Tania Olevska: “I’m happy to bring sparkling emotions to my clients, to make other people delighted and full of joy”

Hello WTA community, my name is Tania Olevska. I am a wine and food influencer, blogger, and journalist, member of the Association of Sommeliers of Ukraine, Founder of wine and gastronomic tours “Friends Wine Travel”, founder of blind wines tasting project “Kyiv Wine Cup”, and brand ambassador for the restaurant “Hlek – Modern Kyiv Cuisine”.

My professional wine journey started 4 years ago. I was so excited to discover the wine world! First, I finished Goodwine school, then the WIN-WIN course by Oleg Kravchenko, the best sommelier in Ukraine 2011, Course in Sensory analyses at Odesa Institute of Food Technology. 

Over 4 years I’ve tasted many wines, discovered different flavors and aromas, visited local and international wine and food events, and held my own events, wine tastings, and wine tours. I’ve become a judge for Wines and Spirits Awards Ukraine, Wine Guide by Reikartz. As a wine journalist, I wrote articles for my social media and for one of the biggest online platforms “Posteat”. 

As a brand ambassador for the Hlek restaurant, I’ve organized plenty of wine tastings on various topics, dinners with wine and winemakers, and charity events covered by all main Ukrainian media. Last year, the Hlek team and I started a great project – a book about Ukrainian terroirs and food pairing. I do hope to present it to the public in 2023. 

My project “Kyiv Wine Cup” is a combination of wine education and entertainment, it’s unique. It has been successful for almost 1 year.

Traveling is the passion of my life. So, I’ve decided to combine all together – wine and travel. I’m grateful to our wonderful country for having so many talented and hospitable winemakers! That’s how the “Friends Wine Travel” journey started. We visited 30+ Ukrainian wineries, went to Europe, and are going to discover British wineries in 2023. I work up and implement all wine and gastronomic tours by myself with my wonderful partners all over the world. I organize small group tours, private and corporate tours, and wine tastings. I provide consultancy to restaurants on their wine lists and food pairing, to wineries on their launch into the market and tourism services, as well as for their wines launch into Ukrainian and international markets. 

Because of the russian war in Ukraine, I moved to England. Here I’m promoting Ukrainian wines, helping them to enter the UK market. When I come back to Ukraine, I organize various interesting wine events to support our winemakers and local farmers. 

Another interesting topic to discover is British wines, in particular sparkling wines. When I started discovering British wines, I came to the conclusion that they are similar to Ukrainian wines. We are at the same level of development. Local wines are underestimated in the UK, as it was in Ukraine with Ukrainian wines before the war. Most people prefer well-known international wines to local ones. I’d be happy to change it. I’m on my way.

I do believe that after the end of the war, we’ll have a lot of tourists. Our wines and products will be highly estimated and in demand. I’m sure our manufacturers will be ready with their best products to show.

My motto is: I’m happy to bring sparkling emotions to my clients, to make other people delighted and full of joy. There is nothing more exciting than to see happy smiles and eyes after my events because of new knowledge, good company, tasty journey, and unforgettable memories.

Friends Wine Travel, Tania Olevska`s agency, became the winner of the WTA 2022-2023 in the Travel Operator of the Year category.