Anthony Dias Blue

The Climb

Training at Riverdale Country School and Amherst College came before a career that moved across food, wine, and radio without settling into a single lane. Anthony Dias Blue served as West Coast Editor at Food & Wine magazine from 1978–1980, then as wine and Spirits Editor at Bon Appétit Magazine from 1980–2006, a span that placed him inside two major editorial rooms where category knowledge and language had to match. That editorial base widened in 2007, when he became co-owner at The Tasting Panel, and again in 2013, when he also took on the role of editor-in-chief at The Sommelier Journal. In both posts, Anthony Dias Blue worked where wine media asks for the same thing from every line: judgment, range, and the ability to speak to trade readers without flattening the subject. Radio gave the work another register. He hosted the Blue Lifestyle Minute at WCBS radio in New York City, then continued the Blue Lifestyle Minute at KFWB in Los Angeles from 1999, at KABC in Los Angeles from 2009–2014, and at KNX (AM) 1070 in Los Angeles from 2014. The format is short by design; in Anthony Dias Blue’s hands, it became a compressed form of reporting, built for clarity and pace. He is also owner at food and wine event company in Los Angeles, California, which extends the same editorial instincts into the room itself. The through line in Anthony Dias Blue’s career is translation: taking the language of food and wine and making it usable across page, airwaves, and gathered audiences.

Today

From 2007 to 2023, Anthony Dias Blue served as co-owner and editor of The Tasting Panel, a role that kept him in the day-to-day work of wine coverage. The writing attached to that period shows the same precision his editorial posts required: “I recently had the occasion to size up the 2001 Haut-Brion alongside the same vintage from the other four original first-growth châteaux (sans latecomer Mouton) at a private tasting in Los Angeles.” That line shows the method plainly.

Signature

Anthony's signature dishes include Blue Lifestyle Minute, The Complete Book of Spirits, The Complete Book of Mixed Drinks, and American Wine: A Comprehensive Guide. These titles show the range of the work without changing its center. Blue Lifestyle Minute points to the broadcast format that made Anthony Dias Blue familiar to listeners; The Complete Book of Spirits and The Complete Book of Mixed Drinks place him in the drink category as a writer of reference and range; and American Wine: A Comprehensive Guide reflects the same habit of organizing a subject so it can be read, used, and returned to.

In Their Words “I recently had the occasion to size up the 2001 Haut-Brion alongside the same vintage from the other four original first-growth châteaux (sans latecomer Mouton) at a private tasting in Los Angeles.” The line is all method: comparison, naming, and a tight frame around the tasting. Anthony Dias Blue uses the sentence to report what was in the glass and how it was being measured, with no extra ornament.

Recognition

Anthony's honors include James Beard Award for The Blue Lifestyle Minute (2001), James Beard Who's Who in Food Award, and Communicator of the Year Award. These honors sit naturally beside a career built on making food and wine legible across formats. The James Beard Award for The Blue Lifestyle Minute (2001) recognizes the radio work; the James Beard Who's Who in Food Award places Anthony Dias Blue within the wider food conversation; and the Communicator of the Year Award names the skill that holds the rest together: precision in how the subject is delivered.