Meet the Veraison Educators

Born and raised in Italy, I always had a passion for food which then developed into wine. My journey started when I enrolled at the University of Media & Journalism in Florence and I later started writing for a local wine magazine. Travelling through vineyards to interview winemakers for the magazine cemented my understanding of the process, the complexity and the inherent beauty behind a bottle of wine.

My passion grew day by day and I could feel that I wanted to learn more, I wanted to make this passion a career. At the age of 25 I began working for a food and wine marketing agency and various local wine bars. The agency was my first step towards combining my university education with my passion for wine.

An insatiable curiosity drove my thirst for knowledge and after an exciting year I realised that I wanted to progress my education in London. So in 2013 I landed in the big city to broaden my knowledge of wine and progress my career.

For the first 3 years in London I worked as a wine specialist at Bedales Wines. In 2014 I completed my WSET Level 3 qualification and a year later I became a certified Educator, holding Levels 1 & 2.

As a Wine and Spirits Educator for Veraison, it’s my job to develop and deliver engaging training sessions to the on-trade, in addition to teaching WSET courses. After many years working in hospitality, I know that wine can sometimes be a little intimidating and being able to provide hospitality staff with some guidance to build both knowledge and confidence, is extremely rewarding. 

The wine most likely to be purchased on your staff account?  

Ferraton Père et Fils Saint-Joseph 

 

I first got into wine by making homebrew kits with my Mother, then after moving away to University I discovered what real wine was.  Studying Philosophy meant there was plenty of time and opportunity to sample it, too.

As with many of us in the wine trade, my wine career started at Majestic, working there for around five years and being lucky enough to work in the flagship fine wine store for a time.  After graduating with the WSET Diploma, I then worked in fine wine sales at a Bordeaux specialist for a year or so, before finding something of a calling in wine events.  I organised first the London Wine Fair and then Imbibe Live, selling stands, designing content and working on the Masterclasses.

When COVID hit I went to work for The Drinks Trust, fundraising and helping the industry through an absurdly difficult time, then joined Veraison at the beginning of October 2022.  I have a real passion for spreading the love and understanding of wine, and what I love about my job involves looking at how we can constantly improve on passing that knowledge and passion on.

Currently I'm about half way through the gruelling Master of Wine programme, so for me every day is a school day.  Literally.

The wine most likely to be purchased on your staff account?  

Whatever I need for the next study day...