About Us [A Preview Page]

Listen in as Ron Kapon and Pat Savoie are interviewed on iWineRadio.

Ron Kapon, Co-Author

Ron Kapon has over 55 years experience in the wine & spirits field, having written (with help from his father) his first wine list at age 12. His family's business Acker Merrall & Condit was established in 1820 and is the oldest wine merchant in the United States. He graduated from Columbia College and the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University and moved to Europe where he developed his love for wine. Returning to work in his family's business, he immediately knew his passion was teaching, writing and lecturing, and so moved in that direction.

Ron began the wine programs at Queens College, the New York Institute of Technology and at C.W.Post.  He co-founded Les Amis du Vin and Tasters Guild NY and ran both organizations for decades. In 1995, he created the wine program at the International School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University and has taught both the wine and spirits courses. In addition, he teaches the wine course at Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts in Jersey City. He was recently honored by FDU for his educational efforts. He has established the Ron Kapon Wine Library at FDU with a donation of over 4,000 books, magazines and articles.

You can read Ron's articles in Cheese Connoisseur Magazine, Wine Country International Magazine, The Fifty Best, Sports Network, Real Travel Adventures, Everywhere Magazine, North American Travel Journalist Association, Allways Traveller, Fab Placez, Local Wine Events, Tasters Guild Journal, Leisure Travel Report, and on his blog: www.ronkapon.com.

Patricia Savoie, Co-Author

Pat Savoie is a wine and culinary travel writer. She is a frequent contributor to Sommelier Journal magazine, and an occasional contributor to Wine Enthusiast magazine.  Pat has been the wine columnist for ICON magazine since 2003.

Her many articles for Sommelier Journal include in-depth, feature articles on new trends and key wine regions as well as interviews with wine industry personalities. She also has written for Wine Business Monthly, where her article on the Charbono grape/wine remains the definitive article on that grape/wine.

Pat has served as Co-Chair of the Wine Media Guild, the largest organization for professional wine writers in the U.S., for several years.  She helps organize all of the monthly tasting lunches and the annual Wine Writers’ Hall of Fame induction dinner.  She also is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and of Les Dames d’Escoffier.

Pat was one of the first to create materials for wine education. In the early 1970s, she (and co-author John Gottfried) recognized the need for information for budding wine lovers. The book A Wine Tasting Course: The Practical Way to Learn about Wine (McKay & Company 1978) was the first book that taught readers how to learn about wine.

Pat also has experience in the retail wine sector. From 2003-2005, she owned and ran a retail wine store in Brooklyn called Big Nose Full Body. It received much praise in the press, including being named by the Village Voice the "Best Neighborhood Wine Store in NYC" in 2004. She holds an MA from the New School in political science, and an MBA in Marketing from the Stern School at NYU. She spent several years in corporate strategy or consulting positions at McKinsey & Company, Cablevision, Thomson International Publishing and IBM.

Philippe Newlin, Professor in Tasting Videos

Philippe Newlin is the former Tasting Director and Associate Editor of Wine & Spirits Magazine where he was in charge of the tasting program.

Newlin holds the Diploma degree from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust of London. He created and teaches wine courses at both Columbia University’s School of Business Administration and Yale’s School of Management; his courses sell-out quickly and are oversubscribed each year.

A native New Yorker, Philippe graduated from Trinity College with a BA in political science and from Columbia’s School of International Affairs with a master’s degree in diplomacy. Newlin has driven a yellow cab in NYC, lived in the jungles of South America as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and spent fourteen years on Wall Street trading floors as a currency specialist at UBS and Bank of America before succumbing to the pleasures of the grape. Newlin is now Director at Duclot La Vinicole, NY.