Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW on The Wine Palate & the Future of Fine Wine

Master of Wine Lisa Perrotti-Brown returns to the Vint Wine Podcast with a new chapter in her career. Known for her influential tenure as Editor-in-Chief of The Wine Advocate and decades of reviewing top estates across Bordeaux, Napa, Australia, and New Zealand, Lisa has long blended deep technical expertise with approachable, consumer-focused insight. 

After co-founding The Wine Independent, she’s now launched TheWinePalate.com, a modern, data-driven platform built to personalize wine discovery. Her mission: make it easier for drinkers to find wines that truly match their preferences, with clarity, transparency, and far more than just a score.

Before diving in, host Billy Galanko recaps a big wine week in Los Angeles, from a Wines of Hungary seminar with John Szabo MS to La Fête du Champagne with Peter Liem and some of Champagne’s most exciting growers and houses.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How Lisa’s global wine journey shaped her approach to modern criticism
• Why traditional tasting notes and scores fall short for today’s drinkers
• How The Wine Palate’s Palate Matcher uses 25+ sensory and structural filters
• Why faults (brett, oxidation, smoke) should be searchable
• The importance of winery stories, vintage reports, and editorial context
• Lisa’s take on orange wines, climate change, and the evolution of “fine wine”
• Early thoughts on recent Napa and Bordeaux releases

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to the Vint Wine Podcast
00:23 Introducing Lisa Perrotti-Brown
01:02 Billy's Wine Adventures
01:58 Champagne Tasting Highlights
04:55 Lisa's Journey in the Wine Industry
07:09 The Wine Palate: A New Era in Wine Criticism
26:42 The Importance of Wine Filters
27:10 Meet the Wine Review Team
28:06 Exploring Orange Wines
30:14 The Role of Wine Critics
33:34 Vintage Reports and Editorials
38:13 The Future of Fine Wine
41:23 Wine Tasting Process Revealed
48:45 Recent Vintages in Bordeaux and Napa
50:52 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Vint Wine Podcast is hosted and produced by Billy Galanko. For more content follow Billy on Instagram @BillyGalanko_wine_nerd and for partnerships and collaborations please email billy@sommeliermedia.com.

Cheers!