About Joelle...

First bitten by the wine bug in the late 1980s when wine coolers and big buttery Chardonnays were all the rage. I quickly moved onto bigger things; Portuguese reds, Italian whites and French everything, all of which led me to become a flambé waitress in the Shetland Islands while taking a break from journalism, which I returned to in 1994 and began writing about the wonderful world of wine. Based in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I am an award winning writer, author and journalist. I have been writing about wine for 30 years, written 15 books about wine, taught British Wine & Spirit Education Trust qualifications and NZQA wine qualifications as well as judged wine competitionsin Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. I have the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s Level 4 Diploma. 

I currently write independently about wine for Good magazine, Drinksbiz, NZ Winegrower magazine, the Martinborough Star and my own website, among others. 

More about me...

I worked for Regional Wines & Spirits for eight years, sourcing, tasting and marketing wine as well as training staff to sell and understand it. I am a journalist with a background in newspapers, magazines and lifestyle publications and have written wine columns for nearly every major daily newspaper in New Zealand. My writing awards include, among others, winning the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for her book Joelle Thomson’s Under $20 Wine Guide and being shortlisted for the Montana Book Awards Best Lifestyle in 2005 for Celebrating New Zealand Wine. 

I regularly host tastings and speak every year at Winetopia, a large event held in Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand.

My turangawaewae is the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Email me at:  mailme@joellethomson.com