A longtime U.S. wine writer, New Jersey–based Dana Nigro joined Decanter in June 2026. Previously, she spent more than 25 years with Wine Spectator in New York City, where she started as news editor, then became a senior editor for the magazine and the digital managing editor—responsible for the website, social media and apps.
She fell in love with wine while studying magazine journalism in New York’s Finger Lakes wine region, where she took advantage of the excellent wine program at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. As a result, one of her passions is Riesling. Another is sustainability in wine—from the vineyard soil to the winery buildings to the bottles (and boxes).
While reporting on U.S. wine, Nigro covered topics such as the battle to legalize direct shipping up through the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Granholm v. Heald, the rise of women in California’s wine industry, and the evolution of West Coast winegrowing from its early sustainability certifications to its movement toward regenerative farming.
Before her wine career, she worked at a fine-dining restaurant, served as a reporter covering local news and the international travel industry, and taught scuba diving.
