Véronique Drouhin-Boss is head winemaker at both Domaine Drouhin in Oregon's Dundee Hills, and Maison Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy. She spends most of her time in France with her three children, and has barrel samples sent by air overnight from Oregon every month.

In the early 1970's, teenager Doug Shafer moved with his family from Chicago to California, where they started a new life as pioneer winegrowers in the Stags Leap district. Shafer Vineyards' Relentless blend was the Wine Spectator's 2012 Wine of the Year.

Adrian Bridge is head of The Fladgate Partnership, the parent company of the Croft, Fonseca and Taylor's port houses.

French winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet is a world-renowned producer of merlot and was responsible for Pétrus wines for 44 years. He retired in 2007, but still acts as a consultant to wineries around the globe.

Gina Gallo, granddaughter of Julio Gallo, is the winemaker of the Gallo Signature Series, based in Sonoma. She is married to Jean-Charles Boisset, from the family that is Burgundy's largest wine producer. They live in Robert and Margrit Mondavi’s former hilltop property in Yountville with their twin daughters, born in 2011.

Uruguayan sommelier Charlie Arturaola was named as the International Wine and Spirit Competition's "Communicator of the Year" in 2012. The recent star of wine film "El Camino del Vino," he is famed for his palate.

In 2003, at just 26, American Alpana Singh became the world's youngest female Master Sommelier. Well-known from her years hosting the Emmy Award-winning restaurant show "Check, Please" on Chicago television, Singh is co-owner of The Boarding House, a five-story restaurant in the city.

Lamberto Frescobaldi is vice-president of Marchesi de' Frescobaldi – one of Italy's most prestigious wineries. He represents the 30th generation of the renowned Frescobaldi dynasty.

Bollinger's Ghislain de Montgolfier is the former president of the Union of Champagne Houses. In this interview with Caroline Henry, he addresses some of the key issues facing the region – and remembers the day he made a grown man cry.

Fred Schrader is the founder and proprietor of Schrader Cellars in California's Napa Valley. The winery made history in 2008, when its CCS and “Old Sparky” wines became the first to be awarded three successive 100-point scores by Robert Parker.

Anthony (Tony) Terlato, 78, is a living legend in the U.S. wine industry. From stacking boxes in his father’s Chicago liquor store, he has become one of the country's most important importers of fine wine through his company Terlato Wines, which also owns wineries such as Rutherford Hill, Chimney Rock and Alderbrook.

Jeremy Seysses is co-proprietor of Burgundy's Domaine Dujac in Morey-Saint-Denis, founded by his father, Jacques, in 1967. Tyler Colman caught up with him recently at La Paulée New York.

Pedro Parra is a wine terroir consultant based in Concepcion, Chile. While his main focus is on developing new vineyards in Chile and Argentina, he has also worked with leading winemakers in Europe, including Alberto Antonini and Jacques Lardière.

Dom Pérignon's chef de cave, Richard Geoffroy, graduated as a doctor, but was inexorably pulled back to the land.

Alder Yarrow is the author behind one of the world’s most successful wine blogs, Vinography. He writes from his San Francisco home when he’s not running his consultancy and design firm, or spending time with his wife and daughter.

Former French rugby star Philippe Cambie is a highly regarded wine consultant in the southern Rhône, being named Robert Parker's oenologist of the year in 2010. He talked to Yohan Castaing.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and pinot noir devotee Cliff Williams is bassist and vocalist with AC/DC. The group has its own wine label, though Williams is not a fan. He talked to Katherine Cole.

Antonio Galloni made news earlier this month with his announcement that he is leaving The Wine Advocate to launch his own website. In 2012, he wrote one-third of the Advocate's reviews, covering California, Burgundy, Champagne and Italy.

Ned Goodwin is an Australian Master of Wine living in Japan with his wife and two children. He is the wine buyer for Nippon Airways, the face of Heidsieck Champagne in Asia, runs Wine & Spirit Education Trust classes in China and has launched his own label, Good Wine.

Gaia Gaja oversees the day-to-day running of her family's prestigious 154-year old estate in Piedmont.

Wine industry reformer João Portugal Ramos spent years as a consultant oenologist in Portugal before founding the JP Ramos Group.

Antonio Amorim runs the world's biggest cork producer, Corticeira Amorim. Since he took over the reins from his uncle, Americo, in 2001, the company has spent millions on improving the performance of cork.

As a brand ambassador for Rioja's Marqués de Cáceres, Xavier Vicente is based in Thailand and promotes his company's wines throughout Asia.

Mylène Bru is a winemaker based in the village of Saint-Pargoire, in the Languedoc region of France. Although she comes from a family of winemakers, she broke away to establish her own vineyard and produce wine to biodynamic standards.

Former metals trader José Bento dos Santos founded Quinta do Monte D’Oiro in Portugal in 1992. A lover of fine food as well as wine, he is president of the Paris-based International Academy of Gastronomy.

Founded more than six centuries ago, Navarra's Bodegas Ochoa is a family affair. The current winemaker is 31-year-old Adriana Ochoa.

Sabato Sagaria of The Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colorado, is one of America's newest Master Sommeliers. He talked to Wiremu Andrews.

Krug is still managed by descendants of the original family, despite being purchased by luxury goods company LVMH in 1999. Sixth-generation Olivier Krug told Caroline Henry about his family history, playing football in the cellars, and why producing Krug is like making ratatouille.

Denis Dubourdieu is professor of oenology at the University of Bordeaux, as well as being a winemaker and consultant. With his wife and sons he runs estates in the Sauternes, Graves and Cadillac appellations, covering 135 hectares.

Bernard Magrez is a French wine tycoon who owns 35 estates in Bordeaux and around the world. He is also a patron of the arts.