Esther Mobley

About

I’m an award-winning journalist and wine expert with more than 10 years of experience in print and digital media. Since 2015, I’ve been a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, leading our coverage of California wine, beer and spirits — a beat that has included reporting on wildfires, reviewing local bars, profiling undocumented vineyard workers and analyzing the movements of California’s $40 billion wine industry. I publish a weekly newsletter, Drinking with Esther, which has a highly engaged national audience. My work was recognized as the Best Writing on Beer, Wine or Spirits by the Association of Food Journalists in 2017 and 2019, and I was named Feature Writer of the Year in the 2019 Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards. Other accolades include first place in the California News Publishers Association Awards Print Contest for both feature writing and agricultural reporting, for stories I wrote about a winery owned by a California doomsday cult and about Napa Valley’s land-use controversies. I’m a skilled public speaker and educator, with extensive experience moderating panels, leading wine classes and giving seminars on a range of food-, drink- and writing-related topics. You can find my work at esthermobley.com.