UK

Deniz Bayram

Deniz is a Wine Educator, teaching WSET Levels 1, 2 and 3 at their flagship school in London – a role that perfectly fits his desire to share knowledge with others. He is passionate in particular about the “Eastern Mediterranean’s diverse wine offerings”, which he feels represent an “untapped potential” given their “ancient viticultural legacy”, and he is a constant advocate for “transforming international perceptions of these regions”. To that end, in November 2023 Deniz led the organisation of the “Wines of Mesopotamia” event hosted at the WSET School London. Sourcing wines from Southeastern Turkey, Syria and Iran – regions that are “fraught with armed conflict and civil unrest” yet “rich with viticultural promise” – he demonstrated to attendees not only the high quality of these wines, but also “the enduring spirit of minority groups striving to maintain their cultural heritage through viticulture”. Deniz aims to pursue the MW programme, which will allow him to advocate further for these regions and support scholarly research into these regions, so as to increase global awareness of them, add to the global story of wine in all its varied forms and help prevent these winemaking cultures becoming lost to history.