Christian Seely is managing director of AXA Millésimes. The company owns Châteaux Pichon-Longueville, Pibran, Petit-Village and Suduiraut in Bordeaux among other estates around the world.
Al Portney travels the world representing illustrious wine names such as Chateau Ste.Michelle, Stag's Leap and Col Solare. It's not a particular wine that has stuck in his mind, but rather a surprising event.
A 'fantastic' wine enjoyed in the heat of Bangkok led Christophe Thomas to accept Maison Joseph Drouhin's offer to become its export director in his homeland, Burgundy.
Sally Mohr is a Master Sommelier in Boulder, Colorado, and also a member of the Sake Education Council. If she hadn't had tasted a '69 Volnay, her career might have gone in an entirely different direction.
Robert Bath MS is an instructor in the Wine and Beverage Studies program at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. He's also on the board of directors of the Court of Master Sommeliers.
In 1995, Peter Granoff MS launched Virtual Vineyards, the first company to try to sell wine over the internet, which was taken over by investors and morphed into Wine.com. Today he is co-owner of Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in San Francisco.
Master Sommelier James Tidwell is based in Dallas, Texas. In addition to his job as beverage manager for Four Seasons Resort & Club, he is the co-founder of TEXSOMM, an annual conference for U.S. sommeliers.
Rob Mann is head winemaker at LVMH-owned Cape Mentelle in Margaret River, Western Australia. Winemaking runs in his family: his grandfather, Jack Mann MBE, was one of the industry's pioneers.
Blair Walter has been winemaker at one of New Zealand's most respected pinot noir producers – Felton Road – since 1996. He recently passed his pilot's licence and is trying to repair his old Messerschmitt in between harvests.
Marquis (pronounced Marcus) Sauvage is a wine distributor based in Chicago. He also owns Burn Cottage, a winery in Central Otago, in partnership with Littorai's Ted Lemon.
Eugenio Morales is head of consumer sales for Vinoteca, a family owned company that is one of the biggest players in Mexico’s small but growing wine industry.
Born into a family of prosecco makers at Valdobbiadene in Italy's Veneto wine-growing area, Claudia Adami, 21, has now started her own winery, Fra le Rose.
Dr. Linda Bramble is a lecturer, wine writer and author based at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. She is also an academic coach for the eMBA program at Athabasca University in Alberta.
"My grandfather said the wines of Burgundy need to be complex, they need to be elegant, they need to age well. My father said, since you are the one that tasted the most, you need to make sure in the future you respect that."
Interview by W. Blake Gray Posted Wednesday, 19-Jun-2013