Ryan Opaz
Born in Minnesota, Ryan is the co-founder of Catavino.net, Catavino Marketing, Wineblogger.info and the European Wine Bloggers Conference. He also consults on the AVIN project and the social tasting note site Adegga.com Although a chef at heart, Ryan’s time is spent giving workshops and speeches internationally on social media and blogging for wineries. Examples of his work include: Wine Future, London International Wine Fair 2009, 2010, Essência do Vinho, London Boutique Winery Tasting, Bibendum Annual Tasting, Congreso Internacional de Turismo Enologico, International Wine Tourism Conference & Workshop in Sitges, Fine Wine. A Certified Sherry Educator, member of the Wine Century Club and a Judge at Essencia do Vinho in Portugal. Ryan is always available for consulting at: Contact Ryan
Ryan’s Story Archive
Gabriella Opaz
Born and bred in Chicago, IL, Gabriella is the co-founder of Catavino.net, Catavino Marketing, Wineblogger.info and the European Wine Bloggers Conference. Considered the “Little Engine that Could”, Gabriella is the motor behind Catavino’s projects, giving them life and fruition. Member of the Wine Century Club & the Circle of Wine Writers, a Certified Sherry Educator, Editor for Palate Press, Judge at Essencia do Vinho (2008,2009) and Bacchus (2010) and a post graduate of UMN with a Masters in Education, she can be contacted at Gabriella
Gabriella’s Story Archive
Edward Ragg
Edward Ragg is a wine writer, consultant and educator based in Beijing, China. He is married to Fongyee Walker, China’s only Master of Wine candidate, and together they run Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting, Beijing’s first independent wine consulting company and mainland China’s most successful WSET provider. Edward writes for Decanter Magazine and The World of Fine Wine, where he also co-authors a regular China-focused column, with Walker, called Sinophile, among various Chinese publications. He has been ‘China correspondent’ for Catavino since 2008 and also writes for Enobytes and Visit Vineyards as well as the Dragon Phoenix Wine Blog. Edward comes from a wine-obsessed family. His brother, Michael, was manager of Berry Bros & Rudd’s St. James’s shop before moving to Burgundy where he runs négociant-éleveur Mischief and Mayhem, based in Aloxe-Corton, with his wife Fiona. Edward met Fongyee as a graduate student at Cambridge University and together they went on to be Captains of the Cambridge University Wine Tasting Team, then judges at the London International Wine Challenge, Shanghai International Wine Challenge and most recently the China Wine Challenge. Edward holds the WSET Advanced Certificate, the Introductory Certificate from The Court of Master Sommeliers, the Certified Specialist in Wine from The Society of Wine Educators and is working toward completion of the SWE’s Certified Wine Educator qualification. With Walker, he won a place on the 2010 Landmark Tutorial organized by the AWBC/Wine Australia. Outside of wine, Ragg is a published poet and expert on the work of American poet Wallace Stevens. He still teaches literature at Tsinghua University, where he is also founding an international wine programme. He is planning a book on matching international wines with China’s regional cuisines.
Edward’s Story Archive
Oliver Styles
Oliver is the product of those two great European nations, Britain and Switzerland. Early exposure to his (Swiss) grandfather’s cellar of Burgundy, Alsace and Fendant sparked his interest in great wine. His first foray into production consisted of referring to Hugh Johnson’s Wine Atlas while crushing grapes (with a potato masher) from his back garden in Oxfordshire. The juice was placed in a cut-off plastic bottle in the larder and the resulting mould culture quickly binned by his parents. Educated at the University of London and the Sorbonne, he had a good stint stacking shelves at the local supermarket before Decanter magazine plucked him from obscurity and paid him to write about wine. He did this for six years. Then, tired of the withering looks winemakers give journalists, he decided to move to Spain, make wine and thus be on equal footing with the world’s dullest primates. If he ever musters the cash he will take his WSET Diploma. He hopes to continue persecuting MW students, anyone who owns iPod headphones and Diemme for the foreseeable future. He started wine website wine-life.co.uk last year. Follow him on Twitter: OliverStyles.
Oliver’s Story Archive
Andrea Smith
Andrea moved to Campo de Ourique, Lisbon, in early 2008, choosing to utilize one of the five languages she has taken great pride in mastering. Born in Northern Virginia in 1983, Andrea’s Italian family taught her the importance of pairing fresh food with great wine, eventually motivating her to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), where she earned an Associates and Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts and Business Management, as well as her Introductory Certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2004. Andrea plans to use her love of culture, gastronomy and language to research the hidden recipes and wines of Portugal.
Andrea’s Story Archive
Quentin Sadler
Although English, Quentin is Spanish at heart. His family have had a home near Javea, in Alicante Province, since his birth in 1965 – his father and brother now live there full time. This experience of Spain gave him an appreciation of food and drink from an unusually early age. This led directly, in 1984, to the ill formed opinion, based upon drinking a little bad wine let down with La Casera, that he knew about wine and could therefore make a living in the wine trade. He has spent the last 26 years learning about it properly and after stints managing wine shops, selling to the trade, being a buyer and a marketeer, he is now a wine educator and wine writer. Quentin loves any wine that is interesting, expressive and idiosyncratic and passionately believes that Spain and Portugal are amongst the most exciting wine producing countries in the world today. As well as educating interested consumers in the UK, he trains members of the trade and writes Quentin Sadler’s Wine Page.
Quentin’s Story Archive
Rick Fisher
Rick physically resides in San Diego, CA, but his heart and soul live amongst the people of Spain. Born in 1966 to a Cuban mother and American father Rick’s passion for all things Spanish finds its roots in his heritage – which actually traces back to royalty in Cataluña. By profession, Rick is a Sr. Banker with Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, but his true passion lies in educating people about the amazing food and wines of Spain. He recently completed his Master of Business Administration as well as his Spanish Wine Educator Certification. Rick has lived in Madrid and travels to Spain regularly; but he ultimately desires to live and work in Spain full-time. Rick also authors Bodega: Adventures in Spanish Food & Wine, a site devoted to educating others on the gastronomic treasures to be had in Spain. Rick also maintains and writes the blog Bodega Spanish Wine.
Rick’s Story Archive
Justin Roberts
Justin (and his wife Lucy) voted for sun and living with a move to Spain in 2005. Born in Zimbabwe in 1972, Justin reached Spain via Argentina, South Africa and after a fairly long stint in the UK. Wine was never far away: Hazy childhood memories of parents and grandparents quaffing Portuguese wines bought in Mozambique, growing up a bit and being allowed a glass of Argentine red reduced a peg or two with soda water and then moving onto South African wines as a university student. After years being daunted by the selection at his local UK wine shop Justin realized he didn’t really know anything, so WSET courses culminating with the Advanced Certificate followed. Fortified and sweet wines are a passion, especially Sherry.
Justin’s Story Archive
John Maher
John Maher works in the book industry. His enthusiasm for Spanish wines began while living in Barcelona in the mid-80s. In the UK he was involved in various university wine societies and continued his wine education at the hands of the Wine Society (www.thewinesociety.com). A year living in Tenerife from 1994-95 coincided with a resurgence in the wine industry of the Canary Islands, for whose fascinating wines he retains a great fondness. He has been living in the Comunitat Valenciana since 2006, where he has again encountered a dynamic and bewilderingly varied, though too often overlooked, wine region. He has attempted to do something about this relative neglect by publishing “Valencia Land of Wine: a winemaker’s selection” by Joan C. Martín (Anaconda Editions) and through his website winesofvalencia.com.
John’s Story Archive
Sonia Nolasco
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Sonia grew up in Newark, New Jersey, among fellow Portuguese immigrants that have dominated the Ironbound section of that city for decades with local businesses, a cultural center and community newspaper. She started her journalism career at The Jersey Journal newspaper nine years ago, where after a stint in other publications, she returned to become the lifestyle editor covering everything from the arts and education to food and recreation. After a move to Danbury, Connecticut, Sonia took up her current position as writer/editor for Event Marketer magazine. At home, she’s an accomplished cook with her number one fan being her husband Paulo, who prizes her codfish recipe of Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa. She has a soft spot for the wines of the Alentejo region (where Paulo’s family originates from), especially Esporao, and these days is enjoying Douro’s table wines quite a bit. Her long-term goal is to shine light on the cuisine and wines of the interior, Beira Baixa region, of Portugal where her grandfather once made his homemade wine. Her far fetched dream: to leave the rat race behind and replant vines in that inactive family vineyard in her beloved village of Bemposta do Campo where she spent her vacations as a child. A bonus: her parents already have a home in the neighboring village of Pedrogao de Sao Pedro.
Sonia’s Story Archive
