International guest speaker at Nederburg auction

Based in Washington DC, this self-confessed 'Terroirist' talks to 10 000 readers a month through the award-winning wine content portal, Terroirist.com, which was recently named 'Best New Wine Blog' at the annual Wine Blog Awards, presented at the 2011 North American Wine Bloggers Conference in July.

A wine fanatic

David White.

He defines "Terroirist" (ter-war-ist) as, "A person, usually a member of a group, who is fanatical about wine, especially when it has a sense of place."

Straddling the divide between traditional and digital media, he is well poised to comment on the myriad challenges facing the wine industry, including climate change, the opening of new markets, the democratisation of wine and what it is that new generation consumers want.

"It's clear that from a global perspective, the wine industry is definitely at a tipping point, having to deal with issues in an ever-changing world exacerbated by the influence of modern technology. It is exciting however and I believe there is room to embrace these potential opportunities," he says.

For more information, go to www.terroirist.com.