Kerin O'Keefe

Kerin O’Keefe holds a degree in English literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and also studied English and American literature for a year at the University of East Anglia.[3] O'Keefe has a keen interest in fine Italian wine made from autochthonous grape varieties.[3] She has been acknowledged to be "one of the great wine commentators on Italy"[4] and "a critic in the best sense of the word, not shy with her opinions, which she offers without polemics or bluster."[5] She was named Honorary Knight by the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba on April 7, 2017.[6]

Her first book was published in Italian by Luigi Veronelli in 2004: Franco Biondi Santi. Il gentleman del Brunello.[2] She authored the English edition of the book in 2005, Franco Biondi Santi. The Gentleman of Brunello, a recipient of a Gourmand Wine Books Award.[1] She also won the Premio Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino in 2008 for her cover article "Brunello de-con-structed" in the Oct-Nov 2007 issue of The Wine News.[7]

Brunello di Montalcino - Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy's Greatest Wines, (University of California Press, 2012), gave Montalcino and its wines the in-depth treatment they deserved.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Her latest book, Barolo and Barbaresco - The King and Queen of Italian Wine, (University of California Press, 2014), filled a gap in the wine literature[14] by helping consumers understand the differences among the various sub-zones of Barolo and Barbaresco.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

Kerin O'Keefe
Speaking at Grinzane Cavour castle to the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba

In The Times Literary Supplement Tim Crane put her in the Clive Coates/Michael Broadbent camp of wine critics, rather than in the Robert Parker camp of "loud and fruity descriptions".[13]

Her article "Rebels without a cause? The demise of Super-Tuscans"[21] was discussed by Eric Asimov in The New York Times and spurred a lively debate on the merits of Super-Tuscans.[22]

The Brunellopoli scandal was not a surprise for O'Keefe,[3][11] as she had been questioning Brunellos which were suspiciously dark and without the typical aromas of pure Sangiovese wines for years.[8][12] O'Keefe wrote in 2003 that many of 1997 Brunellos she had tasted: "were so jammy it was hard to believe they were Brunello",[23] in 2006 that: "illicit blending with other grapes, to make luminous ruby-garnet color unnaturally darker, is staunchly denied on all official fronts"[24] and in 2007 that: "Doubts can only remain in the face of some of the darker, impenetrable Brunellos sometimes seen".[25]

O'Keefe opposes the view held by many about the so-called American Palate, or the preference for highly oaked, sweet and powerful wines. She maintains it is a crass stereotype to believe that an entire nation has a uniform taste with respect to wine.[26] She argued instead that US wine drinkers have shown a growing appetite for more balanced and drinkable wines.[27]

• Franco Biondi Santi. Il gentleman del Brunello, Veronelli Editore, 2004. ISBN 8872501229
• Franco Biondi Santi. The gentleman of Brunello, Veronelli Editore, 2005. ISBN 8872501156
• Brunello di Montalcino. Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy's Greatest Wines, University of California Press, 2012. ISBN 9780520265646
• Barolo and Barbaresco. The King and Queen of Italian Wine, University of California Press, 2014. ISBN 9780520273269

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• Wine reviews by Kerin O'Keefe