Spreti Valente, Chairwoman

Spreti Valente is an accomplished sommelier, professional wine judge, wine buyer, and consultant. Her career as a wine judge took off when she began judging at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition, and she has since judged at many prestigious wine competitions in both the United States and Europe, such as the Pacific Rim Wine Competition, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine Wine Competition, International Women’s Wine Competition, Sonoma Harvest, Press Democrat Wine Competition, Feminalise (Paris, France), and International Wine Challenge (London). Spreti was appointed as the chief judge for the Pacific Rim Wine Competition in 2017 and in 2021, she became the first woman to be appointed as Chair at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition, which is the oldest wine competition in the United States. For 15 years, Spreti worked as the senior wine buyer at the top-rated wine shop in Orange County, California.

Spreti’s expertise as a consultant includes assisting clients in developing their wine marketing programs and organizing well-attended wine events. She has had a long-standing assignment with Pigs and Pinot Festival, where she worked alongside renowned chef Charlie Palmer and winemaker Daryl Groom. This year, she will also serve as emcee. Spreti is also an experienced wine educator who teaches wine classes to both public and university audiences. Her consulting work has been published in both Spanish and English, both in the US and abroad.