Romanian born, Julia had passed and obtained a science and bilingual English baccalaureate, before coming to France for University studies in 2002. After her degree and educational masters (CAPES) in Mathematics, she got fond of gastronomy, wine and sommelier art. She was soon seduced by the field and keen on getting further knowledge, she went back to school to entitle her experience. After a Sensory Analysis course at the Wine University in Suze-la-Rousse, she also got her Sommelier diploma in Lyon, at François Rabelais Hospitality School. Then came a Higher National Diploma in Wine, spirits and beverages’ Trade and Marketing, which she passed after 2 years’ studies at ICOP Aubagne while working as junior sales assistant in Château de Rouët, or as sommelier in Nice for Chef Keisuke Matsushima and wine bar “La Cave de l’Origine”. Other experiences followed soon, including the honor of working for Monsieur Alain Ducasse at the Trattoria Monaco and seasonal working at the Monte-Carlo Sporting. Julia also took up the WSET path, and her Level 3 in Wines was soon followed by the Level 4 Diploma in Wines with “Distinction” . After having been awarded the “Gérard Basset Memorial Prize” for a top score student with a sommelier background in the Unit 3 examination, Julia has recently received the International Wine and Spirit Competition Trophy Awarded by the WSET to the student from the EMEA who achieved the highest overall mark in the Level 4 Diploma in wines . Julia Is now an S2 candidate to the program of The Institute fo masters of Wine . Among Julia´s certifications one can name the title of WSET Nominated Educator for Level 1&2, but also the Sake Sommelier Certificate recognized by the Saké Sommelier association. Regarding sake, she also holds a WSET level 1 in this field and has been a judge for the Kura master competition since its beginning in 2017. Julia is also a Certified Port Educator of the IVDP (The Institute of Wien of Douro and Port). What she likes most is sharing experience and knowledge, hence Julia has come back to teaching since 2013: professional training, conferences, masterclasses, consulting for many venues. Julia is a competitor, defeating the limits by the means of the sommelier competitions. Here are some of her latest results: Winner of the Central European Championship 2012, 3rd Best Sommelier of Europe, ranking 5th in the Best Sommelier of the World 2013, 3rd Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa 2017, ASI Diploma 2017 with Gold Distinction, Winner of the Master of Port 2017, Best Sommelier of Romania 2018, First runner-up of the Balkan Sommelier Challenge 2018, Winner of the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge France 2018, 7th Best Sommelier in the World 2019. In 2020 she was the absolute winner of the Web Wine Writing competition of Hungarian Wine and also the winner of the “Cabernet Franc” Category in English. She was a finalist of The MOF 2022 competition in France and eventually won the World Championship of Blind Tasting RVF in 2023 with the Romanian team.
