Maria C. Hunt

Editorial Strategy | Journalism | Content Marketing

United States

I help leading publications—and health, lifestyle and hospitality brands—connect with audiences through trusted, engaging content. My work spans editorial strategy, journalism, email marketing and brand storytelling for organizations including One Medical, Houzz, Rodan + Fields, The Pause Life, The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian.

Portfolio
OLTRE Volume 11 Fall 2025
08/01/2025
A Place in the Sun

Exploring the elements that made Claude Rouas' Auberge du Soleil a legendary Napa Valley destination that inspired an immersive modern approach to luxury hospitality.

Alcohol Professor
05/20/2026
How Cognac Became a Black Cultural Icon | Alcohol Professor

For generations, Cognac has loomed large in Black culture as a sippable symbol of sophistication, luxury and wealth. But how did that happen? The oft-repeated story of adopting it during wartime service overseas felt incomplete, so I dug deeper.

Menopause + Women's Health

The 'Pause Life by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
01/26/2025
Progesterone and Your Brain: The Forgotten Hormone of Calm | The 'Pause' Life

Most women know estrogen and progesterone are major hormones. Estrogen typically gets top billing, with progesterone playing a supporting role. However in reality, the two hormones are equally important, and progesterone balances estrogen and does much more in a healthy body than many women realize. "Progesterone is

Pandia Health
05/15/2024
Hormone Therapy Q+A Lead Magnet

As content consultant for a women's health startup, I researched, wrote and managed clinical edits for this lead magnet answering common questions on hormone replacement.

Instagram
05/12/2024
Menopause Sleep Reel - Social Ad Copy

The goal was to attract top-of-funnel attention with a reel that offered solutions to a common challenge for perimenopausal and menopausal women. I researched the tips, wrote copy and curated images.

Pandia Health
05/15/2024
Menopause Onboarding Email Series

As content consultant, I researched and wrote this seven-email series to welcome new menopause patients, reassure them as they started treatment and share science-based lifestyle advice on thriving in midlife.

The 'Pause Life by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
05/21/2025
The Black Menopause Experience | The 'Pause Blog

"We say Black don't crack. That's on the outside," says Morgan, chief medical officer for Hello Heart, a digital company based in Northern California. "On the inside, we may have more advanced age than our counterparts."

Brand Copywriting + Social

Total Wine & More
12/03/2019
Guide to Wine 101 Booklet

A beginner’s guide to finding a bottle of wine they’ll enjoy, from aromas and flavors of major varietals, to how wine is made to creating successful wine and food pairings.

Total Wine & More
10/22/2021
Pinot Noir Wine Guide

Researched and wrote this guide for an online series offering consumers a comprehensive education on popular wine grapes including origins, flavors, styles and pairings.

BBC Stories of Craft for House of Rohl | Shaws
2022
The Elemental Power of Biophilic Design

Identified relevant designers, conducted interviews and wrote this piece on California designers who use nature to inform and enhance their work in this brand content series for House of Rohl.

Houzz
02/22/2015
Decorating Secrets from a Hollywood Stylists' Home

Timed to coincide with the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony, I created this collection inspired by the home of Hollywood celebrity stylist Mara Roszak, along with her tips on how to create the look.

BBC Stories of Craft for House of Rohl | Perrin & Rowe
2022
Designing a Forever Kitchen

Secured interview with Australian celebrity designer Kate Walker on how to create a timeless luxury kitchen for this brand content series for House of Rohl.

Houzz.com
07/13/2015
Shop Houzz - E-commerce Newsletter + Content Strategy

An email list of 12 million+ subscribers gave me the opportunity to make data-driven content decisions to optimize the Shop Houzz e-commerce content program. Stats showed that lighting and bath materials were two top sales categories, so I had my team create a series on the best lighting under $100 as well as variations on the classic white bath. The result was 100,000+ clicks in 24 hours and sell-outs for the lighting and bath collections below, and others in the series.

Rodan + Fields - Instagram + Facebook
07/15/2017
Rodan + Fields Social Copy and Campaign Taglines

As lead social copywriter, I dreamed up the “Destination Hydration” concept and tagline which drove our visual and social messaging campaign to promote Active Hydration, the biggest product launch of the year to 150,000 consultants in US, Canada and Australia.

Health + Wellness

Training the Eye to See Disease On Dark Skin | UCSF Magazine
06/13/2022
Training the Eye to See Disease On Dark Skin

Dr. Jenna Lester's TED Talk on dermatology healthcare disparities went viral. This article shared the history behind this disparity and how Lester's approach and training of UCSF residents is creating change.

One Medical
11/13/2018
Your Guide to Understanding and Managing Prediabetes

As senior editorial manager collaborated with senior medical team to develop a Knowledge Center to help educate patient audience on common diagnoses, treatment and lifestyle management strategies.

One Medical Blog
11/11/2015
11 Ways You Can Feel Happier Now

Shared science-backed tips on happiness using different One Medical clinicians for quotes to highlight the range of expertise on our staff.

One Medical Blog
04/04/2016
Fitbit Giveaway Lead Capture Campaign

For National Walking Day, I partnered with Fitbit and a local fitness expert for a giveaway to capture new leads. More than 200 people entered and shared insights on where they find health information.

One Medical Blog
04/20/2016
5 Things You May Not Know About Marijuana

Not many people make a doctor's appointment to talk about the pros and cons of smoking joints vs. vaping, or whether it's OK to mix Mary Jane with merlot. Maybe more of us should.

Architectural Digest
06/22/2020
Love Plants? You Might Be a Biophiliac

You may not know it, but if you're a fan of live-edge tables, swirled Panda White marble, or plant-filled rooms with natural light, you're feeling the lure of biophilic design. Biophilia is based on the belief that humans need a connection to nature to thrive.

One Medical - Social Posts + Newsletter
05/06/2016
Best + Worst Drinks If You're Watching Your Weight

This infographic on common drinks + calories, shared on social channels and newsletters, quickly became one of the most popular pieces of content that year.

Medium
09/10/2020
Masks Are Causing Our Smiles to Evolve

I pitched this story after realizing that I, and many others, where smizing like contestants on America's Next Top Model. But were these real smiles? Got a retweet from Tyra Banks.

Books

Académie du Vin Library
05/30/2025
The Smart Traveller's Wine Guide

A wine travel guide to Napa Valley that covers where to taste wine, sleep and eat along with history and geography.

Travel

Forbes Travel Guide Blog
03/26/2014
Discovering Brazil's Secret Wine Country

It seems like Brazil has turned into one of the fashionable places to travel; the South American country is on more than a few lists of the best travel destinations for 2014. And with the FIFA World Cup kicking off in June - and the 2016 Summer Olympics not too long after that - more people than ever are heading to cities all over Brazil.

The Tasting Panel
03/15/2010
Down at the Heel - Puglia Adventure

One of the most interesting discoveries was that negroamaro doesn’t mean “black bitter” in Italian — it actually means “blackest of blacks.”

Riviera Interiors
04/02/2009
Cabin Fever - Design Rules in PDX

Unpacking the elements of style that created Portland, Oregon's woodsy chic vibe through trending design-forward hotels and other destinations.

Wine Content Marketing

Total Wine & More
02/01/2020
Guide to Oregon & Washington State Wines

Exploring the contrasting wine styles and the best producers from Oregon and Washington State. The differences between wines from these Pacific Northwest states might surprise you.

Total Wine & More
07/24/2022
10 Tiki cocktails you should try | Total Wine & More

A good tiki cocktail is like a vacation in a glass. With their colorful ingredients, special glassware, and fanciful garnishes, a Mai Tai or Hurricane sends your imagination on an adventure before you even take the first sip. According to cocktail historian Jeff Beachbum Berry, the tiki movement started in the early 1930s, right after Prohibition ended.

Total Wine & More
02/17/2022
How to Taste Wine Like a Pro| Total Wine & More

Wine tasting, just like making small talk and dancing salsa, is a social skill that matters more and more today. Being knowledgeable about wine enhances your social status, and it's a way to impress business colleagues at your next team lunch or your dinner date.

Arrowood Winery & Vineyards
04/23/2018
Dry Farming is Good for the Earth & Good for Wine

Dry farming isn't a new concept, but it has taken on renewed significance in the last decade. Plants can't talk. But any gardener knows that if you listen and pay attention, your plants will tell you what they need.

Total Wine & More
01/10/2020
Your Guide to Zinfandel

Exploring Zinfandel, a grape varietal that’s beloved in America for its history, its juicy bright flavors and the way it pairs with anything from the grill.

Total Wine& More
04/07/2022
Your Guide to Moscato/Muscat Wine | Total Wine & More

The Muscat grape is one of the oldest wine grapes around - a juicy grape with exuberant aromas and flavors of exotic citrus, white peach, green grapes, and golden pear sprinkled with white flowers.

Culture

Cuisine Trends + History

The Guardian
05/14/2022
Chef Crystal Wahpepah on the power of Indigenous cuisine: 'Native foods are overlooked'

Out on the sunny patio at Wahpepah's Kitchen, sizzling plates of bison and deer make their way down a table filled with Native American educators from across the country. The game meat joins other indigenous dishes on the kitchen's menu, such as leafy salads topped with striped red corn and blue corn mush sweetened with berries and maple.

Christian Science Monitor
1/21/2009
Who's cookin' in the White House?

As the Obamas were preparing to enter the White House, there was a lot of buzz in the national restaurant community over who the next chef would be. I pitched this piece to the CSM and then reached out to Danny Meyer, Alice Waters and Ruth Reichl for their take.

Kitchn
07/18/2020
What Chefs Know About Vegetables (That You Don't)

We asked some of our favorite restaurant chefs and authors to share some of their best veggie secrets. Adeena Sussman, Gregory Gourdet, Tyson Cole, Zarela Martinez and Isabel Cruz share some great ways to elevate your own vegetable cookery at home.

Forbes Travel Guide Stories
06/17/2013
Culinary Q&A With The Chefs Of State Bird Provisions

State Bird Provisions, which just snagged the James Beard Award for the best new restaurant in the nation, may seem like a hipster spot with its offbeat name, string art decor and dim-sum-style service.

Forbes Travel Guide
02/10/2018
Saison - Forbes Travel Guide

Remember that 1980s television show Fantasy Island, where a man dressed in white made visitors' every wish come true? Saison is the culinary equivalent ....

San Diego Union Tribune
10/13/1999
A Salad, A Legend - Who really tossed the first Caesar?

Even Julia Child was disappointed with the way the words "Caesar salad" were getting tossed around. "I think they like to use the name," said Julia Child, a woman who definitely knows her way around a salad bowl. So I went to Tijuana, Mexico to discover the true origins of this ubiquitous salad.

Forbes Travel Guide Stories
07/18/2013
Get To Know Aubergine's Buzzed-About New Head Chef

Carmel-by-the-Sea has been known as an artists' colony and a golfers' paradise for decades. But the oceanside California enclave is gaining a reputation for serious cuisine, thanks to chef Justin Cogley of Aubergine, the Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel.

San Diego Union Tribune
04/17/2012
Breaking Bread

"Clemente said eating pan de sal makes him think of a sexy girl." -- Most people don't know it, but San Diego is an incredibly diverse city. I profiled seven traditional breads baked here in order to better understand the people who make and love them.

The Christian Science Monitor
12/03/2008
Bacon with dessert?

"Bacon maple? There's actual bacon in that cupcake?" an incredulous visitor blurts out after scanning the selections at More, a sleek modern cupcake boutique in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. How and why bacon became the next big thing in desserts.

Interior Design - Editorial and E-commerce

Dwell
09/16/2020
The Pendleton Problem

Growing up in New Mexico, Venancio Aragon (Diné) remembers that a Pendleton wool blanket was one of the most precious gifts you could give or receive. Though his family has been practicing Navajo weaving for generations, he puts on a Pendleton for special occasions.

Apartment Therapy
06/30/2020
Here's How 9 Black Designers Are Finding Joy and Comfort at Home Right Now

Between sheltering in place for months because of the pandemic and followed by the ongoing anguish and unrest over the deaths of unarmed Black people like Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, maybe you're feeling like you could use some relief and psychological comfort.

Houzz
01/18/2016
Phillippe Starck + Isamu Noguchi Collections

As the architect of the Shop Houzz ecommerce content program, one of my goals was to design campaigns to drive sales. I created a series of collections on major modern designers timed to run on their birthdays. The products told the story of their development in this unique form of "story-selling."

Riviera Interiors
04/15/2009
Cabin Fever! Woodsy chic hits Portland

Home to Pendleton wool and many a rainy day, Portland has been shedding its woolly and wet image to emerge as a burgeoning hotbed of sustainable design and environmental consciousness.

House Beautiful/Yahoo Life
06/10/2021
How This Michigan Town Became "Black Las Vegas"

Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson, and B.B. King performed at Idlewild, Black resort destination in the 50s and 60s, which is now seeing a resurgence in interest.

Wine + Drinks Editorial

Food & Wine
06/14/2021
Scottie Pippen Is Launching a Bourbon

The NBA legend has been very hands-on with every aspect of Digits Bourbon, from tasting and blending to pasting labels on bottles. It's all hands on deck at the Savage & Cooke Distillery on Mare Island in Vallejo, California, 30 minutes north of Oakland.

Wine Enthusiast
04/14/2022
Napa and Sonoma Winemakers Market Luxury Sauvignon Blanc. Is Anyone Buying?

When Philippe and Cherie Melka first arrived in the Napa Valley in the 1990s, the region was awash in Cabernet Sauvignon. Sauvignon Blanc, the red grape's natural partner in Bordeaux, was an afterthought. "There was almost no high-end Sauvignon Blanc in the market," says Melka, a fan of Château Haut-Brion Blanc.

The Guardian
08/06/2022
Cider is having an American moment - thanks to a new generation of crafters

The first time Peter Yi tried Basque cider, it hit him like a lightning bolt. His experiences as a wine buyer left him thinking ciders were sweet, simple and didn't pair well with food. But this one was different - aromatic, dry and complex, everything he expected from a fine wine.

Bespoke Magazine | St. Regis Hotels
06/20/2014
The Rise of Riesling

For this celebration of the other white grape, I interviewed acclaimed educator Karen MacNeil, a Master Sommelier Willi Sherer, Master of Wine Tim Hanni and Stephen Sterling, whose family owns the Cole Ranch AVA.

Forbes
12/18/2012
Bourbon's New Role In The Culinary World

In case you haven't heard, yuzu kosho and Bora Bora vanilla beans are so last year. The hot food flavoring on the scene is bourbon-and lots of it. Correspondent Maria Hunt has noticed creative chefs and food artisans across the country using the caramel-colored spirit to season foods ranging from ice cream to pigs' ears.

Montage Magazine
10/15/2015
Next-Generation Vintners

When you're born into a wine family with a name like Mondavi, Sokol Blosser or Barrett, you're stepping into a ready-made legacy before you've bottled a drop.

Montage Hotels Magazine
12/15/2009
All That Fizz

What's your unique champagne personality? Perrier Jouet is giving 100 people the chance to find out -- and bottle it.

Profiles

Montage Hotels Magazine
10/16/2013
Drew Barrymore: Famous Foodie

Drew Barrymore splashes into an unexpected new role with a wine brand and a cooking show. I sat down with her at Pebble Beach Food & Wine to learn more.

Cuisine Noir
03/31/2010
Mo'Nique -- Fabulous. Amazing. Timeless.

Though we spoke long-distance by phone, Mo'Nique and I created a real rapport and she opened up about her journey to self-acceptance and helping other women do the same.

Montage Hotels Magazine
01/03/2012
Bison's Big Comeback

When Ted Turner was the special guest at a friend's winery I jumped at the chance to do a short taped interview with him about his favorite topic... his work to save the American bison.

San Diego Union-Tribune
01/26/2005
The Ta$te of Success

I met the legendary businessman Sidney Frank—creator of Grey Goose—at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, and as we shared a lunch of delicacies from around the world, he told me about his work and passions in life.

Modern Luxury - San Diego
05/15/2008
Marcella Bites

I met Food Network star Marcella Valladolid when she was just becoming known in San Diego and wrote this profile for a luxury magazine.

Philanthropy