By Waridi Ajambo
Nairobi, Kenya: Melissa Mwende is a Kenyan sommelier and wine educator, the founder of Little Wine basket also freelances as a wine consultant who is based in Kenya’s Laikipia County.
Melissa worked as a wine educator at De Vries Africa Ventures while managing Little Wine Basket during the pandemic.
“I was lucky because I had another source of income and I worked from home.”She says.
The hospitality industry was in limbo and a lot of industry professionals had to adapt to those changes. Melissa took this opportunity to rethink her strategies and shifted to the digital space to accommodate the lockdown restrictions. She had access to a diverse audience through zoom tastings and online sales.
“My social media pages and brand grew exponentially. I was able to collaborate with sommeliers from all over the world and local sommeliers.”
As the lockdown restrictions reduced she went back to hosting wine-tasting events and the virtual events took a back seat. However, she continues to engage with her diverse audience on her social media platforms. She credits the online relationships she made during that pandemic for the various opportunities she has gotten access to as the world opened up.
“It took me participating in the 2022 Wine Olympics to show that my career is not just about drinking wine. For the first time, an all-five-female team represented Kenya in a Wine Olympics which attracted 31 countries, most with a long history of grape-growing, and vineyards,” explained Melissa.
For the past eight years, her unconventional career has seen people refer to her as just an advocate for drinking but there is more to her story. She is one of two sommeliers who provide The Wine & Spirit Education Trust program in Kenya and East Africa.
It is recognized globally for professionals and enthusiasts in the wines and spirits sector. She believes in educating herself and educating others in the world of wine. Melissa continues to work towards establishing herself as a wine educator in the Kenyan and global markets.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Waridi Ajambo and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
