Informative and fun, Michaela Sanson’s wine tasting classes lead those of all abilities on a journey through the history of wine, grape varieties and wine regions while looking, smelling and tasting examples of traditional, natural, organic and biodynamic wines. Her conversational style has proved as popular for private house parties as it has for corporate gatherings.
Teaching her groups to identify and question old versus new world styles, traditional versus modern, cheap versus expensive, Michaela’s mission is to give her pupils the confidence to trust their taste buds and the tools to understand how to read a wine label and make an informed purchase.
Originally from Stuttgart, Michaela moved to London in 1999 to do her Master in Painting at The Slade School. To finance her studies in art she worked as Front of House at the Michelin-starred restaurant Pied a Terre and found her passion for wine. She tasted her way through the restaurant’s 600+ wine list to learn about grape varieties, regions, microclimates and blends in a magnitude of wine styles and price brackets.
Taking her knowledge about the art of wine making, she later worked for Mark Hix before becoming Sommelière at the Michelin-starred restaurant Hakkasan, then Head Sommelière and wine buyer for the Michelin-starred Club Gascon. By 2008 Michaela was working as an independent wine professional specialising in wine training for high-end restaurants and hotels and organising wine tastings for corporate and private clients.
Today she leads dynamic wine classes for an assortment of groups, tailoring her classes to suit the client and setting.