Sixteen collectors from the Hong Kong Wine Society had used the Accademia del Barolo’s Asta del Baroloas an excuse to spend a week in Alba. Their presence at the wine auction, plus a live video link for bidders in Hong Kong, raised the prospect that Barolo would soon follow Burgundy as the next collectible wine in China. In the end, the video bidding from Dubai and the Italians assembled at the Castello di Barolo closed on most of the lots. And those of us who can still afford a Barolo now and then got a momentary reprieve: Prices have not yet gone the way of Burgundy.
The best of the 2010s, tasted during the Auction lunch and in cellars around Barolo, make a strong argument that now is a good time to add some Barolo to your cellar. It is the first vintage in which the cru designations for Barolo become legally defined, with a new map officially delimiting each cru. Tasting at the Auction lunch with Luca Gardini and Adua Villa, two of Italy’s most photogenic and talented sommeliers, we kept going back to the rich, earth and violet-scented Brunate from Vietti, comparing it to the old-fashioned deliciousness of Pio Cesare’s 2010.
Luca Gardini and Adua Villa
Luca, who trained at Enoteca Pinchiorri before earning the Sommelier World Championship in 2010, soon launched into an impassioned speech on how Italian sommeliers need to get out more—tasting wines of the world, rather than just focusing on Italy. Adua, who is all over youtube, brought out a copy of her new book, “Vino Rosso Tacco 12”: On the cover, a pair of 12-inch heels, the negative space between them forming the shape of a bottle of Bordeaux.
Marco Berry and Luca Gardini
When it came time to auction off the two biggest charity lots, Gianni Gagliardo, the auction chair, called Luca up to the podium to rile up the crowd with auctioneer, television news reporter (and, evidently, famed magician) Marco Berry. The proceeds of one lot went to Collina degli Elfi, a charity based in Govone supporting children with cancer. Another went to Marco Berry Onlus, a group that brings magic to children in Somalia and other war- or poverty-stricken parts of Africa.
In the end, there were some bargains in old wine, including three 750 bottles of Bruno Giacosa Barolo (a 1964 and two 1970) that Luca Gardini grabbed for 800 euros, and three 750 bottles of Giacomo Conterno 1961 that sold for 1,700 euros. American collectors would be smart to get in on the video bidding, to lend some competition to the folks from Hong Kong and Dubai.
Joshua Greene is the editor and publisher of Wine & Spirits magazine.
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Stephanie Johnson
Italian Wine Critic
Stephanie joined Wine & Spirits Magazine as Tasting Director in 2013 and became Italian Wine Editor in 2016. She spends a significant amount of time each year visiting Italy’s wine regions, tasting with producers and researching articles about their practices. Stephanie holds the WSET Diploma in Wine & Spirits and has worked in the wine retail and restaurant sectors, including five years as Wine Director at City Winery in NYC’s SoHo district. She previously worked in textbook publishing as an editor and marketing manager in Minneapolis, Chicago, Austin and Tokyo.
Thomas Whalen.
Sales Manager
Tom worked in fine wine sales at Zachy’s in Westchester and Crush in NYC before joining the W&S team handling advertising sales. A graduate of Skidmore College, Tom got his start in the industry through hospitality, including a stint as the GM and partner in Post Office Bar. He has also done consulting work for private clients on their wine cellars.
Tom brings a depth of knowledge to his role and, when he’s not networking with marketers, he’s busy raising his one-year-old son, listening to classic rock, or dipping back into Jon Bonné’s California Wine.
Alissa Bica
Tastings Coordinator
Based in Los Angeles, California, Alissa Bica is the Spirits Editor and Critic at Wine & Spirits. She is also a Certified Sommelier and co-runs the home wine tasting company, Côte Brune and Blonde. In any rare moments of free time, she writes about obscure grape varieties in the blog Off the Beaten Wine Path.
David Paradela
Associate Editor
David joined Wine & Spirits in 2021 after immersing himself in the world of wine at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally from Boston, he graduated from Boston University with a degree in English and completed a master’s degree in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College in 2021. Prior to working at the magazine, he served as an editor and staff writer for the music blog Sound of Boston and worked in scientific publishing. Aside from wine, he loves basketball, arguing about Taylor Swift’s best album, and everything Greta Gerwig touches.
Corey Warren
Tastings Editor
Corey Warren moved to New York in 2015—fifteen years too late to join The Strokes—after earning a degree at Cornell in Comparative Literature. He started polishing glasses at Betony and threw himself into the restaurant world. Later, while a captain at Aquavit, he began working part time in the Wine & Spirits tasting department. Now, in addition to running tastings, he serves as critic for the wines of the Loire, Southern France, Argentina and South Africa. Corey likes almost anything bubbly, from Miller High Life, the Champagne of beers, to Champagne, the Champagne of Champagne, but he’ll drink anything once, and loves finding unique wines.
Tara Q. Thomas
Editor at Large
Since Tara Q. Thomas joined Wine & Spirits in 1997, she’s traveled the wine world from Argentina to Australia. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, with more than 20 years of experience in the food and wine world, Tara puts her culinary knowledge to use as W&S’s resident food critic, and is the critic for the wines of Austria, Germany, Eastern Europe, Argentina, and the Mediterranean. She’s particularly enthusiastic about the wines of Greece, where she once lived and cooked. Outside of W&S, Tara has authored two books, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics and The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Wine; contributed to the Oxford Companion to Cheese as well as Oxford’s forthcoming volume on spirits; and writes a wine column for Culture: The Word on Cheese.
Patrick J. Comiskey
Senior Correspondent
A former sommelier, Patrick J. Comiskey serves as the W&S critic for all domestic wines outside of California—including New York, Oregon and Washington—and contributes articles on the wines and viticulture of these areas. His wine travels include regular visits to US wine regions, as well as trips to France, Italy, Germany and Australia. Comiskey’s writing credentials include contributions to the San Francisco Chronicle’s wine section, the Los Angeles Times, Bon Appétit and the Robb Report, and also teaches classes and moderates panels on viticulture, wine tasting and various wine regions. His recent book, American Rhône: How Maverick Winemakers Changed the Way Americans Drink (UC Press 2017), was shortlisted for the 2016 André Simon Food & Drink Book Award and 2017 Louis Roederer Domaine Faiveley Wine Book of the Year.
Annette Farrell
Production Manager
Annette's entire career has revolved around magazine and print production, developing systems, and providing production support for dozens of magazines at a number of large publishing companies, including McGraw Hill, Condé Nast, and Hearst. Annette has joined the Wine & Spirits team to manage our production systems and develop and optimize our print production process.
Susannah Smith
Editorial Coordinator
As a retail buyer, Susannah traveled abroad extensively, especially in Italy and Greece, to learn the stories behind her favorite wines and then connect others with the vines and the humans that make them. She is excited to join W&S, since that is the magazine’s mission. Raised to be curious, she finds, after over 20 years in the world of food and wine, that she loves best how wine touches so many disciplines—history, language, geology, cuisine, biology, horticulture—keeping the quest for knowledge fresh every day.
Joshua Greene
Publisher & Editor
Editor and Publisher of Wine & Spirits since 1986, Joshua Greene began drinking wine with meals during a summer in Galicia, Spain, at the age of 13. In later years, he worked in wine shops in western Massachusetts and served as wine captain at Wheatleigh, a small inn in Lenox. After graduating from Princeton University in 1981, Greene pursued a career in magazines, focusing on the management of special-interest publications. His work with Wine & Spirits began on a consulting basis, eventually leading to his purchase of the magazine in 1989.
Greene has traveled extensively in the wine regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and all the major wine regions of the United States. In addition to his duties as editor and publisher, Greene serves as the critic for Napa Valley, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Portugal, Rioja, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He also writes feature stories and commentary for each issue of the magazine.
Nick Mrozowski
Art Director
As the former creative director of WWD magazine and Adweek magazine in New York Nick has extensive experience in the areas of advertising, marketing and branding.
Roy Schneider Jr.
Director of Finance
Roy joined Wine & Spirits in 2003 to oversee the daily and long-term finances of the magazine. He handles cash flow works alongside the publisher to develop and fine tune strategic plans; Roy also manages basic business operations of the company—from IT to human resources. If there’s a problem, he’ll solve it.
Having begun his career on Wall Street, Roy holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and has worked for a number of corporate and boutique firms from New York to Japan. While he clearly enjoys wines—having, over the years, sampled many thousands—he remains true to his Caribbean roots and maintains a primary love for rum.
Chloe Jenkins
Account Manager
Having spent nearly a decade in the marketing world, Chloe followed her enthusiasm for wine to work at a wine marketing company, before joining the team at Wine & Spirits. She loves using creative strategy to help brands tell their stories and connect with their audiences. Chloe holds a Level 3 (Advanced) Certification from the WSET, as well as specializations in French and Italian wine.
Patricio Tapia
Senior Correspondent
After graduating with a degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Patricio Tapia attended Bordeaux University in France, where he studied for a diploma in wine tasting and winemaking. Since then, he has visited wine regions around the world and authored several books, including his annual Descorchados, a Chilean wine guide; The Wines of Colchagua Valley;TodoVino and Wines for Great Occasions. Tapia is also the South American correspondent for The Oxford Companion to Wine,The World Atlas of Wine and Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Book. For the past three years, he’s been a host on the El Gourmet channel in South America. At Wine & Spirits, Tapia is the critic for the wines of Argentina, Chile and Spain, and regularly contributes articles on these regions.
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Luca Gardini and Adua Villa
Marco Berry and Luca Gardini
