Ukraine

Natalia Homeniuk

Natalia is a Ukrainian sommelier and caviste. Her career in wine began from a conscious decision. Her great-grandfather was a winemaker, and it is a skill which her grandfather and her father continued to practice; even now, Natalia, her husband and her children continue the family tradition of winemaking using a grape press which has been passed down the line. Natalia augmented her family knowledge with a Master’s degree in winemaking, which she gained with honours. Her career began first in wine sales, rather than production, and this sparked within her an interest in wines not only from Ukraine, but from the wider world, and in the process directing Natalia towards the disciplines of sommellerie. She became a sommelier at GoodWine, the largest wine shop in Ukraine, and then went onto become manager of a wine boutique and bar. The birth of her children and the long maternity leave which complimented their arrival necessitated a diversification of profession, which saw Natalia and her husband create ‘Glass of Emotions’, a wine and spirits training course. When the war in Ukraine began, Natalia and her family’s lives were turned upside down, and for the good of their children they chose to leave the country, arriving by chance in Bordeaux. Not to be deterred by this turn of events, she and her family pushed on through the struggles of bureaucracy, learning a new language and finding new jobs. Natalia is thrilled to have been awarded an Artémis Domaines Golden Vines Victims of Conflict Scholarship, as for her it marks the culmination of a dream she has held since childhood, to work in a prestigious wine Château in France. Her ultimate ambition is to open a small winery, because in her own words: “wine is my passion, my hobby, my whole life”.