Kerin O'Keefe

Kerin O’Keefe holds a degree in English literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and also studied English and American literature for a year at the University of East Anglia.{{cite journal |last=Speller |first=Walter |title=Kerin O'Keefe's Montalcino subzones |url=http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201303201.html |website=JancisRobinson.com |date=26 March 2013 |access-date=16 April 2013 |archive-date=27 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227001856/http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201303201.html |url-status=dead }} O'Keefe has a keen interest in fine Italian wine made from autochthonous grape varieties. She has been acknowledged to be "one of the great wine commentators on Italy"{{cite journal|last=O’Doherty|first=Paul|title=Books of the year 2014|url=http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/books-of-the-year-2014| website=JancisRobinson.com|date= 2 January 2015}} and "a critic in the best sense of the word, not shy with her opinions, which she offers without polemics or bluster."{{cite journal|last=Asimov|first=Eric|title=Sip and Turn a Page|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/dining/the-best-wine-books-of-2014.html|journal=The New York Times|date=10 December 2014}}

She won the Premio Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino in 2008{{cite journal |last=KFS |title=Resident Italian expert earns high Brunello honors |url=http://www.txb-finewines.com/upload/Wine_News_M_by_Michael_Mondavi_January_2008_180.pdf |journal=Wine News |date=Oct–Nov 2008 |archive-date=2013-12-24 |access-date=2013-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224083053/http://www.txb-finewines.com/upload/Wine_News_M_by_Michael_Mondavi_January_2008_180.pdf |url-status=dead }} for her cover article "Brunello de-con-struct-ed" in the Oct-Nov 2007 issue of The Wine News. She was named Honorary Knight by the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba on April 7, 2017.{{cite journal|title=I Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini d'Alba hanno incontrato la "Wine Enthusiast" Kerin O'Keefe |url=http://www.targatocn.it/2017/04/09/leggi-notizia/argomenti/alba-e-langhe/articolo/i-cavalieri-del-tartufo-e-dei-vini-dalba-hanno-incontrato-la-wine-enthusiast-kerin-okeef.html |journal=TargatoCN |date= 9 April 2017}} She received the International Communicator Award from Assoenologi (the Italian Enologists Association) for her work in promoting Italian wines and her expertise in communicating the nuances of Italy's wine regions to a global audience.{{cite journal|title=La consegna dei riconoscimenti Assoenologi|url=https://www.assoenologi.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Premi-76%C2%B0-Congresso-Assoenologi_LENOLOGO-N%C2%B011-Novembre-2023.pdf|journal=L'Enologo|date=November 2023}}

Her first book was published in Italian by Luigi Veronelli in 2004: Franco Biondi Santi. Il gentleman del Brunello. She authored the English edition of the book in 2005, Franco Biondi Santi. The Gentleman of Brunello, a recipient of a Gourmand Wine Books Award.

Brunello di Montalcino - Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy's Greatest Wines, (University of California Press, 2012), gave Montalcino and its wines the in-depth treatment they deserved.{{cite journal |last=O'Doherty |first=Paul |title=2012 wine books - Italy |url=http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201212231.html |website=JancisRobinson.com |date=26 December 2012 |access-date=16 April 2013 |archive-date=14 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014173345/http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201212231.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |last=Maresca |first=Tom |title=The Best Brunello Book Yet |url=http://ubriaco.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/the-best-brunello-book-yet/ |journal=Tom's Wine Line |date= 4 June 2012}}

Her latest book, Barolo and Barbaresco - The King and Queen of Italian Wine, (University of California Press, 2014), filled a gap in the wine literature{{cite journal|last=Bonné|first=Jon|title=A bounty of books about wine and spirits |url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/thirst/article/A-bounty-of-books-about-wine-and-spirits-5799508.php |journal=San Francisco Chronicle|date= 3 October 2014}} by helping consumers understand the differences among the various sub-zones of Barolo and Barbaresco.{{cite journal|last=Asimov|first=Eric|title=Good Barolo rewards patience |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20141029/good-barolo-rewards-patience |journal=The New York Times|date= 29 October 2014}}{{cite journal|last= Taylor |first= Charles S. |title= Barolo and Barbaresco: the King and Queen of Italian Wine |journal=Journal of Wine Research |issue=1 |year=2015 |pages=66–68 |doi=10.1080/09571264.2015.1009016 |volume=26|s2cid= 93292457 }}{{cite journal|last= Belfrage |first= Nicolas |title= A measured, informative and very readable tour of Barololandia |url=https://www.kerinokeefe.com/a-measured-informative-and-very-readable-tour-of-barolandia-by-nicolas-belfrage/ |journal=The World of Fine Wine |issue=48 |year=2015 |pages=52–53 }}{{cite journal|last=Maresca|first=Tom|title=A New Book on Barolo & Barbaresco |url=https://ubriaco.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/a-new-book-on-barolo-barbaresco-plus-a-related-item/ |journal=Tom's Wine Line |date= 17 October 2014}}{{cite journal|last=McCarthy |first=Ed |title=A Great, New Book on Barolo and Barbaresco |url=https://www.kerinokeefe.com/a-great-new-book-on-barolo-and-barbaresco-by-ed-mccarthy/ |journal=Wine Review Online |date=9 September 2014 }}{{cite journal |last=Dawson |first=Evan |title=Barolo and Barbaresco: A Conversation with Kerin O'Keefe |url=https://www.palatepress.com/barolo-and-barbaresco-a-conversation-with-kerin-okeefe/ |journal=Palate Press |date=28 June 2015 }}

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In The Times Literary Supplement Tim Crane put her in the Clive Coates/Michael Broadbent camp of wine critics, rather than in the Robert Parker camp of "loud and fruity descriptions".{{cite journal|last=Crane|first=Tim|title=The Grace Kelly of wine|url=https://media.muckrack.com/portfolio/items/112258/the-grace-kelly-of-wine-tls.pdf|journal=The Times Literary Supplement|date= 1 August 2012}}

Her article "Rebels without a cause? The demise of Super-Tuscans"{{Cite journal|last= O'Keefe |first= Kerin |title= Rebels without a cause? The demise of Super-Tuscans |url= https://kerinokeefe.com/rebels-without-a-cause-the-demise-of-super-tuscans/ |journal=The World of Fine Wine |issue=23 |year=2009 |pages=94–99 }} was discussed by Eric Asimov in The New York Times and spurred a lively debate on the merits of Super-Tuscans.{{Cite journal|last= Asimov |first= Eric |title= Are Super-Tuscans Still Super? |url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/are-super-tuscans-still-super/ |journal=The New York Times |date= 13 April 2009 }}

The Brunellopoli scandal was not a surprise for O'Keefe,{{Cite journal|last= Certomà |first= Chiara|title= Book Review - Brunello di Montalcino |journal= Journal of Wine Research |date= November 2013 |doi=10.1080/09571264.2013.858855 |volume=24 |issue= 4|pages=328–330|s2cid= 97689160}} as she had been questioning Brunellos which were suspiciously dark and without the typical aromas of pure Sangiovese wines for years.{{cite journal|last=Dawson|first=Evan|title=An Honest Look at Brunello|url=https://www.palatepress.com/brunello-di-montalcino-review/|journal=Palate Press|date=28 March 2012}}{{Cite journal|last= Levenberg |first= Keith|title= Brunello's true believer |url=https://www.kerinokeefe.com/brunellos-true-believer-by-keith-levenberg/ |journal=The World of Fine Wine |issue=37 |year=2012 |pages= 38–39 }}{{cite journal|last=Day|first=Kevin|title=A Life in Wine with Kerin O'Keefe|url=https://openingabottle.com/a-life-in-wine-with-kerin-okeefe/|journal=Opening a Bottle|date= 4 March 2022}} O'Keefe wrote in 2003 that many of 1997 Brunellos she had tasted: "were so jammy it was hard to believe they were Brunello",{{cite journal |last= O'Keefe |first= Kerin |title= Vintage of a Lifetime |journal= The Wine News |date= February–March 2003 }} in 2006 that: "illicit blending with other grapes, to make luminous ruby-garnet color unnaturally darker, is staunchly denied on all official fronts"{{Cite journal|last= O'Keefe |first= Kerin |url=https://www.kerinokeefe.com/brunellos-moment-of-truth/ |title= Brunello's Moment of Truth |journal=The World of Fine Wine |issue=11 |year=2006 |pages=74–80 }} and in 2007 that: "Doubts can only remain in the face of some of the darker, impenetrable Brunellos sometimes seen".{{cite journal |last= O'Keefe |first= Kerin |title= Brunello de-con-struct-ed |url=http://www.thewinenews.com/current/cover.asp |journal= The Wine News |date= October–November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123062524/http://www.thewinenews.com/current/cover.asp |archive-date=23 November 2007 |url-status=dead}}

O'Keefe opposes the view held by many about the so-called American Palate, or the preference for highly oaked, sweet and powerful wines. She maintains it is a crass stereotype to believe that an entire nation has a uniform taste with respect to wine.{{cite journal|last= O'Keefe |first= Kerin |title= US love affair with Italy |url=https://kerinokeefe.com/us-love-affair-with-italy/ |journal=Decanter |date= April 2011 }} She argued instead that US wine drinkers have shown a growing appetite for more balanced and drinkable wines.{{cite journal|last= O'Keefe |first= Kerin |title= Italy and the American Palate: debunking the myth |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/italy-and-the-american-palate-debunking-the-myth-4648134/ |journal=The World of Fine Wine |issue=37 |year=2012 |pages=79–83 }}

O'Keefe has also been critical of the tendency of some Italian wine producers to "equate what they call un vino importante with overwhelming sensations of French oak."

• Franco Biondi Santi. Il gentleman del Brunello, Veronelli Editore, 2004. {{ISBN|8872501229}}
• Franco Biondi Santi. The gentleman of Brunello, Veronelli Editore, 2005. {{ISBN|8872501156}}
• Brunello di Montalcino. Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy's Greatest Wines, University of California Press, 2012. {{ISBN|9780520265646}}
• Barolo and Barbaresco. The King and Queen of Italian Wine, University of California Press, 2014. {{ISBN|9780520273269}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{Commons|Kerin O'Keefe}}

• [https://kerinokeefe.com kerinokeefe.com Kerin O'Keefe website]
• [https://youtube.com/@kokeefe Kerin O'Keefe on Youtube]
• [https://www.instagram.com/kerinokeefe/ Kerin O'Keefe on Instagram]
• [https://www.facebook.com/OKeefeKerin Kerin O'Keefe on Facebook]

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