Meet Our Guides
Journey with Wine Enthusiast’s most trusted experts
Every year, the Wine Enthusiast Tasting Panel blind tastes and rates 25,000 wines and spirits from across the globe, providing reputable reviews from trusted experts. Every Cork+Compass Travel trip is led by a Wine Enthusiast expert who opens doors to exclusive tastings and shares stories beyond the tasting notes, transforming your trip into an extraordinary journey.
Danielle Callegari
Danielle Callegari is a Writer-at-Large and Reviewer on the Wine Enthusiast Tasting Panel. She reviews wines from Italy, including Tuscany, Lazio, Abruzzo, Campania, Basilicata, Molise, Puglia, Calabria, Sardinia and Sicily.
Dr. Callegari is an Associate Professor in the Department of French and Italian at Dartmouth College and Communications Director of the Dante Society of America. Her teaching and research focus on premodern Italian literature and food and beverage studies.
In addition to her many articles and contributions to academic and trade presses, she is author of “Dante’s Gluttons: Food and Society from the Convivio to the Comedy” (Amsterdam University Press, 2022) and the forthcoming “A Bite-Sized History of Italy” (New Press, 2026). She is also the co-host of Gola, a podcast on Italian food and beverage culture.
Dr. Callegari splits her time between New York City and Italy, and is fluent in both English and Italian. Wandering through the picturesque towns of Panzano, Valdarno, Arezzo, Il Borro, Montalcino, Siena and Montepulciano while tasting wine and learning about the region’s rich culture and history from Dr. Callegari will be a first-hand experience that no guide book can replicate.
Anna-Christina Cabrales
Anna-Christina Cabrales is the Tasting Director at Wine Enthusiast, reviews wines from Burgundy, Champagne and Rhône Valley for the magazine, and oversees the Wine Enthusiast Tasting Panel. Every year, the Wine Enthusiast Tasting Panel blind tastes and rates 25,000 wines and spirits from across the globe and provides reviews that are recognized in the industry as reputable and from trusted experts.
Anna-Christina is a mentor for Wine Unify and Bâtonnage Forum; the founder of Sommation, which promotes inclusion and conversation around all topics surrounding wine; a Dame Chevalier for L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne; and the NY educational liaison for the Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne.
Anna-Christina travels to France quarterly including the Burgundy region. In fall 2025, she will be inducted into the La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, which is a fraternity of wine connoisseurs who work to protect and promote the Burgundy AOP.
Anna-Christina was the Director of Education at Independence Wine & Spirits, a fine wine importer of Taub Family Selections, and she was previously the General Manager & Wine Director of Morrell Wine Bar. She had high success in both these roles from her deep knowledge and understanding of the Burgundy region.
A graduate and sommelier from The French Culinary Institute, she will personally pair the perfect wines for the decadent meals, artisanal cheese shop visits and epicurean experiences planned for this trip.
Tom R. Capo
Tom Capo is a Writer-at-Large and Reviewer on the Wine Enthusiast Tasting Panel. He reviews wines from Sonoma County, Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas.
Tom started as the sommelier for Cindy Wolf’s Charleston in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied under Tony Foreman. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, he worked across the industry from smaller wineries and wine bars to national retailers and producers including Treasury Wine Estates.
In 2012, Tom founded Marathon Wine Brokers, which sought to carve out space for smaller, family-owned producers as well as fledgling importers that represented grower-vignerons. He became a freelance writer, editor and stay-at-home dad before returning to the wine business.
Tom has been a proud resident of Sonoma County since 2019, where he lives on a small apple orchard with his wife Allison, daughter Liliana and a dog named Ziggy Stardust. Tom has been visiting and tasting at wineries across Sonoma for two decades and has become personal friends with the winemakers, producers, and families who have lived their entire lives in Sonoma.
He has discovered hidden gems along the way and will be sharing these “Sonoma secrets” on the inaugural Cork+Compass Travel trip.
Let us take you there.
Wine Enthusiast’s Cork+Compass Travel is the magazine’s first endeavor into exceptional wine travel and tourism. Our philosophy is rooted in the mission of our parent company, Wine Enthusiast—to enhance the wine experience for all.