CONTRIBUTORS

We go to great lengths to persuade the world’s finest wine writers to share their knowledge with our readers. We seek to blend unrivaled expertise with less familiar (but no less important) voices, drawing on experience while, at the same time, nourishing and promoting new talent.

Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective, is an authority on the wines of Portugal and Australia. In addition to publishing thewinedetective.co.uk, she is a regular contributor to Decanter, as well as a columnist for the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos and a writer for other respected titles. She has contributed to leading reference books in her areas of expertise, including The World Atlas of Wine, The Oxford Companion to Wine, and Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book. Since 2011, Sarah has been the regional chair, Portugal, at the Decanter World Wine Awards. She regularly judges in Australia and Portugal.

Chloe Ashton was still young when her wine story began, thanks to her eno-curious father and regular trips between England and France. After reading classics at King’s College, London, she followed her nose to Bordeaux, where she immersed herself in the region’s wines and the history of their unique trading system. During her formative professional years working for Fine+Rare, Chloe developed her understanding of wine investment across key markets, which she then applied over four years working in close collaboration with top wine producers at fine-wine intelligence agency Wine Lister. Chloe is now commercial director for Swiss-based fine-wine portfolio curator 1275ffCollections.

Bruno Besa is originally from Friuli but has been living and working in London since 1986. After almost 20 years in hotels and restaurants, he founded Astrum Wine Cellars in 2001, together with old friends and former colleagues Max Folli and Stefano Benato from the groundbreaking brigade at Stefano Cavallini Restaurant at the Halkin Hotel. Since his days as head sommelier there, Bruno has been highly respected for his passion and commitment to artisanal wines and for bringing attention to a number of exciting areas, grape varieties, and wineries, as well as championing the classics. Today, Bruno is managing director of Astrum Wine Cellars, representing around 50 wineries and distilleries from Italy and Central Europe.

Michel Bettane is France’s leading wine critic. Born in Maryland, USA, he graduated in classics, which he proceeded to teach from 1975 to 1991. He contributed to La Revue du Vin de France for more than 20 years, most recently as its editor. He also co-writes, with Thierry Desseauve, the acclaimed annual Grand Guide des Vins de France and Magnum, and organizes the annual Le Grand Tasting in Paris. After wine, his greatest passion is listening to classical music.

Raymond Blake is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and in a previous career he worked as a schoolmaster. He is one of Ireland’s leading wine writers, and over the past 25 years he has contributed to a host of publications around the globe. He writes principally on wine but also on a diverse range of topics: food, travel, classical music, education, history, and culture. He is the author of three critically acclaimed books: Breakfast in Burgundy: A Hungry Irishman in the Belly of France; Côte d’Or: The Wines and Winemakers of the Heart of Burgundy; and Wine Talk: An Enthusiast’s Take on the People, the Places, the Grapes, and the Styles. Raymond is much in demand as a presenter at themed wine dinners, tutored tastings, and other events. He also serves as the Burgundy contributor for the annual Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book and is currently writing a revised, second edition of Côte d’Or, due for publication in 2025. Raymond and his wife, violinist Fionnuala Hunt, own a house in Burgundy, where he regularly leads private, customized tours.

Andrew Caillard MW is the author of The Australian Ark, a three-volume history of Australian wine 1788–2023, the US / UK editions of which were published in 2024. He has also written several other books, including Penfolds:

The Rewards of Patience (six editions), Imagining Coonawarra: A Travel Through Time (the history of leading Spanish winery Marqués de Riscal), and The Essence of Dreams (the history of the Mornington Peninsula’s wine industry). He also co-authored educational books Australian Wine and A Taste Around the World of Wine. He is also the editor of The Vintage Journal, containing the research, experience, and tasting expertise gathered during more than 40 years working in the secondary market, the corporate retail world, the wine media, film, and painting.

Harry Eyres has surely become one of the most eloquent advocates of the worldwide Slow movement. Having worked for leading newspapers and magazines as a theater critic, wine writer, and poetry editor, in 2004 he created the Slow Lane column in FT Weekend. Promoting the thoughtful enjoyment of the often uncostly and uncostable pleasures and values that make life worth living, Slow Lane ran until 2015. He has published a volume of poetry, Hotel Eliseo (Hearing Eye), and gives regular poetry readings. Eyres is also the author of The Beginner’s Guide to Plato’s The Republic, the memoir Horace and Me: Life Lessons from an Ancient Poet (Bloomsbury; shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize in 2014), and Seeing Our Planet Whole: A Cultural and Ethical View of Earth Observation. His wine books include Wine Dynasties of Europe and the Viking/Penguin Guide to Cabernet Sauvignon. He was editor of the Which? Wine Guide 1995–96. He lives in London and enjoys playing tennis and the piano.

Simon Field MW studied French literature at Oxford and then, for whatever reason, doggedly pursued the qualification of a chartered accountant. The silver linings of various French postings were mainly vinous and prompted the somewhat unexpected career move to shop assistant in his local Oddbins in Belsize Park. Over two decades buying for Berry Bros & Rudd ensued, where he specialized in the wines of Spain, Champagne, and the Rhône Valley, inter alia, passions that he now indulges somewhat less formally but, if possible, with even greater pleasure.

Tim James lives in Cape Town. He has a PhD in English literature but no respectable ambitions or full-time job—leaving more time for wine matters (et cetera). With a home base at grape. co.za, he was a taster and associate editor for the Platter Guide for many years, writes freelance for various local and foreign publications, and is wine columnist for the national weekly Mail & Guardian. Of the three South African Wine Writers’ Annual Awards given so far, he has received two.

WFW contributing editor Andrew Je ord, the son of a vicar and eldest of three brothers, grew up in Norfolk, England. He studied English at the University of Reading, then pursued postgraduate studies on Robert Louis Stevenson with Malcolm Bradbury at the University of East Anglia, before working as an editor for Paul Hamlyn’s Octopus Group. In the late 1980s, he got the chance to

Chris Howard is a writer, researcher, and educator currently based in Paris. His work appears on JancisRobinson.com, in Club Oenologique and The Somm Journal, and at other outlets. In addition to writing about wine, he publishes in the fields of anthropology, geography, and philosophy. Prior to his academic and writing life, Howard worked at wineries across Sonoma County, his home ground. He lived for many years in Aotearoa (aka New Zealand) and is especially fond of oceanic wines, which intersect with his other passion, surfing.