Dr. Liz Thach, MW is the President of Wine Market Council, a non-profit firm that provides research on U.S. wine consumer purchasing habits, attitudes and trends. She also works as a Professor, Wine Writer and Consultant based in Napa and Sonoma, California. She is an award-winning author and educator, specializing in wine business strategy, marketing, leadership/executive development, and wine lifestyle.

Liz is considered to be one of the nation’s leading wine experts, and has visited most of the major wine regions of the world and over 75 countries. She teaches wine classes at Stanford Continuing Education, Burgundy School of Business, and Sonoma State University, and has published over 300 articles and 9 books, including Call of the Vine, Best Practices in Global Wine Tourism and Wine Marketing & Sales. She frequently publishes in Forbes, Wine Business Monthly, Wine Spectator, and The Somm Journal, amongst others. In addition, she serves as a wine judge and on several non-profit boards.

A fifth generation Californian, Liz finished her Ph.D. at Texas A&M and now lives on Sonoma Mountain. Liz obtained the distinction of Master of Wine (MW) in May of 2011, becoming the first female MW from California. Website: https://lizthachmw.com/, Email: Liz@lizthach.com.

Current employer: Wine Market Council, Free-lance writer for Forbes, Wine Business Monthly, Decanter, etc.

Primary area(s) of work: Trade, Strategy, Communication

Industry sector(s): Author, Consultant, Educator, Journalism, Marketing, Wine judge, Wine tourism

Wine region expertise: Argentina, Bordeaux, Burgundy, California, Champagne, Czech Republic, France, Oregon, Provence, South Australia, Texas, USA, Washington

Market expertise: Czech Republic, China, France, North America, South America

Specialisms: Branding, Direct to consumer, Distribution, Food and wine pairing, History of wine, Identifying and meeting consumer demand, Marketing wine, Routes to market, Supplier/customer relationships, Wine labels, Wine tourism, Wine judging