France

Valeria Tenison

Valeria spent her childhood in a small, industrial town in the Ural Mountains, where ancestors of hers and been exiled to work in the mining industry during the Soviet era. Realising that in order to progress she would have to move to a big city, she relocated to St Petersburg for her higher education. While there, she took a part-time job as a waiter, and upon concluding her studies, she was offered the role of restaurant & bar manager – a role that she took, setting her firmly on the path of hospitality and, eventually, wine. In 2009, she undertook a sommelier course, and since then she has “been deeply involved in wine selection and service” wherever she has worked. Valeria has undertaken a wide range of sommelier and wine certifications, including the DipWSET, ASI Gold Diploma, Spanish Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Ambassador and the Cava, Madeira and Rioja Educator courses, as well as winning the 2018 Best Female Sommelier of Russia Competition. Leaving Russia first in 2015, and then permanently in 2018 due to a dislike of the country’s political direction, Valeria’s home is now in Saint-Emilion. There, she runs her own export and consulting agency, A la Volée Int., “focusing on Champagne and a curated selection of wines from other European countries”. She is currently a Stage 2 MW Student.