Maria is a veteran Wall Street analyst and fund manager. During her career, she became an avid wine collector and went on to earn designations as Italian Wine Scholar with highest honors, WSET Advanced Level, and Certified Specialist of Wine. She is also  a four-time  recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Maria is passionate about the wines of Italy and has spent over twenty years exploring its diverse winegrowing areas and meeting with winemakers. She started the Italian Grape Fan website to create a platform for the lesser known grapes and wines of Italy. 

Maria has spent the last decade exploring southern Italy’s winegrowing areas. She has walked the vineyards, tasted the wines, and met with winemakers in every one of the 65 DOP appellations in Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, and Puglia. Her experiences in these very special regions of Italy inspired her book, Places of Origin: Wines of Southern Italy--Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. Complete with color photos and proprietary maps, this 700-page reference details the wines and winegrowing areas of the four southernmost regions of Italy’s mainland. It guides the reader through the history, the geology, the diversity of wine grapes, and the traditions that underpin the rich viticultural experience of these captivating lands. See winesofsouthernitaly.com