Wine journalist · Educator · Judge
Exploring the globe through the lens of a wine glass.
Reporting on wine as a carrier of history, culture and power — from Indigenous reclamation and post-Soviet revival to policy, climate and the soil itself.
About
Wine as a lens on history, culture and power.
Michelle Williams is an award-winning wine journalist who examines wine through an applied ethics lens. A Forbes contributor since 2018, she also writes for Wine Enthusiast, Wine Business Monthly, Wine-Searcher and The Buyer.
Her reporting follows the forces that decide who grows wine, who benefits and whose stories are told: Georgia’s wine industry caught between Russia and the West, Indigenous vineyard workers and winegrowers in California and Chile, Moldova’s post-Soviet wine revival, the campaign for UNESCO recognition of wine as cultural heritage, and the policy fights over labeling and herbicide drift in the United States.
She also covers climate adaptation, soil science and regenerative organic farming, reporting on the ground from Alsace to the Uco Valley.
Michelle is a wine educator, moderator and judge based in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
Certification
Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Advanced, with Merit
Membership
Circle of Wine Writers
Areas of focus
What the reporting covers
Wine, culture and geopolitics
Wine as heritage and national identity, from Moldova’s democratic transition to the push for UNESCO recognition.
Indigenous and marginalized communities
Who has been written out of wine’s story, and the movements reclaiming land, grapes and voice, including Chile’s Indigenous wine movement.
Policy and regulation
Labeling law, appellation rules, health guidance and the herbicide drift threatening American vineyards.
Climate, soil and farming
Climate adaptation, soil microbiology, biodiversity and regenerative organic viticulture.
Recent work
Latest from Forbes
In the field
On assignment
Archive
Selected features
Recognition
Awards, judging & speaking
Honors
- Top 20 Most Influential People in the U.S. Wine Industry, Beverage Trade Network
- Winner, Bordeaux Wine Travel, Millesima Writer Awards
Wine competition judging
- Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
- Radici del Sud, Salone dei Vini e Oli del Sud Italia
- McMinnville Wine Competition
Credentials & affiliations
- Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in Wines (Advanced), with Merit
- Circle of Wine Writers
- GuildSomm
- Franciacorta Texas Brand Ambassador
Presenting & moderating
- “The Texas Wine Industry,” Grapevine Wine Pouring Society
- Moderator, winemaker panel on blends, Rhône Rangers
- “The Perfume of Pinot Noir,” Grand Tasting moderator, International Pinot Noir Celebration
- “The Evolution of the Texas Wine Industry,” Circle of Wine Writers
- “So You Want to Be a Wine Journalist,” Dallas Wine School
- Panelist, webinar and masterclass, 19th Annual Moldova National Wine Day
- “Franciacorta: The Region, the Method, the Wine,” SommCon
- “Strategically Utilizing U.S. Wine Writers to Promote Wine and Wine Regions,” Challenges of Winemaking: Survival and Evolution conference, Asociación de Bodegas de Rioja Alavesa, Spain
- “Strategically Utilizing U.S. Wine Writers to Promote Wine and Wine Regions,” Vinisud
Work with Michelle
Assignments, judging, media trips and speaking.
Please contact Michelle for editorial commissions, samples, competition judging, media trips, moderating and speaking opportunities.