Our Regional Ambassadors
Our Regional Ambassadors are prominent advocates for old vine heritage and wines. They have a long-standing interest in raising the profile and value of old vine heritage. They include viticulturists, oenologists, wine writers, Masters of Wine and marketers that specialise and/or are based in a particular region of the wine world.
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Ana Sofia Oliveira
Portugal
Ana Sofia Oliveira has been working in wine marketing and communication since 2004, when she moved from Paris to Lisbon. Her studies in Intercultural Communication gave her the skills to work with different cultures and professional environments, which have proved very useful throughout her career. -
Toby Spiers
Australia
Toby Spiers has been in the wine industry in the UK since 2005, with experience covering winemaking, sales, marketing and as a sommelier. Toby began his career by delving into grape growing and winemaking, spending three years obtaining a BSc. (Hons) Viticulture & Oenology from Plumpton College whilst broadening his knowledge of the trade as a sommelier at the Hotel du Vin, Brighton.
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Magdalena Kaiser
Canada
Magdalena is a wine marketing and PR expert based in NIagara’s wine country. She’s worked in wine, tourism and culinary communications for over 40 years and is a candidate in the Masters of Wine program. She also has a Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism from the GSTC. -
Elizabeth Hecker
Catalunya & USA
Elizabeth is the author of Ethos Priorat, she is a photographer and designer. She divides her time between Spain and her native USA. She has long held a curiosity about the relationship of people and their vines and discovered her affinity for the virtues of old vines in the Priorat which is a subject that features in abundance in her debut book. -
Anna Harris-Noble
Spain
Anna has been working in the wine industry in Spain and the UK for almost 20 years, including a period heading up the UK Wines from Rioja account. She has carried out translation and marketing projects for some of Spain’s most important wine companies. She is a fluent Spanish speaker and WSET-certified educator. -
Amanda Barnes
South America
Amanda has been living amongst the wine regions of South America since 2009 and is author of The South America Wine Guide as well as contributing regularly to Decanter among other wine and travel publications. She is an advocate for the old Criolla vines and wine regions of Latin America and won the Geoffrey Roberts Award in 2019 for her work there. -
Lilla O'Connor
Carpathian Region
Lilla has been instrumental in re-establishing the presence of quality Hungarian wines in the UK and she is an advocate for the importance of old vine heritage in Hungary and other countries in the Carpathian region. -
Rosa Kruger
South Africa
Rosa is the Founder & Chairperson of The Old Vine Project in South Africa
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Jane Anson
France
Jane Anson has lived in Bordeaux since 2003 and is author of Inside Bordeaux (BB&R Publishing 2020, called a 'category buster' by Wine Anorak and 'the Bordeaux bible' by Le Figaro), Wine Revolution (Quarto 2017) -
Louise Hurren
France
Louise Hurren is a wine communicator based in the south of France, where she has lived since 2002. She began her career in marketing communications in Paris, before moving back to London to work in advertising and PR roles. -
Michele Shah
Italy
Michèle Shah has championed and promoted Italian wines for more than 30 years. -
Yiannis Karakasis
Greece
Yiannis Karakasis MW is a Master of Wine based in Athens, Greece. He writes, consults and educates on wine. -
Umay Çeviker
Turkey
Umay is a tenacious advocate for Turkey’s defiantly ancient wine culture. In 2015 he won the Geoffrey Roberts Award.
What they do
Regional Ambassadors (RAs) play a guiding role in the organisation and actively promote Old Vine Conference (OVC) events, causes and projects. They identify key old vine projects and local old vine heroes that deserve highlighting and assistance. They create content to educate the global audience about old vines and share content generated by colleagues with their network of trade, media and wine connoisseurs. OVC RAs liaise with the Conference Content Committee on potential speakers and themes for conferences. They suggest old vine wines for inclusion in tastings. They help increase the base of members and sponsors. They network with each other. They advocate on behalf of Old Vines. Some OVC RAs are more involved than others, and that’s ok!
Who are they
Our Regional Ambassadors are prominent advocates for old vine heritage and wines. They have a long-standing interest in raising the profile and value of old vine heritage. They include viticulturists, oenologists, wine writers, Masters of Wine and marketers that specialise and/or are based in a particular region of the wine world. OVC Regional Ambassadors are volunteers that have a genuine engagement with our aims and are well-connected and experienced in the wine industry with good and credible knowledge of viti, vini and old vines in their area. OVC RAs know their region well, and have the respect and trust of the producers and other stakeholders there.