Ilona Thompson
Editor-in-Chief at PalateXposure, a destination for oenophiles, gourmands, fine spirits lovers and inspired travelers. It now features podcasts with the top tastemakers from California and beyond.
A post-successful career in the wine businesses, Ilona pursued her passion for writing. She divides her time between domestic and international research trips, trade tastings and educational seminars and judging at wine competitions. She writes about wine, spirits, travel and culture focused on celebrating human spirit in pursuit of excellence through vision and artistry.
Ilona’s articles appeared in multiple food/beverage-focused and lifestyle publications. She has earned a “Top 100 Most Influential Wine Blogger Award”, was chosen as a Finalist in both Wine Blogger Awards and in Wine Reporting category by Millesima Wine Writing Awards and a two-time Fellowship recipient of Professional Wine Writers Symposium. Ilona covered a multitude of notable events, such as Auction Napa Valley, Aspen Classic, Naples Wine Festival, New York City Food & Wine, Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Taste of Sonoma, Sun Valley Wine Auction, St. Moritz Gourmet Festival and many more. She has earned a “Top 100 Most Influential Wine Blogger Award”, was chosen as a Finalist in both Wine Blogger Awards and in Wine Reporting category by Millesima Wine Writing Awards and a two-time Fellowship recipient of Professional Wine Writers Symposium.
Ilona is one of the top wine and spirits social media influencers with a critical understanding of digital communication, branding and marketing.
Where In the World Have I Been?
Who I've Written For
Drink Me Magazine
Drink Me brings you the entire world of drinks, from the best new spirits to killer wines, craft beers, and everything in between. We spend our days scouring the world for the best imbibables around, the coolest equipment to help you make the most of your drinking life, and advice and know-how from the people shaping the way we all sip and swirl and savor. DrinkMeMag.com, originally an off-shoot of Drink Me Magazine, has become the go-to resource for drinks professionals and consumers around the world. With the new DrinkMeMag.com, and our team of some of the best writers in the industry, our readers have access to all of our game-changing content on a daily basis. Stop by for in-depth investigative stories on the craft, culture, and history of drink; scroll through our exhaustive, ever-growing lists of must-haves; stay for our travel coverage, interviews with industry icons, product reviews, and so much more. DrinkMeMag.com harnesses all of our access and expertise, and offers it in an always evolving, easy-to-search daily dose.
Snooth
Whether one is just a beginner, or a total pro, Snooth offers its 1 million+ users countless opportunities to learn, taste, share and shop in the world of wine.
Members are able to interact with wineries, stores, fellow wine lovers, and wine professionals from all over the globe with Snooth’s daily newsletters, wine search, social forums and interactive media tools.
Since its launch in June 2007, Snooth has become one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive online wine destinations, featuring millions of price listings and wine reviews. Snooth also powers wine & food pairings for major sites including Epicurious.com (Conde Nast) and myRecipes.com (Time Inc).
Why drink alone? Grab a glass and join the fun!
Wine Behind the Label
Wine Behind The Label contains the most accurate information possible about wineries and their wines as it relies on a network of some of the biggest names in the international wine writing community to help compile many of the chapters, profiles and wine ratings. It is their work and expertise that has helped Wine Behind The Label become seen as THE reference book for professional and amateur wine lovers alike.
The 10th edition includes full profiles of 3,700 wineries, including 160 new entries. There are 6,000 wineries featured in total, with over 19,000 different wines rated and scored.
The guide has been updated to include all the latest wines and ratings from the 2015 northern hemisphere vintage and the 2016 vintage in the southern hemisphere.
Contributors to the 10th edition include Jim Budd (Loire Valley) , Michael Edwards (Champagne and Burgundy), Professor Kathleen Burk (Germany, Austria and Virginia), Gary White (Portugal and South America), Ilona Thompson, (West Coast of the USA). It also includes work from previous contributors, including Sarah Ahmed, Maggie Rosen and Stuart George.
A key feature of the Wine Behind The Label guide is its full range of regional maps, with great detail of all the main wine producing areas of the world.
It also includes comprehensive glossaries for wine and viticulture terms along with a guide to all the main grape varieties.
Previous editions of the guide have received international acclaim. The most recent coming from the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin which earlier this year gave it a special prize in its international wine awards for its contribution to wine education and knowledge.
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Praise for PalateXposure
Thanks for listening deeply and capturing who I truly am…seriously loved it. You are an amazing writer. Can’t thank you enough.
– Robert Irvine, Chef and Host of “Restaurant Impossible”
Love reading your work. You put thought, time & effort into each post and it shows. Not only is the writing done well, but I also like your clean layout of the site and the easy to read format and photos.
Your beautiful blog is outstanding. You have a sensual and evocative way of word painting.
– Cynthia Lohr, Trade and Brand Advocate, Co-owner, J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines
This is an amazing piece that covers every conceivable touch point about tasting wine and deriving a complete sense about the essence of doing so. It’s like one major note about the way some of the best notes for wine are drummed up and expressed. Certainly among the more thought provocative and moving overviews worth sharing amongst those who are deliberate when it comes to tasting wine and making an informed judgement. Beautifully written.
– Tom Schreckinger, Director of Communications, Chateau d’Esclans
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