JoAnn Actis-Grande

Ciao! I am an Italian American born and raised in New York City and live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Sarasota, Florida, when not traveling. My grandfather introduced me to wine at a young age. Tastes became sips and sips eventually filled the glass. Those are cherished times and I have since traveled around the world from Napa to Cyprus tasting wine while enjoying the sites and cultures.

For over 15 years I have been the Wine Editor for Taste of the Seacoast Magazine and write wine and travel columns for Coastal Home, The Fifty Best.com, and other periodicals. My weekly column Let’s Talk Wine was featured in Seacoast Newspapers. I judge at the American Fine Wine Competition (AFWC), conduct video interviews with legendary wine producers, and have instructed wine tastings on a Maine windjammer. I’m proud to have received a fellowship to the Professional Wine Writers Symposium in Napa Valley and awarded Wine Writer of the Year by the New Hampshire Winery Association.

You can find me tasting wine, practicing yoga, or hiking above the clouds in idyllic locations. Feel free to contact me, I look forward to hearing from you: joann@winejag.com

I also guide intimate groups through Tuscany and beyond – let me take you there…