We are pleased to announce the addition of Wayne Belding MS to Wine Review Online’s all-star lineup of contributors. Wayne is among the most admired and influential of the USA’s elite corps of Master Sommeliers as well as an author, educator, and former wine retailer. His 
first column appears in this week’s issue, and it shows how Wayne is able to use his background as a geologist to illuminate the crucial but somewhat mysterious relationship between wine style and terroir.
By way of background, Wayne grew up in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York, which is now–as it happens–a burgeoning wine-producing area. After earning a degree in geology, he moved to Colorado and found his way into the oil fields of the U.S. as a geologist. Along the way, he became fascinated with wine and was drawn to the wine business.
After earning an MBA from the University of Colorado, he was an award-winning Sommelier at the Heritage Hotel in Denver with its Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning wine cellar.
In 1990, he became the 13th American to pass the demanding Master Sommelier examination and was awarded the Krug Cup for passing all three parts of the examination on his first attempt. Since that time he has been active in teaching and examining at all levels of the Master Sommelier program. He has served as Education Director of the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers for 9 years, and has served as Chairman of the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers for 3 years.
Over the years, he has taught thousands of sommeliers and industry professionals who have risen to significant positions in the trade. He was named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Wine People in the US Wine Industry by Intowine.com in 2012 and 2013.
He is the author of a wine book for consumers — Diving Into Wine™ and has been a frequent local, national, and international wine competition judge. He has also been a featured speaker at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, The Telluride Wine Festival, the Euphoria Food, Wine and Music Festival, The Texsom Conference, The Taste of Vail and the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival.
From 1986 – 2010, he was a co-owner of The Boulder Wine Merchant, a very successful retail store in Boulder, Colorado. Today he teaches professional and consumer wine courses in many locations throughout the USA. He also consults with clients to develop and enhance their wine education and promotion programs. And–on top of all that–he still breaks out his geologist’s rock hammer on occasion for first-hand investigation of the earth’s myriad expressions of place.
Wayne will contribute columns as well as wine reviews on a regular basis for WRO, and we are delighted to welcome him aboard.
Michael Franz
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