Our next virtual panel will take place on October 22, 2024. More details to come this summer. Please save the date!

Writing on the Edge. So … what could the edge mean for us?  Who are we, anyway?  Let me guess.  We’re people who like to write, which means using silence and paper – and nowadays a keyboard and screen — to craft messages about the world for our fellow human beings. 

We are excited to announce the 2024 Fellows for the Wine Writers’ Symposium, joining us in Napa Valley from around the world as we return to an in-person event from January 28th through 31st: Laura Algieri • Henna Bakshi • David Brown • Allison Burton-Parker • Aiden Carroll • Kate Nowell-Smith • Christy Frank • … Continue reading “Announcing the 2024 Fellows”

As part of our virtual roundtable series, we’re excited to return with this compelling session on maintaining your voice as a writer as you work with your editor to balance editorial need and your point of view. Global Wine Educator, Wine Writer, and Symposium Board member Elaine Chukan-Brown led a conversation with Tara Thomas, Managing … Continue reading “2023 Virtual Roundtable: The Writer’s Voice”

Another perennially important topic, this session led by veteran journalist John Brecher highlights the importance of clarity and precision, both in your pitch and in your piece. In this roundtable, John refers to the piece Caribou Bones and Burgundy by Elaine Chukan-Brown in Wine Enthusiast, Open That Bottle Night in the Wall Street Journal, which … Continue reading “2023 Virtual Roundtable: Get to the Point!”

Dorothy J. Gaiter moderates a stellar panel of wine reporters: Esther Mobley, Chasity Cooper, and Elin McCoy. The topic is Reporting 101, and themes explored include the core principles of reporting a story, from answering the 5Ws – Who? What? Where? When? Why? (and also How?) – to remembering who your audience is and why they’re reading your story and, finally, reminding us all to allow for silences, for although they might be uncomfortable, they often result in wonderful, unexpected disclosures.

Like all of the fellows here, I was tasked to answer the question of why wine is important, so here’s my practical short answer: it is what helps me pay the bills, it’s the reason for my employment, and it is the cornerstone of my career.

It is also one of the things that makes me supremely happy simply by existing; it soothes on days that take too much; it inspires when the inevitable block begins to creep; it makes food infinitely more delicious and complex; it induces emotions that make memories long-lasting.

We are excited to announce the 2023 Fellows for the Wine Writers’ Symposium, joining us in Napa Valley from around the world as we return to an in-person event from March 5th through 8th: Monique Bell • Meg Bernhard • Kyle Billings • Kate Burns • Cassandra Charlick • Brianne Cohen • Lance Cutler • … Continue reading “Announcing the 2023 Fellows!”