Q & A with Aleesha Hansel
ITV ’ s Aleesha Hansel is a Decanter World Wine Awards judge , winner of the Louis Roederer BAME Bursary , UN Women UK Delegate and Founder of
bonheurliving . com . Somehow , she found time to meet us and talk about our shared passion for wine !
Do you remember the moment you fell in love with wine ? My love affair with wine started long before I realised that ’ s what it was , but I had an ‘ a ha !’ moment while getting ready to go out with a friend . We raided her mum ’ s cupboard and found a bottle of sweet Première Cotes de Bordeaux and just thought , ‘ how could something taste so delicious ?’
What brought you to writing and broadcasting about wine ? During my time working at a wine shop , it was always talking to the customers and sharing the stories about the people behind the bottle that excited me . I knew then that wine communication was the path for me . As for broadcasting , my first career was in television working behind the camera so I ’ ve always been comfortable in that environment . One of the producers of the show read an article of mine and liked my style so asked me on .
The wine industry is very ‘ traditional ’ - what are you doing to change that ? At a very basic level , I think just being me is helping to change that ! I am the first and currently only wine writer of black heritage to have a column in a UK national publication , on top of being relatively young and a woman .
Above and beyond that though , I really want to try to help implement long-lasting change . In my role as a UN Women UK delegate , I recently attended the 66th Commission on the Status of Women , and with the information I took away from that I am working behind the scenes on some exciting projects .
When did you discover English wine ? While working at the wine shop , which was about eight years ago now .
Q & A WITH ALEESHA HANSEL | 39