Mike Dunne

Mike Dunne, the retired food editor, restaurant critic and wine columnist of The Sacramento Bee, first wrote of California wine in 1971, and he hasn’t stopped. Two years ago, he published “The Signature Wines of Superior California: 50 Wines that Define the Sierra Foothills, the Delta, Yolo and Lodi,” a chronicle that tracks the development of the modern wine trade in formally recognized American Viticultural Areas about Sacramento. His book tells that story in large part through 50 wines that not only represent character, quality and value but speak to pivotal moments during the evolution of Superior California’s wine culture over the past half century. 

A third-generation native San Franciscan, Mike grew up in Sonora in the Sierra foothills of Tuolumne County, studied at Modesto Junior College, and graduated with a degree in journalism from what then was San Jose State College before embarking on his newspaper career.

Today, he continues to freelance write for various publications and platforms. He also remains engaged in the wine scene as a frequent judge on the wine-competition circuit. 

Since retiring, Mike and his wife Martha, also an author and wine judge, have divided their time between residences in Sacramento and San Jose del Cabo at the southern reaches of the Baja peninsula in Mexico, though they recently sold their house in Los Cabos and reside fulltime in midtown Sacramento.