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Richard Smart’s first encounter with viticulture dates back to 1966: since then the charismatic Australian researcher has become one of the sector’s most appreciated experts in the world, contributing to the popularization of the image of the viticulturist. After earning his degree in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Sidney he moved to New York to obtain a Ph.D. under the guidance of Professor Nelson Shaulis at Cornwell University. During his career Smart earned prestigious awards for his research work and taught at several schools (at Griffith’s in New South Wales and Roseworthy College in Adelaide, in southern Australia), gaining experience also in the role of Government Viticultural Scientist in New Zealand. Specifically thanks to that experience, along with his team he set the foundations for and started to shape the emerging wine industry in the country. He is author and co-author of more than 380 publications, including the acclaimed Sunlight into Wine, a reference point for agronomic practices in the management of vines. Smart has appeared on major specialty magazines such as The Wine Spectator, Decanter and Wine and Spirit International, as well as in the sections dedicated to wine in major newspapers while his researches have been widely used and shared. In the mid-eighties, Smart began his prolific consulting activities, first on assignment by the government of New Zeland and later privately. In 1990, he founded Smart Viticulture and since 1991 consulting has become his major activity, which brought him to cooperate with more than 300 companies in the world, supporting his clients in the choice of the place, variety of fruit, management of production, irrigation and continuous improvement of quality. Now Smart lives and works in Cornwall, in the UK.