Welcome to joellethomson.com

Wine and words have been close to my heart for almost as long as I can remember (the words part) and for all of my adult life when it comes to wine.

This website is dedicated to both.

After working for 30 years in mainstream and trade magazines, newspapers and online publications, my aim on this website is to make wine accessible by demystifying what makes wine taste great - at all price levels. 

read about as it is to drink, revealing accessibly priced bargains and the great wines of the world, demystifying the wine production, the people who make it, diving into the tales of where their inspiration comes from and what drives them to make the wines they do.

These stories are supported by independent analysis and reviews of their wines, which comes from 30 years of writing about, tasting, judging, analysing and studying wine. 

I also host tastings and wine tours by private arrangement.

My work as a writer follows on from training as a journalist in print, radio and screen journalism. I taught Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and NZ Qualifications Authority levels for the NZ School of Food & Wine in Auckland. This was followed by another eight years of running in store tastings, training staff and curating a significant proportion of the wine collection at Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington. The store remains one of my most treasured working experiences. 

This website draws on those experiences as well as 30 years of wine writing, editing Drinksbiz magazine (which I still write for) and penning columns for several of New Zealand's major daily newspapers and news stand magazines. 

I have judged extensively at wine competitions and trained wine retail staff with in-depth wine knowledge.

My first wine column was written for Capital Times arts weekly in 1994, a newspaper I ended up editing before heading to Auckland to work full time in magazines for the next 18 years. I eventually combined writing with motherhood, wine education (my own) and then wrote 15 books about wine; all published by commercial publishers. I have the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s highest qualification, the Level 4 Diploma and currently write about wine for Drinksbiz, Good magazine and NZ Winegrower, the Martinborough Star and my own website. 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. 

Pictured left: Dusky Sound in Fiordland, one of my favourite places in the world. This picture was taken on board a boat that is co-owned by Wet Jacket Winery owner Greg Hay, who hosted a group of wine and hospitality professionals. Hay is a member of the Fiordland Conservation Trust.