Charlie Leary

Author, chef, and historian Charlie Leary started his first restaurant wine program in New Orleans in 1996. He went on to create different wine experiences for diners in Costa Rica, southern France, and Nova Scotia, Canada, where his efforts won Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for multiple consecutive years. He also planned, planted, and managed an IGP vineyard in Andalusia, Spain. Charlie developed a wine and food column for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald newspaper in 2017, and Random House published his cookbook on Creole cuisine in 2004. He regularly writes for publications such as Sommelier Business and Sommelier Choice Awards, and his feature articles on wine history have appeared in Bordeaux wine expert Jane Anson’s Inside Bordeaux. Charlie earned a Ph.D. in history from Cornell University in 1993, taught briefly for Tulane University, and has received various wine certifications from the Wine Scholar Guild, Napa Valley Wine Academy, and the Society of Wine Educators, among others. He holds the California Wine Certification Level 3 (advanced) from the California Wine Institute.