Biography:

Robert Joseph is one of the most broadly experienced members of the international wine industry. He is not a winemaker but learned the rudiments while living in Burgundy, and as co-creator of the French le Grand Noir wine brand which ships nearly 4m bottles to 60 countries. He is no sommelier, but grew up working in a family restaurant and hotel and has judged top sommelier competitions. As a writer, he launched Wine International magazine and helped to launch Meininger's Wine Business International, has penned over 25 books, including an award-winning annual wine guide, the Complete Encyclopedia of Wine, the Wines of the Americas and the best-selling, widely translated French Wine. He co-created the International Wine Challenge - IWC - and took it to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Russia and Poland and has run other wine competitions in several continents. He has taught at the Burgundy and Sonoma Wine Business Schools, given keynotes at numerous high level conferences, frequently appeared on radio and TV and was co-presenter of the Real Business of Wine webcasts. He was also co-creator of the DOILIKEIT Research agency and, as a consultant, his clients have included Brazil, Moldova, Australia, Georgia, Accolade, Origin, Torres, Chateaux Brane Cantenac and Malartic Lagraviere, and Prince Esterhazy. He is currently working on an exciting new project in Georgia. His next book will appear in 2021.