Rod Smith MW, a Master of Wine since 2006, is a wine educator, marketer, and journalist, based in the South of France. Currently with a client list that includes the world’s wealthiest, most discerning and demanding customers, Rod is the owner/director of the Riviera Wine Academy, Prior to this, Rod worked for Vins Sans Frontières – the leading wine supplier to the superyacht industry in the South of France, and before that in the UK for a variety of fine wine importers and retailers, as well as being an established WSET educator. Rod has been extensively involved in judging wine competitions in London (Panel Chair, Decanter World Wine Awards, IWC), Shanghai (SIWC, Wine100), Guangzhou (Golden Bottle Awards), Dallas (TexSom), Sofia (Balkans International Wine Challenge), Moscow (Russian Wine Fair), and Sydney (Sydney Royal Wine Show). 

Rod has travelled and presented about wine widely including many trips to China and the Far East. Rod’s personal interests include cycling, running, travel, literature, card magic and film.