Philippine Sommelier Champion Ian Santos Embodies the Quintessential Elements of Wines

Ian Santos’ love for wine and keen interest in exploring its diverse flavors, rich heritage, immense territories, lucrative industry and timeless art, compelled him to pursue a career as a sommelier, eventually marking him 2019 Philippine Sommelier Champion.

Through his persistent studies of wines in college, Ian found himself imagining what it would be like to explore the different regions and different countries that produce wine, like the vineyards in France and Napa Valley in the United States. After college, he set forth to bring this mental exploration to reality, moving to the US in 2013 to fulfill his wine certification at Napa Valley Wine Academy and later his Court of Master Sommelier certification.

Four years later, Ian returned to the Philippines with an immense sense of accomplishment drawing into him countless opportunities to pursue his new beloved profession. He began working for a wine distributor, found employment in a hotel as a food and wine expert, became a wine consultant for several restaurants and is now going freelance, holding wine training and seminars, and elevating the wine programs of a handful of wine bars, restaurants and hotels.

Like fine wine, Ian Santos also embodies wine’s intricate applications, integral qualities and quintessential elements, from knowing to harnessing that unique element of a reigning champion sommelier in his own right, as reflected in the interview transcript below.

What was in your mind when you decided that you would go freelance?

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