Author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics, is a Senior Editor of Wine & Spirits. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY), she has worked in the food and wine world for 20 years in many different capacities, from assisting Jeffrey Steingarten, Food Critic of Vogue, to testing recipes for Martha Stewart Living and running the front of the house for Claude Troisgros at CT in NYC. Today, she edits, writes feature articles, and serves as Wine & Spirits’ wine critic for the wines of the Mediterranean. Since 2002, she’s also been the wine writer for the Denver Post. Her articles have appeared in Golf Connoisseur, Gastronomica, Every Day with Rachael Ray and in newspapers across the country. Currently, she’s at work on a second edition of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics, due on shelves in November 2008. For more information, see www.taraqthomas.com.