Although he grew up in New York’s Finger Lakes and can remember visiting local wineries with his parents, Joe Czerwinski didn’t catch the wine bug until he went away to college. During his first and only semester of graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, he spent more time and money on wine and wine books than archaeology.

That led to a brief stint in a Manhattan wine shop, because all the British wine writers whose books he was reading said that was the best way to learn about wine. Well, maybe not at that particular shop. He worked until 10 p.m. most nights, which didn’t allow for evening tastings. He wasn’t tasting much as part of his job, which was in sales, and his employee discount was a measly 20%, which meant that his leftover cash didn’t go very far.

So, he got a job in magazine publishing, which paid better and had regular hours. He learned about wine as a passionate hobbyist. He attended tastings and befriended like-minded individuals, who would meet to taste wines, swap bottles and learn from each other.

In 1999, Joe joined the staff at Wine Enthusiast as an associate editor. The company was expanding its tasting program, which made it an ideal opportunity to combine his profession (editing) with his passion (wine).

Over 18 years at Wine Enthusiast, he moved through a succession of positions: senior editor, tasting director and managing editor, becoming the foremost American authority on the wines of Australia and New Zealand.

Joe has visited New Zealand regularly to research stories since 2000 and has judged the Air New Zealand Wine Awards and Marlborough Wine Show. He took part in the latest edition of Penfolds Rewards of Patience, tasting every vintage of Grange ever produced, and followed that up with a complete vertical of Henschke’s Hill of Grace. He’s spoken at the Margaret River Gourmet Escape and Mornington Peninsula International Pinot Noir Celebration. In 2006, Joe took on reviewing Rhône wines for Wine Enthusiast, and he visited the region regularly ever since.

Since joining The Wine Advocate in 2017, Joe has covered multiple wine regions for the publication, including Australia and New Zealand, Languedoc and Roussillon and the Rhône Valley. He served as Editor in Chief from December 2021 to March 2024.

Joe lives in the New York City suburbs with his wife of 35 years, where his hobbies include ice hockey—he's played since he was five years old—and fly fishing, a more recently acquired passion.