The wine retail business is a quite crowded and competitive area. Multiple wine brands wait for the placement while the space is limited. In such a scenario, there is only one way to get more visibility for your brand - through effective marketing.

Thoughtful marketing tactics involve the implementation of various content distribution methods. However, no strategy will work without solid, accurate content. Only with effective wine content, a brand can get its customers to pay attention to its products. 

Wine writers are the keystone of any winery or wine brand that has successfully implemented its marketing strategy. Be it a wine review, brand story, a press release, or brand launch, writers are the ones who can portray your content in such a meaningful way that can reach customers effectively. So, we have curated a list of 20 great wine writers in the USA that wineries or wine brands can work with.

Zachary Sussman

Zachary Sussman is a wine writer, educator, and consultant based in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in Saveur, Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, The World of Fine Wine, and The Wall Street Journal Magazine, among many others. He also contributes to PUNCH and was named the Champagne Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year. In October 2020, he published his first book 'The Essential Wine Book: A Modern Guide to the Changing World of Wine'. This book features an overview of today's most exciting regions. It also covers easy-to-use advice on properly tasting wine, discovering under-the-radar gems, and finding the perfect bottle for any occasion. Know more about him at zacharysussman.com.

Shana Clarke

New York-based Shana Clarke is a freelance journalist, content writer, and copy editor specializing in wine, sake, and travel. She holds a Level 3 Advanced Certification from Wine & Spirits Education Trust. Apart from that, she is also a Certified Sake Sommelier and was nominated for the 2020 Louis Roederer International Wine Writer Awards. She works for a variety of consumers as well as the wine trade publications such as Fortune, NPR, CNN Travel, Wine Enthusiast, SevenFifty Daily, and more. From advertorials to winery brochures to website copy, she can help wine brands to stand out among others. Know more about her at Shana Speaks Wine.

Thomas Riley

Thomas Riley, based in California, is a freelance wine writer and an award-winning educator. He holds a Level 3 Advanced Certificate from Wine & Spirits Education Trust. He specializes in wine, food, and tourism for print and digital media outlets including the Bay Area News Group (San Jose Mercury, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune), American Winery Guide, The Alcohol Professor, and Berkeleyside.com/Nosh. In addition to this, he also serves as an editor at The Grape Belt. His experience in wine retail, Napa hospitality, and wine journalism has contributed to his great knowledge of the California wine scene. 

Stacy Slinkard

Stacy, based in Denver, is an enthusiastic, experienced, and detail-focused wine writer, editor, and educator. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine and holds a Level 3 Advanced Certification from Wine & Spirits Education Trust. She has worked with publications including Wine.com, SOMM Journal, Decanter, VinePair, Wine Folly, Idiot's Guide: Wine (3rd Edition), New York Times, The Daily Meal, Spruce, Epicurean Charlotte, and other wine-soaked outlets. Check out her work at Vinepair.

Alan Tardi

Alan is a Certified Specialist of Wine and holds a Level 3 Advanced Certification from Wine & Spirits Education Trust. Based in New York, Alan has published numerous articles for The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits (currently Italian Correspondent), Sommelier Journal, Food Arts, and Wine Folly. His most recent book, “Champagne, Uncorked: The House of Krug and the Timeless Allure of the World’s Most Celebrated Drink” (PublicAffairs/Hachette) was published in May 2016 and received a Gourmand Best in the World Award (French Wine category). Get a preview of his book here.

Courtney Schiessl

Courtney Schiessl is a New York-based wine journalist, sommelier, and consultant, with a wide-reaching background that spans many areas of the wine industry. Currently, she is a contributing editor at the SevenFifty Daily as well as a contributor to Forbes.com. Her work appears in publications such as GuildSomm, Wine Enthusiast, ESPN The Magazine, Wine-Searcher, Tasting Panel Magazine, The SOMM Journal, and Beverage Media. holds the Diploma in Wines through the Wine & Spirits Education Trust and is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Check out her work at SevenFifty Daily and Forbes.

Jill Barth

Jill Barth is an internationally published journalist, author, award-winning writer. She is a regular contributor to Forbes digital, USA Today, and Instants Magazine Relais & Châteaux and a freelance contributor to Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, and more. Her blog was awarded 2016 Best Overall Wine Blog and Best Writing on a wine blog from the Wine Media Awards. She is a certified Provence Master from the Wine Scholar Guild and a 2018 Fellowship Recipient for The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers. Her Forbes article, 'This French Wine Region's Pink Lakes Produce The World's Best Salt', won a 3rd place Born Digital Award. work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, California Winery Advisor, American Winery Guide, Vivino, VinePair, Provence WineZine, Wine Tourism Magazine, The Good Life France, Palate Press, California Winery Advisor, Luxe Provence & Perfectly Provence.

Katie Kelly Bell

Georgia-based Katie is an award-winning writer and editor. She writes for wine, travel, spirits, and food. Her byline has appeared in Decanter, Southern Living, Forbes, USA Today, Wine Enthusiast, The Miami Herald, Delta Sky, Sherman's Travel, Men's Book, Jezebel, The Atlantan, Atlanta Magazine, Flavors, The Tasting Panel, Sommelier News, and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. She has also appeared on the CNN Airport News Channel as a travel expert and on Atlanta's WSB (95.5) radio show, Atlanta Living, as a wine expert. Her past work experience includes senior editor at The Wine Report, co-author of The Everything Guide to Ireland, and editor of an Atlanta City Guide for Northstar Media. Check out her articles at Forbes.

Deborah Parker Wong

Deborah is a journalist, educator, author, and consultant. She holds the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Diploma and offers WSET Level 2 ad Level 3 certifications as a private Approved Program Provider (APP). She is also a Global Wine Editor for SOMM Journal and The Tasting Panel magazines. In 2020, she was appointed National Editor, US for the Slow Food’s Slow Wine Guide. Her work features in Wine Business Monthly magazine and she also co-authored “1000 Great Everyday Wines” published by Dorling Kindersley in 2011. Check out her article “Five years of Progress for Alentejo’s Sustainability Program” on winebusiness.com.

Lauren Mowery, J.D., D.W.S.

Lauren Mowery, based in New York, is a journalist, award-winning blogger, photographer, and second stage Masters of Wine candidate. She is the Contributing Travel Editor at Wine Enthusiast and also writes about wine, travel, and food for Forbes and USA Today. Her articles are published in Saveur, Wine & Spirits, TimeOut, Tasting Panel, Somm Journal, Voyeur (Virgin Australia’s inflight), Punch, Alquimie, Lonely Planet, Incisal Edge, Fodor’s.com, Men’s Journal, Palate Press, The Wine Merchant, and Nomacorc’s industry blog. She also owns her personal wine and travel blog, Chasing the Vine which has earned lots of nominations and awards.

Camille Berry

Camille is a Freelance Wine & Food Writer. She also freelances as an eCommerce writer at Vivino. With great experience in the Food and Beverage industry, she helped develop wine and cocktail programs in various acclaimed restaurants in San Francisco. Check out her contribution at Wine Folly here and for more information, check out her portfolio.

Michael Kinney

Michael Kinney, based in San Francisco, is the owner of WordWrightSF. He offers a full range of wine copywriting services: press releases, tech sheets, back labels, websites, and more. He can also clean up poorly translated sales materials, copy-edit, write from scratch, organize - whatever's needed to present any wine in the most compelling manner possible.

Hilarie Larson CSW, FWS

Temecula-based Hilarie Larson is a Certified Specialist of Wine and French Wine Scholar. She loves writing, reading, learning, and teaching about wine. She is a contributing writer at Wine Folly, Big Blend Magazine & Radio. Read her articles at Wine Folly here.

Jack Costa

Jack is the contributing writer at Wine Folly and has worked under the associate winemaker at Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards (The 2017 Pacific NW Winery of the Year). Check out his article on Concrete egg-shaped fermenters here.

Alexander Aguirre

Alexander Aguirre is a freelance wine and spirits journalist based in Naples. He is a member of the International Federation of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers.

Dr. Chris Howard

Dr. Chris Howard is a researcher, writer, strategist working across the public, private, and academic sectors. is an anthropologist interested in the biocultural aspects of wine. Originally from Sonoma, CA, Chris resides in Wellington, NZ. Check out his work at Wine Folly.

Lori Budd

Lori Budd is a Brand Specialist at Exploring the Wine Glass. Based in Paso Robles, Lori is an award-winning wine blog author and podcast producer. Check out her work at Exploring the Wine Glass and Wine Folly.

Nicole Goddard

Nicole Goddard is an Oakland-based wine writer, educator, and consultant who is quite passionate and keen about the discovery of grapes and wine regions. Read her article “5 Wine Flaws That Can Actually Be Very Good” on Wine Folly. 

Nick Franklin

Nick Franklin is Los Angeles-based Manager and Writer at The Ojai Vineyard. Check out his work at the Ojai Vineyard and Wine Folly.

Julia Riddle

Julia Riddle is a passionate wine writer world traveler from Charlotte, North Carolina. Check out her work at Wine Folly.