Italy-born wine merchant talks about the 1,000-plus grape varieties grown in Italy, a legendary wine taster who rarely if ever gets it wrong and why after 20 years here she has no plans to leave Thailand Born: Trieste, Italy Age: 49 Family: In Thailand, husband, three cats and two dogs; various people in Italy. Where do you live in Bangkok? Sukhumvit Soi 4 Education: Italian literature at university, then attended a management course about food and wine production organized by the Italian Government in 1990 aimed exploiting the potential of tourism gastronomy in north east Italy. Also, AIS Sommelier and AIBES Bartender. First job: Lifeguard |
I cancelled a trip to Madagascar; Thailand was the replacement.
Where do you work?
I’ve worked for Texica since 2014 and for Premium Food since 2019. They’re sister companies that provide a great selection of Italian wine (Texica) and an endless international selection of fine ingredients (Premium Food). Hotels and restaurants account for about 90% of our wine sales. Of those, 70% are red wines and 30% white.
Tell us more about Texica:
Texica was established in 2010 for the purpose of importing and distributing Italian wines and also to promote Italian culture through cuisine, music and tourism. We have the largest Italian wine portfolio in Thailand, representing 34 mostly family-owned Italian wineries and 220 different wines using local grape varieties. There are more than 1,000 different grape varieties in Italy, and we cover about 100 of them – some well-known, some less so.
Our key business partners include Ferrari, Bottega, Marchesi di Barolo, Castello di Bossi, Renieri, Li Veli, Cordero di Montezomolo and others.