, and The Kingdom in the Country, a personal journey in a van through the public lands of the American West and described by Stegner as "a very lively book... He got into places and activities that most westerners never even get close to." Author Jim Harrison called it "a wonderful, well-considered evocation of the New West."
Jim's first novel, The Big Easy, was based on his experiences as a police reporter in New Orleans; his second novel, World's End, is a Louisiana coastal saga of politics and crime described as a combination of All the King's Men and The Godfather.
Jim has written for many magazines, including The New York Times Magazine, Atlantic, Harper's, The New Republic, Gourmet, Smithsonian, and National Geographic Traveler. He divides his time between piedmont Virginia and Washington.
Jim GordonSymposium Executive Director
Jim Gordon has been covering the wine industry as an editor and reporter for more than 25 years. In 2006 he became editor of Wines & Vines, the magazine for North American winemakers and grape growers. He also directs the annual Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley. His first book as editor in chief, Opus Vino, was published by Dorling Kindersley of London in late 2010. The second, 1000 Great Everyday Wines, followed in 2011. Gordon was the editor of the St. Helena Star newspaper in Napa Valley in the 1980s. He was managing editor of Wine Spectator for 12 years, and editor in chief of Appellation / Wine Country Living magazine for four, during which time he helped create Wine Country Living TV for NBC station KNTV in San Jose. Gordon lives in Napa, California.
Kaethy Kennedy & Amy WeberVideo Producers, Storycellars
Kaethy Kennedy (right, in photo) and Amy Weber of Storycellars both come from the movie marketing industry in Hollywood. For over twenty years, they had been crafting trailers and TV spots for some of the biggest films on the silver screen. Kaethy had been running her own successful ad agency, while Amy was editing at one of the top trailer houses in Los Angeles.
Looking for a change from their then current careers, and wanting to pursue their passion for wine, they enrolled in the 2011 Wine Immersion program at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California. What was supposed to be a fun break from Hollywood turned out to be a life altering experience; while at the CIA, they realized they could parlay their marketing skills to the world of wine. Thanks to the inspiring teachers and invaluable relationships they made, they were able to land their first job before finishing the program – cutting a piece for the Rutherford Dust Society. That video would go on to win Honorable Mention in the annual Wine Spectator Video Contest.
Storycellars is a Napa Valley based video production firm. In addition to creating immersive video trailers, the creative team offers all aspects of a full-service agency, including Avid and Final Cut editorial, post- production, social media services and motion graphic design. Their roster of clients include wineries, restaurants, and resorts, as well as vineyard, vintner and appellation groups.
Louise KiernanPulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Associate Professor, Medill School of Journalism
Louise Kiernan, an associate professor at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, was formerly a writing coach, editor and reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Louse was the lead writer on "Gateway to Gridlock," a report on the American air-traffic system, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism. After joining the Tribune as an intern in 1992, Louise ran the paper's urban-affairs team; worked on the Sunday magazine staff; reported from abroad; and contributed to the newspaper's features, commentary, books and travel sections.
Susan KostrzewaExecutive Editor, Wine Enthusiast
Susan Kostrzewa (pronounced koh-STRAH-vah) is executive editor of Wine Enthusiast Magazine and a formal taster on the magazine wine tasting panel. In addition to managing the editorial direction of the print magazine, Kostrzewa oversees all digital initiatives for the media company. She is the author of numerous food, wine and travel books such as Opus Vino, a comprehensive volume of worldwide wines and wine regions, Greatest Escapes, a series of books on literary travel, and Pairings, a guide on matching the eclectic wines and foods of the world. Before relocating from Sonoma to Manhattan in 2005, Kostrzewa was senior editor of Wine Country Living, as well as a contributing writer and/or editor for Savor Wine Country, Marin Magazine, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and several travel magazines.
Alan KropfPublisher and Editor, Mutineer Magazine
Mutineer Magazine publisher and editor Alan Kropf is a leader among young beverage professionals. Before founding Wine Mutineer LLC and Mutineer Magazine in 2008, Kropf contributed wine articles to magazines including Sante, The Tasting Panel, and SommSelections, and he currently contributes beverage content to newspapers and online publications. Kropf has authored over 500 blog articles and is currently nearing completion on his first book. Kropf travels frequently to speak at events, judge competitions, and raise awareness about water relief in developing countries and introducing the Millennial generation to fine beverage culture.
Kropf is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, holds an Advanced Certificate with Merit through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, is a Certified Beer Server through the Cicerone Certification Program and holds a Bartending/Mixology Certificate through National Bartenders Bartending School. Kropf has worked as a sommelier at some of the world’s more prestigious properties, including the Beverly Hills Hotel with its legendary celebrity clientele and he helped Gordon Ramsay open his signature restaurant in the London West Hollywood in 2008.
Jeannie Cho LeeFounder of Asian Palate.com, Master of Wine, Contributor South China Morning Post, Decanter
Jeannie Cho Lee is the first Asian Master of Wine and an award-winning author, wine critic, judge and educator. Jeannie’s pioneering book, Asian Palate, exploring Asian food and wine pairings in ten Asian culinary capitals, won the Gourmand award for Best Food and Wine Pairing Book in the World in 2010 as well as other awards. Jeannie’s second book, Mastering Wine for the Asian Palate, was released in September 2011.
Jeannie was born in Korea and has lived in Hong Kong since early 1994 where she started her publishing career with financial publications such as Asia Inc, Far Eastern Economic Revue, The Asset, before moving on to lifestyle and wine publications such as Wine Spectator, The World of Fine Wine, Wine Business International, Revue du Vin and Tatler.
Currently, Jeannie is contributing editor for Decanter UK and a weekly columnist for mainland China’s China Business News as well as the largest English newspaper in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post. She pens monthly columns for other publications. Jeannie is responsible for the master wine list of nearly 50 food and beverage outlets for Galaxy Macau, and also consults for Singapore Airlines.
Jeannie holds a Certificat de Cuisine from Cordon Bleu and her love for food and wine inspired her to found AsianPalate.com, a site that celebrates the confluence of Asian food and wine. Jeannie is a Master Sake Sommelier from Japan’s Sake Service Institute and is a Certified Wine Educator from UK's Wine & Spirits Education Trust as well as the US Society of Wine Educators.
Jeannie’s interest in wine began at Oxford University where she spent her junior year before returning to Smith College where she graduated with a dual degree in Government and Sociology. Jeannie then went on to obtain a master’s degree in public policy and international relations from Harvard University.
Karen MacNeilWine Educator, Consultant and Author of The Wine Bible
Karen MacNeil, wine educator, consultant and writer, has earned her stripes, enchanting audiences and winning numerous awards in the United States and abroad. Her articles on wine and food have been published in more than 50 U.S. magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Town & Country. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Wine Bible, a best-selling wine book in the United States, with more than half a million copies sold since it was released.
Karen is the host of Emmy-award winning "Wine, Food & Friends with Karen MacNeil," the first television series on wine in the United States. In 2006 her companion book, Wine, Food & Friends, was released. Karen is the creator and chairman of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley.
With her team at Karen MacNeil & Company, Karen creates and consults on unique wine experiences, seminars and programs for corporate clients, businesses and individuals.She is the immediate past wine consultant for Singapore Airlines and Sunset Magazine.
In March 2008, Karen launched one of her websites on erobertparker.com, where she provides online wine education and a monthly blogicle called One Woman’s View.
Karen has received numerous accolades. To mention a few: in 2004, the James Beard Foundation named her Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year; the following year, she was named Wine Educator of the Year by the European Wine Council; in 2007, Karen was honored with the Wine Literary Award by the Wine Appreciation Guild. She holds an Advanced Certified Wine Professional Degree.
Elin McCoyWine & Spirits Writer, Bloomberg News
Elin McCoy, a writer on wine and spirits for Bloomberg News, Shattered, and Food & Wine, is author of The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker Jr. and the Reign of American Taste. Elin met Parker in 1981 when she was his first magazine editor, and she has followed his extraordinary rise ever since. She is fascinated with the written word and with the wine industry as history and as it is active now.
Linda MurphyJancisRobinson.com, Decanter, Wine Review Online
In summer of 1990, Linda Murphy quit her job as a newspaper sportswriter/editor in San Diego, Calif., and moved to Sonoma County. The wine bug bit deep during a harvest job with a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir producer, and since then, Linda has progressed from barrel washer to winery public relations director, to San Francisco Chronicle wine section editor, to wine, food and travel writer for publications and websites including Cooking Light, Napa Sonoma magazine and epicurious.com.
Linda is the West Coast editor for jancisrobinson.com, U.S. columnist for Decanter magazine and columnist for winereviewonline.com. At the San Francisco Chronicle (2003 through 2006), she won two James Beard Awards for her work with the wine section.
In addition to serving as chairman of the International Eastern Wine Competition, Linda also judges several other competitions, including Critics Challenge, Riverside International Wine Competition, San Francisco International Wine Competition, Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition, Virginia Governor’s Cup and the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.
Her book, American Wine, co-authored by Jancis Robinson, will be published in October 2012 by University of California Press. It celebrates winemaking in all 50 states – past, present and future.
Jen MurphyDeputy Editor, Afar Magazine
Jen Murphy is the deputy editor of Afar magazine, a three-year-old travel magazine based in San Francisco. As deputy editor, Jen assigns and edits feature stories, essays, columns, and also produces special sections and packages. She is a recent California transplant and loves being able to live the lifestyle she once wrote about during her eights years at Food & Wine magazine.
Jen started as an intern at Food & Wine and worked her way through the editorial ranks to eventually become travel editor. Her food and wine obsessions are kept in check with her passion for fitness. Jen has written a bi-weekly column called “What’s Your Workout” for the Wall Street Journal since 2004. She has also written for Runner’s World, 7 x 7, and Foam magazines. Jen is an adjunct professor at NYU. Her recent travels have taken her to Switzerland, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and Mexico.
David RosengartenWine Editor, Saveur Magazine
Journalist, television personality, and cookbook author, David Rosengarten has covered great food products, restaurants, wines, gastronomic travel destinations, and related subjects for over 25 years. Currently the wine editor of Saveur magazine, he has written hundreds of articles and contributed hundreds of original recipes to other publications such as Gourmet (where he was restaurant critic from 1996 to 2000), The New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Harper’s Bazaar, Departures, Wine Spectator and Newsday.
David is perhaps best known for his work as the host of Taste, the award-winning Food Network television show devoted to the principles of good taste in food and wine. David performed in 2500 shows on the Food Network, and has been featured on a variety of other networks (most notably NBC, where he has regularly appeared on the Today show). David appeared as a judge on the new season of Iron Chef America in May 2012.
David’s newsletter, The Rosengarten Report, which was published from 2001 to 2008, won the James Beard Award as best food newsletter in America, and attracted a peak of 50,000 paid subscribers. The Rosengarten Report will return in late 2012.
He is also the author of multiple cookbooks, including the seminal Red Wine with Fish, Taste, It’s ALL American Food, David Rosengarten Entertains, and the best-selling Dean & DeLuca Cookbook.
David is a much sought-after jurist for wine, food, chef, and sommelier competitions, and as a featured speaker at many national and international culinary events. David is now the wine editor at Saveur, a regular columnist for Wine & Spirits magazine and a blogger for Huffington Post. He resides in New York City.
Steven SpurrierAward winning wine consultant, author, educator, wine judging director, and organizer of the seminal Judgment of Paris. Also a Symposium speaker 2007
STEVEN SPURRIER was educated at Ruby School and the London School of Economics. In 1964 he joined the wine trade as a trainee with Christopher and Co. (established 1665). In 1970 he moved to Paris and purchased Les Caves de la Madeleine, a small shop in the center of the city, and in 1973 opened L'Academie du Vin, the first independent wine school in France. As a partner, he became involved in diverse ventures allied to wine: Le Bistrot a Vin (a winebar/restaurant in the business quarter of La Defense); Le Chemin des Vignes (a warehouse and bottling plant on the outskirts of Paris) and Le Moulin du Village and Le Blue Fox (a restaurant/winebar near the Caves de la Madeleine). Spurrier is perhaps best known for having created the tasting between top Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California and France in May 1976, subsequently referred to as The Judgment of Paris. A re-creation of this event was held 30 years to the day on May 24, 2006, simultaneously in London and Napa. During his time in France, Steven was an official judge on the Paris and the Macon wine competitions and in 1988 was named "Le Personalité de l'Année (Oenologie)" for services to French wine. In 1988, he sold his wine business interests in Paris and returned to the UK to become an independent wine consultant. His clients have included Harrods in London and Hédiard in Paris and are currently Singapore Airlines and Christie's for whom he created the Christie's Wine Course in 1982. He is also consultant editor for Decanter magazine and President of the Circle of Wine Writers. He is currently chairman of the Decanter World Wine Awards created in 2004 and co-chairman of the Decanter Asia Wine Awards created in 2012. Steven is also in constant demand as an international judge. He is the author of several books on wine of which two: L'Academie du Vin Wine Course and L'Academie du Vin Guide to French Wines have been translated into several languages. Currently, he is the co-author with Oz Clarke of The Clarke-Spurrier Guide to Fine Wines, published by Webster's International and upated and republished in October 2000. Some of the prizes and awards that Spurrier has won include "The Bunch Award" for articles in Decanter in 1996, "Le Prix de Champagne Lanson" in 1997, "Ritz Carlton Millienia Lifetime Achievement Award" in 1999 and "Le Prix Louis Marinier" for writing on Bordeaux in 2000. In 2001 he was awarded "Le Grand Prix de l'Academie Internationale du Vin" and also "The Andre Tchelistcheff Maestro Award" from California. Steven is married, with two adult children, and lives, when not traveling, in London and Dorset.
Gary WaltherThe Hotel Detective for Forbes.com, Contributing Editor at ForbesLife
Gary Walther is a paid Forbes.com columnist on luxury hotels (The Hotel Detective) and a contributing editor at ForbesLife, the luxury lifestyle magazine published by Forbes Media (850,000 subscribers). He served as editor of the magazine from early 2008 to late 2009. He has a 26-year editorial career in luxury lifestyle publications. In 1989 he took over Departures (American Express Publishing) and in the next 11 years turned it into one of the most powerful luxury-lifestyle magazines in the country. In 2000 Gary joined Ziff Davis as the founding editor of Expedia Travels, the first upscale travel magazine that connected Web travel to real travel, and after a two-year stint as a freelancer, became editor-in-chief of Luxury Spafinder in 2004, turning it into the definitive spa lifestyle title. Mr. Walther has a BA from Washington University in St. Louis (1975). He resides in Brooklyn, New York.
gwalther@earthlink.net
Guy WoodwardEditor, Food and Travel magazine
Guy Woodward recently became the editor of London-based upscale lifestyle magazine Food and Travel. Prior to that, he was editor of Decanter magazine, where he worked for 10 years. He joined the magazine from a journalistic background, notably in business-to-business journalism, and also as a sub-editor on national newspapers.
During his time at Decanter, the magazine expanded to encompass overseas editions, education and the world's biggest global wine competition, the Decanter World Wine Awards. Decanter is read in 94 countries, with over half its readership now overseas.
Woodward is responsible for devising and commissioning all editorial content for Food and Travel, as he was at Decanter. In addition to his magazine roles, he is a regular commentator on wine on both radio and TV, and has written for a number of UK newspapers and publications including The Independent, Observer, Guardian and Telegraph.
Alder YarrowPublisher Vinography.com, daily writings about wine and food around the globe
Since January of 2004, Alder Yarrow has been publishing Vinography.com, where he writes daily about wine and good restaurants around the globe. Vinography is widely acknowledged to be the world's leading wine blog. The site has garnered praise from Food & Wine and Bon Appétit magazines, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and FastCompany, among others.
