A good story is always a short story, except this one!
This is me, Antonin Dubuis!
It all started when I fell into the world of wine after almost 10 years working in the hospitality industry, it was a Revelation to me!
Genuine interest and curiosity quickly turn into an insatiable thirst for knowledge and hard work.
In 2011, my career accelerated when I moved back to London to take my 1st sommelier position.
I didn’t know yet that this was just the beginning of a fantastic journey.
Six years later, I achieved the famous “Advance Sommelier” certificate awarded by “The Court of Master Sommelier” UK.
Six years entirely dedicated to work and concentration, during which I worked in some of the most renowned restaurants in London:
✔ Maze by Gordon Ramsay *
✔ The Savoy Grill
✔ Yauatcha (Hakkasan Group) *
✔ The greenhouse **
✔ Clos Maggiore
(Restaurant awards at the time of employment)
The Greenhouse and Clos Maggiore particularly have played a major role in my professional experience as I was able to use all the opportunities from my working environment to study, both establishments having some of the most extensive wine lists in the UK: 3600 and 2800 bins respectively.
It was a big turning point in my sommelier journey: working with such prestigious wine lists will give me access to a broader vision of the wine industry and wine in general.
Over the years, I have learned so many beautiful things about wine, its service, its food & wine pairings and met so many wonderful, passionate and fascinating people!
After eight years in the UK, I head to Asia for a two-year contract with the Blacksheep Group: I was in charge of the wine program for 5 out of 21 restaurants. Another culture, another concept, a new challenge!
But something else, much more personal and which has been close to my heart for a long time, is gradually emerging: how to transmit and share my knowledge?
From this reflection, a « Wine training program » is born, which I have specially created to help my team of sommeliers to get a wine certification.
After six months of training, four junior members of the team got their “Certified Sommelier” certificate awarded by The Court of Master Sommelier UK
Since then, I came back to Europe, to Oslo, and my curious, enthusiastic and extremely determined temperament led me and my life-long friend Aurelie to give life to our new project « The Grape Odyssey« , in order to share our knowledge of the world of wine with a wider audience by making it accessible.
Contact me: +47 462 47 397