WOW 2017: Noi Cecilia Oldne – (Ex-Sula) Sommelier and Consultant

What many people don't know about our very own "wine celebrity" Cecilia Oldne is that she was first a public face as a Swedish top level gymnast and also a national champion dancer, or that in 2007 she was in-charge of the wines being served at The Nobel Banquet as a Sommelier - a very prestigious role in the world of Sommeliers. Over the years she has taken on multiple assignments as a wine judge and also written numerous articles on wine.

She has been in India for the last 10 years, working for Sula as the Vice President and Global Brand Ambassador in her last position. Moving to India was not alien to Cecilia. She comes from a family who has travelled the world - her first name is actually Noi which is Thai. Her grandfather Axel was one of the pillars in the set up of Thai Airways in the late 1950’s. He set up and headed Thai Airways' flight operations and also trained the pilots for 25 years. Her grandfather's cousin is Buzz Aldrin - the second man on the moon!

Cecilia was born in Karlstad and she studied International Business and Marketing in Sweden and England. Her first introduction to wines was by her father Christer who is a wine connoisseur and a doctor with whom she visited wine Chateaux in Europe before she could even walk. When offered a job in a wine company in Stockholm, she learnt that she needed to know as much as the client did, if not more about wine in order to sell well. That’s when she started her wine and spirits studies and took an exam as a Sommelier.

Cecilia speaks several languages - Swedish, English and French and is taking Hindi lessons these days.

Before Cecilia joined Sula she was running her own company DolceVino with an office in Stockholm. Her specialisation was 'New World' wines. During one wine exhibition ‘Cape Wine’ in Cape Town she met Rajeev Samant - the CEO and Founder of Sula Vineyards. He offered her a job and she joined Sula in 2007.

Her first assignment with the company was to look after Sula's international business. To grow Sula Selections, the imported wine and spirits portfolio, and to increase Sula's presence around the world. Sula is today exported to over 30 countries, is one of India's leading wine and spirits importers and is a company with 65% domestic market share, on track to sell 1 million cases this year. Cecilia took on multiple assignments and gradually became the face of Sula. But she stepped down on 30 November, 2017. Just before moving on she launched Kādu in Bangalore - wines made in Karnataka for Karnataka. Proceeds from every bottle of wine sold goes towards protecting the tiger.

As was pointed out by delWine, she has moved on to become a consultant. We shall see more of her in the field of wines and spirits. But additionally she plans to exploit her expertise in allied areas like food and beverage, wellness, hospitality and business with purpose. She will freelance and continue to work only with brands, companies and individuals that resonate with her.

She informs us, "I am stepping down from my current role at Sula but rest assured this is not the last you will see of me. I have spent a decade advocating Sula and the Indian wine industry. I have been dedicated to encouraging Indian wine consumption internationally and also the awareness, consumption, quality and availability of wines here at home in India. As much as it is a challenge to work in one of the most complicated markets to operate and succeed in - particularly when it comes to alcobev - I love it. The time has come for me to conquer new challenges." We believe her.

India has become Cecilia's home and Mumbai will continue being her base. She is honoured to remain on the list of WOW for the third successive time. She says, "I take great pride in representing India, to be making a difference in the wine industry in Asia and to be a role model for other women of wine". Welcome Cecilia again to the Top WOW India 2017.

Subhash Arora

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