Marinela Ardelean is a wine and spirits expert from Maramures, Transylvania. Her love of wine began when studying abroad for her MBA in Italy. Italy, now her second home, inspired her first book which paired the then unknown Romanian wines with dishes from fine Italian cuisine.

Since then, she has written four more books, all highlighting the reborn local wine industry of Romania. The research for these, and her conviction in the quality of Romanian wines, led her to create RO-Wine and The International Wine Festival of Romania, thought leading companies in the education and promotion of premium Romanian wines.