Richard Leahy has organized major wine industry conference programs from Pennsylvania to Minnesota since 1997, and has been writing about wines of Virginia and the East since 1986. He started the Eastern Winery Exposition in 2012 with Operations Director Marcia Gulino and former owner Bob Mignarri. In 2007 he organized the Virginia Wine Experience in London which brought the top 64 Virginia wines there for leading British wine media and trade to taste. He was a regional editor for Kevin Zraly’s American Wine Guide, and was Mid-Atlantic and Southern Editor for the Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America. He was East Coast Editor of Vineyard & Winery Management for over ten years. He is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Richard’s book on Virginia wine, Beyond Jefferson’s Vines, now in a third edition, was first published in 2012 by Sterling Publishing. In 2022, he was given the Birchenall Award by the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association for his promotion of the Eastern wine industry over the years. He also has a website and blog focused on wines of the East at www.richardleahy.com.