David Schildknecht trained and instructed in philosophy, then worked as a restaurateur before spending a quarter century in the U. S. wine trade (in DC, then Cincinnati, where many will remember him for his pioneering work at The Party Source). His tasting reports from Austria, Germany, France and North America have since the late 1980s been fixtures of Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar; Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate; and, since 2015, Vinous. A columnist and feature contributor at The World of Fine Wine, Wine & Spirits, The Art of Eating, Trink, and Austria’s Vinaria, he is responsible for the German and Austrian entries in the 5th edition (and two previous) of The Oxford Companion to Wine and a co-author of the 7th edition of Robert Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide. A 2002 James Beard Award finalist and 2008 recipient of Austria’s Bacchuspreis, David has addressed issues of aesthetics in a wide range of contexts academic and otherwise, including in a pilot program at U.C. Davis. His life in wine leaves time to pursue his passions for cooking, music, history, and his infinitely tolerant wife of five decades.