VALHALLA, N.Y. (November 30, 2023) — Wine Enthusiast Companies announced today that Tonya Pitts will join Wine Enthusiast as a Writer at Large, reviewing wines from Northern California and California AVA. Her regions include Lodi, Mendocino County, Lake County, Central Valley, Sierra Foothills, and other California. She will assume these regions from Stacy Briscoe who will continue her role as the Senior Editor of Print at Wine Enthusiast magazine and focus on the editorial business growth. Jim Gordon remains Senior Editor of Tasting and the reviewer for wines from Napa and Sonoma. Additionally, Emily Saladino has added Hungary to her tasting region, now reviewing wines from Hungary, Greece, and Georgia.
Tonya Pitts has been telling the stories of benchmark and under-sung wine regions and winemakers and championing diversity and inclusion for more than two decades. Her career includes positions at top San Francisco restaurants such as Jeremiah Tower’s Stars, Judy Rodgers’ Zuni Café, and Loretta Keller’s Bizou. She has held the position of wine director and sommelier at One Market Restaurant for 15 years, managing a list of 500 selections and playing a key role in setting One Market Restaurant as a go-to wine destination.
Pitts participates as a wine judge in the San Francisco International Wine Competition and at TEXSOM in Dallas, and serves as a mentor and ambassador for the female, BIPOC, and LGBTQ communities in the hospitality sector. She is a founding mentor for Wine Unify and Bâtonnage Forum, and her accolades include being named a “Best Black Sommelier” by the EBONY Food & Wine Honors and winning Wine Enthusiast’s 2022 Wine Star Award for Best Sommelier & Wine Director of the Year.
“We are excited to have Tonya join the Wine Enthusiast tasting department,” said Jacqueline Strum, President & Publisher of Wine Enthusiast Media. “Wine Enthusiast has a long-standing, tried-and-true process of blind tasting. Tonya’s impressive career in wine provides a smooth transition to serve our readers with reviews on Northern California wines.”
The Wine Enthusiast tasting department blind tastes more than 25,000 wines annually and provides reputable reviews for readers across the globe. Starting in 2024, Wine Enthusiast magazine will focus its reviews exclusively on wines and spirits. For more information about how to submit wines and spirits for review, visit https://www.wineenthusiast.com/submit-for-rating/. For more information about Wine Enthusiast Companies or request an interview related to the Wine Enthusiast tasting and review program, contact Bonnary Lek.
Published: November 30, 2023
