Brazil

Karene Vilela

Karene’s passion for wine is reflected in the varied roles that she holds within the Brazilian wine sector. She is the CEO of Portus Cale, a family-owned wine importer and merchant, bringing “fine wines from around the globe” into Brazil; a wine educator at The Wine School Brazil, an outlet for her to share her “knowledge and enthusiasm for wine” with the students that she mentors there; vice-president of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Sao Paulo, through which she works to maintain and deepen cultural and business connections between Brazil and Portugal; and a freelance writer for Única, an online wine content hub and community. As well as the many hats that she already wears, Karene is a Stage 1 MW student – indeed, she is “the sole student from Brazil currently enrolled in the IMW programme” – and this naturally presents her with many challenges over and above the already manifold ones faced by all MW students. Undeterred by this, Karene persists in her MW studies, which she hopes to use “to enlighten and include Brazilians in the international wine narrative, effectively democratising wine education and appreciation in a region traditionally underrepresented in this field”.