What was your first experience of learning about wine really like?
It wasn't easy at all.
I remember my first WSET class in Hanoi. We started discussing what we could smell and taste in our glasses, and I honestly didn't understand half of what the others were talking about.
I was so disappointed that I even wondered whether starting the course had been a mistake.
Over time, I realised that recognising aromas is something you can train. It wasn't about knowing the right answer before tasting. I needed to learn to pay attention to what I was actually experiencing.
And that's something I still find fascinating about wine. You can read about a place, its soil, its climate and the person who makes the wine. Then you open a bottle and try to find traces of everything you've learned.
There's a little bit of magic in that moment. I sometimes feel like an archaeologist, looking for clues in a glass.
Which wine has surprised you the most?
There have been quite a few!
First, Gewürztraminer. Then Sauvignon Blanc, particularly Sancerre. And later Riesling, with that unmistakable petrol aroma.
I remember being amazed that wine could smell like that.
I think that's why I keep exploring. Every time I discover a new aroma or a new style, I realise how much I still don't know.
And I actually enjoy that feeling.
Why did you decide to create WINE, LIVED?
I've always loved creating things from scratch. It could be a factory, a new product or a brand. I enjoy bringing together creative ideas, design, economics and strategy.
But wine interests me in a different way, too.
There's so much content about what we're supposed to find in a glass: particular aromas, tannin levels, acidity, all the technical details.
I'm more interested in what happens beyond the tasting notes.
What unexpected thought came to you while drinking that wine? Was it really the wine that brought it to mind, or the place you were sitting, the people around you, the atmosphere?
Those are the conversations I want to have through WINE, LIVED.
I'm also discovering how difficult it can be to enter the wine industry professionally. Everyone talks about expertise, but what exactly does that mean? A huge tasting library? Years in restaurants? Reading hundreds of books?
I'm still trying to understand where all those different kinds of knowledge meet.
Perhaps that's another reason I started the magazine. I don't want to wait until I know everything before I begin asking interesting questions.