Ana-Emilia is the Wine Buyer for Oddbins Wine Merchants. She has an innovative approach to buying, looking to explore the less familiar categories whilst challenging the classic regions for value and point of interest for the engaged Oddbins customer. Ana-Emilia came to London from her native Romania to study an MBA degree, which was completed with a wine project. It was during this project that she caught the wine bug as it involved her importing a pallet of Romanian wine and selling it singlehandedly by knocking at the trade?s door. While studying for her degree she worked in various roles in different wine agencies in London, including Liberty Wines. She joined Oddbins through the Trainee Management programme, having managed a number of branches, including a flagship branch. She joined the buying department as a Trainee Buyer rising up to her current role where she has been responsible for reshaping and redefining the Oddbins wine range. Alongside her current job she is one of the judges at Decanter and International Wine Challenge, and this year she was part of the international Judging panel for Wines of Portugal.

Primary area(s) of work: Trade

Industry sector(s): Buying, Off trade, Wine judge

Wine styles: Champagne, Fortified wines, Natural, Orange wines, Sparkling wine, Still wines

Wine region expertise: Australia, Austria, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Eastern Europe, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Languedoc, Moldova, New Zealand, Portugal, Rioja, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Australia, Spain, Western Balkans

Market expertise: Africa, Australia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Eastern Europe, Europe, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, New Zealand, North America, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South America, United Kingdom

Specialisms: Branding, Distribution, Identifying and meeting consumer demand, Importation, Independent retail, Routes to market, Supplier/customer relationships, Supermarket and multiple retail, Wine labels, Wine judging