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.^[5] O'Keefe has a keen interest in fine Italian wine made from autochthonous grape varieties.^[5] She has been acknowledged to be "one of the great wine commentators on Italy"^[6] and "a critic in the best sense of the word, not shy with her opinions, which she offers without polemics or bluster."^[7]

She won the Premio Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino in 2008^[8] for her cover article "Brunello de-con-struct-ed" in the Oct-Nov 2007 issue of The Wine News.^[9] She was named Honorary Knight by the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba on April 7, 2017.^[10]

Her first book was published in Italian by Luigi Veronelli in 2004: Franco Biondi Santi. Il gentleman del Brunello.^[4] 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.^[2]

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.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

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^[17] by helping consumers understand the differences among the various sub-zones of Barolo and Barbaresco.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23]}

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".^[16]

Her article "Rebels without a cause? The demise of Super-Tuscans"^[24] was discussed by Eric Asimov in The New York Times and spurred a lively debate on the merits of Super-Tuscans.^[25]

The Brunellopoli scandal was not a surprise for O'Keefe,^[5][14] as she had been questioning Brunellos which were suspiciously dark and without the typical aromas of pure Sangiovese wines for years.^[11][15][26] O'Keefe wrote in 2003 that many of 1997 Brunellos she had tasted: "were so jammy it was hard to believe they were Brunello",^[27] in 2006 that: "illicit blending with other grapes, to make luminous ruby-garnet color unnaturally darker, is staunchly denied on all official fronts"^[28] and in 2007 that: "Doubts can only remain in the face of some of the darker, impenetrable Brunellos sometimes seen".^[9]

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.^[29] She argued instead that US wine drinkers have shown a growing appetite for more balanced and drinkable wines.^[30]

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."^[26]

• 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

• kerinokeefe.com Kerin O'Keefe website
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