Joanna Vallejo
WIA Ambassador
Mexico
Joanna Vallejo is 36 year old sommelier from Mexico who describes herself as a Non Uniform Sommelier. Proud Mexican from a Small town called Uruapan Michoacán, where the food culture is really deep and old. With family inheritance of four generations in the avocado business, she believes is the real and natural origin of her passion and understanding with wine.
Founder of Sommelier a la Carta, business dedicated to communicate and create personalized experiences for wine and gourmet brands. She is also a sommelier and member of the council of Mexican Association of Restaurants for 10 years. Youngest member of Mexican Academy of Gastronomy. Co-Founder of Mujeres In Taninos (Wine Women’s Association in México).
Joanna sees Mexico as a country that is making a very good effort to make quality wine. She says that Mexican wines are incredible and they will get even better with time. Even though Mexico is still a small wine producer, it is the magical country with premium quality rare wine.
Joanna grew up in a family dedicated to agriculture, a factor that influenced her decision to study Gastronomy and later specialize in wine-food pairings. She has been always fascinated by the transformation the product undergoes to become a masterpiece of taste and flavour. Communicating and getting the best out of a product is what she is most passionate about. She has travelled to many places to get more wine experience and among the most featured wine tours are Burgundy, Bordeaux, Alsace, Champagne, Rioja, Bilbao, Sicily, Sonoma, Bolivia, Perú and many regions of Mexico.
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Wine Influencer: @sommelieralacarta
Being a co-founder of Wine Women’s Association in Mexico, she remembers the time when there were only 2 female sommeliers in the country. Luckily, the situation has improved since then as many brands are looking for female sommeliers to communicate their wines. Joanna believes that this trend will continue, but still there is a lot of work ahead to make it happen. Joanna believes that one the most rewarding things in life is the ability to make a positive impact.
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Video
Joanna’s Online Activities
Sommelier a la Carta website
Read Joanna’s articles (Spanish)
Social Media:
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WIA AMBASSADOR
From vineyard to glass. Each wine is a unique experience, and it needs an ambassador to share it with the world. A journey that begins with wine and continues with people.
Leveraging relationships and contributing to creating a great wine community. WIA Ambassadors experience and share a deep understanding and excitement of wine. Bringing wines and vineyards to life in the form of great wines, events, courses, interviews, tasting, photos, videos and more.
Making local wineries global & bringing the wine community around the world to enjoy a life of wine, passion & prosperity.