Exotic Wine Travel covers wine regions the specialist press tends to skip, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia. The 2016 profile introduces me as the founder of Vinipedia Wine Consultancy and as a reference point on Turkish wine.
The interview describes leaving for France at 19, returning to Turkey in 2006, and a few jobs before a brand manager post at the country’s largest wine importer. That is where the passion turns into a profession.
Then come the WSET training, the Turkish sommelier competition, the first woman to compete, second overall, and representing Turkey at the Young Sommelier Competition. I am the first person living in Turkey to earn the Court of Master Sommeliers “Certified Sommelier” title.
One passage says a great deal about the period: when I began introducing myself as an independent educator and consultant, people would routinely ask which large company I worked for. The idea of a wine consultant working for herself did not yet exist.
The second half of the article leaves the portrait for the vineyard: Boğazkere, Kalecik Karası, Narince, Öküzgözü, Turkey’s indigenous varieties, taken one by one, with tasting notes on specific bottles.
At the time of publication I am in London, working through the WSET Diploma.