Welcome to episode 2520 of the Italian Wine Podcast from wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum 2025, “From Critic to Sommelier: Mastering Italian Wine with VIA Benchmark Wines”

Speakers: Stephanie Johnson DipWSET & IWE, Torrence R. O'Haire IWE, Moderator: Alessio Planeta

This 45-minute masterclass brings together two Vinitaly International Academy Italian Wine Experts Stephanie Johnson, long-time Italian Wine Editor at Wine & Spirits Magazine, and Torrence O’Haire, sommelier, wine educator, and hospitality group beverage director, for a dynamic tasting of VIA benchmark wines. From Stephanie’s vantage point as a journalist and critic, Italian wines tell stories of place, culture, and evolving styles that shape international perception. From Torrence’s role as a sommelier and educator, the focus shifts to how Italian wines live on the table: how to communicate their character to guests, pair them with food, and integrate them into diverse wine programs.Together, they will contrast their perspectives while sharing how the VIA tasting methodology sharpened their approach to Italian wines, both in writing and in practice. Participants will gain not just tasting insights, but also a deeper understanding of how critical and service driven lenses can complement one another in appreciating Italy’s extraordinary wine landscape.

The Italian Wine Podcast is proud to be a media partner of wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum and is pleased to present this series of conversations from Vinitaly.USA in Chicago. wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum is an international wine business event, held annually since 2014. This year the Forum was held alongside Vinitaly.USA in Chicago, taking it outside of Verona for the first time.

Learn more about the event: wine2wine.net/programma/?lang=en 

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