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She speaks five languages and really knows almost everything about viticulture: Athens-born wine expert Angeliki Tsioli studied agricultural science in Thessaloniki, specialised in wine and viticulture with a Master's degree in Montpellier, France, worked in Cyprus and then for six years in the viticulture commission of the OIV, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. For this, she acquired the highest WSET qualification 4, the "Diploma in Wines". "The OIV is considered the UN of viticulture, which was the best thing that could have happened to me in my professional career," she recalls. She has been living in Germany since 2014 - and there is a private reason for that. Because a year before, she and Wein-Plus founder Utz Graafmann celebrated their wedding, soon after which son Tino was born.

Angeliki Tsioli

At Wein-Plus she currently produces the wine calendar and maintains communication with the Wein-Plus staff and the associations outside Germany. She is also working to correct the image of Greek wine, which is often underestimated, and is involved in new collaborations.

When Angeliki selects a wine, it has to fulfil an aspect for her that also describes her own aspirations for the work. She formulates it succinctly in English: "attention to detail". Precise, balanced, well-balanced and complex - that is an interesting wine for her, no matter what price it comes at. Besides work, she particularly likes cooking and eating, good films, swimming and Zumba. In addition, she has been very interested in non-alcoholic drinks for some time. However, these should be able to keep up with good wine in terms of quality and complexity. "Attention to detail" also plays the decisive role for her.

You grew up with wine in Greece. What was the moment when you knew that wine would be the subject of your profession?

In Greece, my contact with good wine was minimal. My father always drank wine on the verge of vinegar and mixed it with Coca Cola because otherwise it would have been undrinkable. I even said to him, "I will never drink wine, it doesn't taste good to me!" Finally, I studied agronomy in Thessaloniki, and there was one subject there that interested me: Viticulture. My motivation for studying was to be able to show my father that there are much better wines in this world than the ones he had been drinking. Unfortunately, I couldn't let him taste them - during my studies he died of heart failure. But since I also love learning languages, the combination of viticulture and the French language drew me to Montpellier, where I got to know the world of good wines intensively during my Master's degree. That's how it all started.

You passed the WSET diploma. Which part of the training did you find the hardest and which the easiest?

I underestimated the demands and the level of the WSET diploma. I had already obtained a few degrees before and with this experience I assumed that it would be uncomplicated for me. And it was quite easy in parts, especially the technical side of viticulture and oenology. I was already advanced in that through my studies. But I found the commercial aspects the most difficult. We had to be able to name the most diverse winegrowers from all over the world as exemplary examples for each region. We also had to know the export markets for each wine - who sells what to where. All this was new to me; I really learned a lot. But the best thing for me was the method I developed for myself to be up-to-date in the wine industry: To this day, I read six or seven newsletters a day, including the one from Wein-Plus. That way I know what's happening in the wine industry at all times. Wine journalism has something appealing to me...

You write that "attention to detail" is particularly important to you in your work. Which wine meets this high standard best for you at the moment?

It is difficult for me to find an answer here... For me, wines that meet the high standard of "attention to detail" are balanced and very finely balanced. And there are a lot of them today in all quality levels and styles all over the world!

How do you choose a wine?

When I want to order a glass of wine in a restaurant or wine bar with a good wine list, I often choose the "blind" version. The sommelier just pours me a glass and I start narrowing down, ranking and sometimes guessing. With blind tasting, I can consciously look at all the important details. It is an attempt to answer the question, "What is this?" For me, this process has a lot to do with respect for the wine and for the winemaker. And that is exactly my principle!

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