Nigeria

Chidiebere Irondi

Chidiebere is a wine professional based in Port Harcourt City, Nigeria. Chidiebere’s love of wine comes from his father, who “despite his low financial status” ensured that his family were able to enjoy a bottle of wine at least once a year, often for important family occasions. In his own words, “these moments created a lasting impression in [his] heart and contributed to [his] passion for wine”. Chidiebere decided to pursue a profession in Enology and Viticulture, but to his chagrin found that no Nigerian institutions offer such a course - even to this day. Upset by this development but not to be dissuaded, Chidiebere began saving up funds to pursue his studies abroad - not an easy task considering “the constant economic instability and rampant inflation rates” with which he must contend. While he builds his funding to pursue this dream, he has not been idle. For more than 7 years now, Chidiebere has worked in the beer sector, having graduated as second-highest in his class in 2014/15 with a Master’s degree in Brewing Science and Technology. Chidiebere has worked on the production of “best-selling quality beers” alongside “world-class brewing companies”. Following on from these experiences, he entered the wine sector as a marketing distributor and advertiser for a company importing Spanish wines into Nigeria. Alas, due to the effects of a fluctuating foreign exchange rate, the company was forced to close down. Even so, Chidiebere felt his experience working with them was “a wonderful opportunity… one that brought me so close to achieving my inspirations”.