Jim Newman is an emeritus professor of geography at Syracuse University. One of his passions in life has been wine. It started out as a pleasurable hobby when he discovered two things: wine¹s magic with food and the ability to travel the world with each bottle opened. Eventually, friends convinced him to share his knowledge with others. He eventually succumbed to their pressures and in the early 1980s began teaching a credit course called the "Geography of Wine."

Professor Newman has written articles on wine for Focus Magazine, the Geographical Review, the Journal of Wine Research, and The Cambridge World History of Food, and he has taught non-credit wine courses on a regular basis for members of the Syracuse community.