While he’s reluctant to admit it, Anthony Giglio believes his first taste of wine came at an early age hidden in a glass of Coca-Cola that his grandfather called a “spaghetti spritzer” to complement a Sunday pasta repast. He’s been hooked ever since.
Today, Giglio is a sommelier, journalist, and author who prefers writing and lecturing about all things gastronomic to serving them professionally. He pens a number of monthly columns, including “Liquids” in Boston magazine, which was awarded a Bronze Medal in 2001 and 2003 for “General Excellence–Food & Dining Criticism” by the City and Regional Magazine Association, as well as “Liquid Assets” in Trader Monthly and Deal Maker magazines. Giglio also broadcasts the daily “Connoisseur Corner” wine report on CBS Radio’s Boston affiliate, and is the “Nightlife” editor at Wine & Spirits Magazine. Giglio is retained by a number of corporations to lead educational tastings and dinners, the likes of which include American Express Publishing, Condé Nast, Time Warner, and Bank of America. He also leads wine tours of Italy with Authentic Sicily.
In Fall 2004, Rizzoli International published Giglio’s first book, Cocktails in New York, a compendium of 100 classic cocktail venues in New York City. He recently completed a complete rewriting of the Mr. Boston All-New Official Bartender’s and Party Guide (Wiley, 2005) in honor of its 70th anniversary reprinting, which was immediately followed by the Mr. Boston Platinum Edition for professionals. Giglio also ghost-wrote and edited “King Cocktail” Dale DeGroff’s best-selling drinks tome, The Craft of the Cocktail (Clarkson Potter, 2002), which won the 2003 IACP Julia Child Book Award, along with two of Master Sommelier Andrea (Immer) Robinson’s books, Andrea Immer’s Wine Buying Guide for Everyone and Great Tastes Made Simple.
Giglio writes regularly on food, wine, spirits, travel and lifestyle for a variety of magazines, including Esquire, Details, Food & Wine, Travel Leisure, New York Magazine, Parade and Time Out New York. He has dished up restaurant critiques for Robb Report and Worth, and was the dining critic for the New York Sun for five years and New Jersey Monthly for a decade. Lastly, Giglio has investigated male (bad) behavior for Redbook, Mademoiselle and Marie Claire.
Giglio is a member of the Wine & Spirits Magazine tasting panel and former board member of the Sommelier Society of America. His expertise have been cited in the New York Times, New York Daily News, The San Francisco Chronicle, New York Newsday, USA Today, and Reader’s Digest. He has been interviewed on CNBC, FOX News, WCBS-Radio, the Food Network, the Style Network, and Fine Living.