Joseph V. Micallef is a judge and commentator on food, wines, spirits, and travel. He is also a farmer, historian, best-selling author, diplomat, keynote speaker, and syndicated columnist. As a journalist and former war correspondent, he has written on a diverse range of topics, from wine, spirits, and travel to military history and world affairs. For over 25 years, he served as CEO and Senior Producer of a media company, among other competitions. Joe has also been a judge for a variety of international wines and spirits competitions, including the International Wines and Spirits Competition, World Drinks Awards, World Whisky Awards, San Francisco International Wine Competition, American Distilling Institute Craft Spirits Awards, Las Vegas Global Spirit Awards, New York World Wine and Spirits Competition, San Francisco International Spirits Competition, Congress Mondiale de Bruxelles, and the Irish Whiskey Awards. Along with judging, he spends his spare time making wine in Oregon. He holds a Diploma in Wines and Spirits from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (London). He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Council of Whiskey Masters. The Advisory Board’s two dozen members are widely considered the leading experts on whisky in the world. He was awarded the honorific of Maestro Tequilero, one of a handful of non-Mexicans, by the Academia Mexicana de Catadores de Tequila, Vino y Mezcal A.C. in 2023. He was recently selected to be a Keeper of the Quaich, an honorary Scotch whisky society. Among his recent books is Scotch Whisky: Its History, Production and Appreciation. Additional books on Tequila, Blended Scotch Whisky, Sensory Analysis, and Italian Wines are forthcoming. Joe is a columnist for Forbes and the Cultural Editor for World Whisky & More, where he writes on wines, spirits, and travel. He has spent over 20 years judging, lecturing, and writing about wines and spirits.