Wine Is a Universal Language; Introducing Juanita Diusabá
“Tell me the story of Juanita”
“Wow, well, Juanita has been everywhere.” She laughed.
Juanita tells her story, it is one of perseverance, following your intuition, and overcoming challenges. At the root of it all is her drive to experience the world. Her medium of choice? Wine.
Through wine, Juanita is able to connect deeply with the world around her and feel at home – something she admittedly struggles with. Travelling, satisfying her endless curiosity – It is something she cannot live without, but it comes at a price. Unable to be home with her family, it often feels as if part of her is missing in every place that she goes. When you allow yourself to fall in love with the world around you, you will feel wholly present and large, but understand that you cannot be all the versions of yourself at once.
“Everything comes back to my father. He was always travelling and writing books. He wasn’t in the best position to bring us to other countries, but he always came back with a bottle of wine that I wasn’t allowed to drink. I was always very curious, sniffing the wines. It was sentimental for me to see where the wines were coming from. My parents are both very open-minded and pushed me to travel.”
Tasting the world
Born in Bogotá Colombia, Juanita was inspired by wine at a young age – it was her window to the world, a world her parents encouraged her to experience as soon as she turned 18. Without knowing English or Swedish, they sent Juanita to Sweden where she explored Europe and learned the world through the language of wine.“It was very exciting because how many people have the opportunity to do that in my country? I traveled to Spain, Denmark, Germany, and Italy. Wine and food were the connection to help me get to know a place.”
Back in Colombia, she studied tourism and then moved to Chile, always searching for opportunities to attain a better lifestyle.
In Chile, Juanita studied art and noticed that artists were frequently talking about and drinking wine. “Wine always reminds me how diverse the world is and how we can congregate together.”
New York City & London
Still unable to speak English but eager for the next adventure, Juanita acquired a visa and moved to New York City where she started working in the restaurant industry. She spent five years in the city unashamedly asking for opportunities, turning knobs and entering the doors that opened for her. And learning English on the way.
“I worked as a barista. I worked as a host. I worked as a waitress. One day I saw the chefs and was like ‘okay, I really want to learn how to do that.’”
The chef placed her in the kitchen and she got to work learning how to make pastries.
Fast forward four years, Juanita was a pastry chef working at The Clocktower.
The chef asked her to come to London where he was opening a Michelin star restaurant. Unable to turn down the opportunity, Juanita left the United States and the promise of her impending green card behind.
“When I was cooking, I always looked at the sommelier coming and serving the wines and pairing my desserts with their wines. I was so amazed at how much knowledge the sommelier had. It was a connection…they were in the same restaurant, same place, but they were always talking about other countries and other places.”
Back to America
Juanita started WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) courses and found everything to be very difficult. English was her third language, and even then, she learned English in New York rather than the U.K. “It was so different… it’s a little bit stricter” and “they are very serious regarding the wine and history behind it.”
The real struggle came after she completed her WSET 3 and wanted to get her diploma.
“I was crazy…I knew it wasn’t easy for me and I wasn’t prepared for it. I was very frustrated because I thought I had the skills to write about wine in English, but it’s a technical language…How can I express myself talking about fermentations? What can I do?”
Not one to back down from a challenge, Juanita called some winemakers in Walla Walla – friends that she had made during a tasting. They told her to come over, that they would give her a job at their winery in Washington State.
“I called the embassy of the United States for a priority appointment. ‘What is your priority?’ I was like, ‘I am following my passion. I want to study winemaking in Washington state. I want to come back to America.’ I got a stamp. I got the visa and I went to Walla Walla.”
Check back Monday 5/20 for part 2 of Juanita’s winemaking journey.
Editor
Natalie is co-founder and editor of The Grapevine Magazine where she helps winemakers big and small tell their stories. She lives in Manhattan, New York City.
