Hi, I'm Virginie...
About Me
I've written about and reviewed the wines of Napa and Sonoma for more than a decade from my home base in Sonoma County. My main gig is as Senior Editor and California Critic for The New Wine Review, a digital media company for serious wine enthusiasts Before that I served as the Napa/Sonoma wine critic for Wine Enthusiast Media for nearly a decade. I began my career with Lonely Planet travel guides and have written about wine, food and travel over the years for Food & Wine, GuildSomm, Somm Journal, Pix.wine and others. I also currently write a weekly column for Sonoma County Winegrowers called “The Good Stuff,” which explores timely local topics in the worlds of agriculture and wine. I’m also a founding member of Les Dames d’Escoffier Sonoma County, Batonnage Mentorship Program mentor and an author for the Capstone California Education Panel. I went undergrad to the University of California at Berkeley and got a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University. Follow me Instagram @virginieboone
“Can there be any other business where there is so much bullshit?”
— Carole Meredith
My goal from an early age was to get paid somehow to wander around and figure out how things work. That thing eventually became wine.
I cannot express how much I love working in wine all the amazing people I’ve met and continue to meet along the way. Beyond wanting to get paid to travel (which worked out in a literal sense all those years I was a travel writer) my influences come mostly from music, movies and sports. Some of the people who inspire me include Billy Wilder, Carrie Fisher, Joe Strummer, Serena Williams and Stevie Nicks.
Contributing Writer,
Capstone California
Founding Member,
Les Dames d’Escoffier
Mentor,
Batonnage Forum
What People Are Saying
“Virginie is amazing and thoroughly enjoyed working with her from newsprint to magazines. None finer. She’s bright thoughtful and excellent at storytelling. Virginie is among the few great talents. I have judged with her many times and look forward to the next time. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the industry!”
-Tim McDonald CSW CSS
“Virginie Boone is a writer who has the rare combination of being both entertaining and highly readable, and factually correct. She's also a reliable writer, who turns in clean copy on time, on budget and to the word count. I recommend her highly.”
-Felicity Carter, former Executive Editor, Pix.wine
"I appreciate working with Virginie because of her honesty not only in setting expectations and timelines but also with creative direction as we developed the arc of her storytelling and she exceeded expectations as she assisted in recommending the photographer who put the proper picture to her writing. I look forward to working with her again in the future, and hopefully many times over.”
Dan Petroski, Massican Magazine