Former TV presenter and award-winning journalist Senay Ozdemir entered the wine business in 2013 when she founded House of Red & White to import high-end brands from her native Turkey. While bringing these exceptional wines to the Benelux region, she connected with remarkable women in the wine industry and recognized a significant lack of support and public acknowledgment for their contributions.

Senay shared her insights into the world of female winemakers during an inspiring TED talk in Amsterdam. In 2019, she organized the inaugural Women in Wine Expo (WIWE) to create a unique platform for women experts to network and connect. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the WIWE took place in 2022 at the magnificent Chateau Buera in Kakheti, Georgia, a renowned wine region. The third WIWE was held in London and Kent, bringing together women in wine from various regions. This year, in partnership with leading port producer Taylor's Port, the WIWE organized one of the most successful wine events in Porto.

Senay's impact on the wine industry extends beyond organizing and moderating events; she is also a respected judge in several prestigious wine competitions. She has moderated hundreds of conferences, including the inaugural Wonder Women of Wine event in Austin, where her wine journey began while she was a journalism professor at the University of Texas. In 2019, she served as one of the associate judges for 5StarWines at Vinitaly in Verona, and in 2021, she joined the jury for the Turkish Wine Challenge in Istanbul. Most recently, in July 2023, she judged wines at the WineLovers Wine Awards in Budapest, the most influential wine competition in Central and Eastern Europe. Currently, Senay is a WSET Level 3 Candidate, further solidifying her commitment to the wine industry.

Nadia joined the Women in Wine Expo team alongside Senay as Co-Organiser of Women in Wine Expo UK 2023. Over the years Nadia’s professional career path in events management, PR, tourism and education led her to experience her current love and passion for wine. To satisfy her curiosity, Nadia embarked on a wine education journey studying with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust up to the level 3 certification.

On her wine journey Nadia put her wine knowledge into practice by writing wine blogs, carved a further PR experience within the wine industry as well as getting involved in projects with the People’s Choice Drinks Awards for which she also judged on the wine and spirits panels.

More recently Nadia came full circle setting up Drinks We Love, a consultancy promoting boutique wine estates and wineries through PR and events activities. On her adventure Nadia met Senay with whom she shared similar values and work ethics in business but more particularly as women in the wine business. From there they joined forces and created the successful Women in Wine Expo in the UK in 2023 and Porto 2024.

Karin Rockstad is a wine educator and co-owner of Vine Lab Wine & Spirits Academy in Minnesota, USA, where she teaches WSET and Wine Scholar Guild classes to wine professionals and serious enthusiasts. She is also a freelance translator/editor specializing in wine, helping wineries worldwide showcase their content in English. As a devotee of both wine and words, she helps students and colleagues with correct pronunciation of wine terms and encourages everyone to learn foreign languages. She splits her time between the US and Spain.

This year, Karin attended the Women in Wine Expo for the third time. She believes this is a unique event that only gets better every year. The diversity of wine professionals that attend enable her to learn more about the wine industries of many countries than from any website or book, and especially that of the host country (Republic of Georgia, 2022; UK, 2023 and Portugal, 2024). The women’s energy and eagerness to share are an incredible source of inspiration and that’s what keeps Karin coming back to the WIWE again and again.

Joanna Pudo is a wine business strategist and coach, turning her wine dreams into reality. With a decade of experience in wine and spirits, she specializes in marketing, sales, PR, journalism, and enotourism. Formerly having managed ENOEXPO (the International Wine Trade Fairs in Cracow), she now runs her own business, SmartVino.

Joanna's passion lies in teaching effective wine marketing and crafting standout strategies for brands in the bustling wine market. Her courage, creativity, and market expertise generate buzz around brands, with a focus on the Central European market, particularly in Poland. Joanna: "I want to support women in the wine industry, encourage them to follow their dreams boldly. Balancing motherhood and a career in wine, I aim to show that creating a supportive space is possible, allowing women to thrive in both aspects of life."

Jodie has been a graphic designer specifically for the wine industry for over 16 years and has had the privilege to work with some incredible people and brands including Friexenet, John Hegarty, Lisa Mcguigan and Jamie Oliver. She started her design career in London, working for a creative agency that specialised in wine and spirits design.

When she had her daughter she moved to Oxfordshire where she joined a wine importer and ran the in-house design studio as Creative Director. Today she runs her own design studio on the edge of the Cotswolds. A farmers daughter, she is passionate about the environment and is finding the recent growth of UK wineries and organic practice really exciting!

Everything she does is carefully considered and expertly crafted, whilst she does spend a lot of her day sat at a screen, she is a big fan of her trusty pencil and start all projects with sketches on good old fashioned paper! She illustrates a large proportion of her labels herself and has a background in typography and calligraphy which lends itself naturally to beautiful, bespoke branding. She has won awards for her work, including a Harpers Design Award for Champagne and a Drinks Business Award for new formats.

Nelly Ward, a former banker, decided to pursue her passion for wine and transitioned into the wine industry. She holds a prestigious international WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits and is a Certified WSET Educator. She has a wealth of experience across various sectors of the wine industry, including working for a top wine shop in London, a boutique importer introducing new producers from around the world to the UK market for both on-trade and off-trade, and managing private client accounts for a fine wine company. 

Nelly went on to establish her own business, specialising in organising private and corporate wine tastings through www.nellyward.com, with a commitment to demystifying wine and making it enjoyable for all. Her extensive travels to various wine regions worldwide have inspired her to design bespoke itineraries for wine travel. She also shares her expertise through a wine and travel blog. Nelly is a proud member of the Women in Wine Expo team since 2023, contributing to various organizational aspects alongside Senay to ensure the best experience for attendees.

Csaba Bogadi is a Hungarian-born filmmaker/artist who has lived and worked in the Netherlands for more than a decade. In addition to his freelance video work for his own movie production company, Lonely Film, he works on various cultural events and as a Supervisor at Museum Voorlinden.

Csaba documented the previous editions of the Women in Wine Expo (yes, all of them!), and he couldn't have been more excited when he heard the next WIWE would be held in his homeland, Hungary. He looks forward to seeing old and new faces again, this time in Tokaj.