Essi Avellan (born 1975) is a Finnish

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...

expert, wine writer and wine competition judge. In 2006, she became the first Finn to be awarded the qualification Master of Wine.

Biography

Avellan was born in 1975. She holds a Master of Science degree in Business Administration. While studying for the degree, she became interested in wine working at a Finnish owned château in Bordeaux. She was the editor of FINE Champagne magazine 2007-2019, releasing the first edition in March 2007. Since 2013, she has updated the '' Christie's World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine'' with

Tom Stevenson Tom Stevenson (born 1951) is a British wine writer and critic. Stevenson is regarded as an expert on Champagne and Alsace wine. He has written 23 books. Career Stevenson began writing for Decanter magazine in 1981, and during the mid-1980s ...

. In his review of the 2019 edition, author

Jamie Goode Jamie Goode is a British author with a PhD in plant biology, and a wine columnist of '' The Sunday Express''. Goode also contributes to wine publications such as ''Harpers'', '' The World of Fine Wine'', ''Decanter'', ''GrapesTALK'' and '' Sommelie ...

described Avellan's palate as "acclaimed," having a preference for purity and wine produced in an anaerobic environment. He notes she penalises wines with signs of

oxidisation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

or "quirks." Stevenson has described her as "the most naturally gifted Champagne taster I have seen." As of 2015 she had taught a popular wine tasting course in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

for eight years. Avellan has worked as a judge in the Decanter World Wine Awards, and since 2014 has been one of three judges in the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships.

Accolades

* 2011: Alumnus of the year for the

Turku School of Economics Turku School of Economics ( Finnish ''Turun kauppakorkeakoulu'') is a unit of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 1 ...

* 2018: Knight rank in

Order of Agricultural Merit The Order of Agricultural Merit () is an order of merit bestowed by the France, French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to the Legion of Honour within the Frenc ...

References

Finnish journalists Wine writers 1970s births Living people Year of birth uncertain {{improve categories, date=August 2024 Masters of Wine

Biography

Accolades

See also

References