I hold a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Environmental Sciences with a concentration in Atmospheric Sciences. My dissertation was on the climatology of viticulture in Bordeaux, France with a focus on the spatial differences in grapevine phenology, grape composition and yield, and the resulting wine quality. I conduct applied research for the grape and wine industry in Oregon and have given hundreds of international, national, and regional presentations on climate and wine-related research.
I am the author of numerous book chapters, including being a contributing author to the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, and other reports and articles on wine economics, grapevine phenology, site assessment methods for viticulture, climatological assessments of viticultural potential, and climate change. I was honored by being named the Oregon Wine Press’s 2009 Wine Person of the Year, named to Decanter Magazine’s 2009 Power List representing the top 50 most influential people in the world of wine, listed in the top 100 most influential people in the US wine industry in 2012, 2013, and 2018 (intowine.com), and named in the Top 50 Wine Industry Leaders in Wine Business Monthly in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In 2016 I was bestowed with the Honorary Confrade with the Rank of Infanção (Nobleman) from the Confraria do Vinho do Porto for my work with the Portuguese wine industry. In 2023 I was named a Knight in the Oregon Wine Brotherhood. I also had the pleasure of appearing on CBS 60 Minutes in 2021 in a segment called "Effects of climate change taking root in the wine industry".