Seduced by the vines – when passion becomes a career
“A passion for wine was passed down to me with my mother’s milk,” laughs Suvi Sinivirta, Sales Director at Norex. In the company of parents who are passionate about wine and food, she has been touring European wineries since she was a little girl.
Having grown into a wine enthusiast following in her parents’ footsteps, Suvi did not originally seek work in the industry. “I have a Master’s degree in Education. However, after graduating, I didn’t immediately find a job that matched my education. I thought about what else I was good at and realized that I at least knew something about wine, so I decided to apply for jobs in that field. It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but the industry swept me away,” she smiles.
Daddy’s girl
“I share a passion for wine with my father; it connects us strongly. It’s actually surprising how similar our palates are. We have often tasted the same wines and, without discussing it, written down identical notes. Many great lunch and dinner moments have been shared within the family,” Suvi recalls warmly.
When both food and wine are close to your heart, which one takes the lead at the dinner table—food or wine? “It varies,” Suvi laughs. “Both ways work. If you have wonderful ingredients at hand, you look for a suitable wine for them. If, on the other hand, a certain wine inspires you at that moment, you start planning the menu based on the drink.”
Suvi’s family has a French approach to Christmas: there are plenty of seafood, oysters, lobster, and from the Finnish Christmas table, cured fish and roe. “The Christmas drinks are quite champagne-focused. Of course, we also open a good red Burgundy to be served with the Christmas main course, reindeer, but otherwise, we stick with high-quality bubbles.”
When choosing festive drinks, sustainability and environmental friendliness are also important to Suvi. “The higher the quality of wine you buy, the more certain you can be that the drink comes from a responsible producer. When wine is made with centuries of tradition, there is an appreciation for environmental and social responsibility.”
Christmas drinks: rules are made to be broken
In Suvi’s opinion, there is no absolute rule for pairing Christmas food and drink that should be followed slavishly. “For example, fish and white wine. There are lovely red wines that pair well with Christmas fish,” she says. “The most important thing is that the wine and food are in harmony: when you put in the effort and prepare food with care, that’s the moment when it’s worth investing in the wine as well.”
“Sometimes I feel that we Finns, in the big picture, are still uncertain wine enthusiasts. We seek a lot of validation from reviews, ratings, or medals earned by drinks. In the end, it’s unnecessary, because the starting point for everything is whether you like the wine in the glass or not,” Suvi points out. “Historically, wine has also been taken too seriously: after all, it is just an agricultural product intended to be enjoyed.”
Finnish consumers believe that the label of the drinks chosen for the Christmas table matters. “When consumer behavior has been studied, the label plays a big role—though in different ways for different consumers,” Suvi says. “Some look for credibility and a classic look, while others seek a crazier and more modern approach to the label. However, we don’t drink labels, so as you gain experience, it’s worth making the decision more boldly based on taste and aroma.”
In addition to drinking, Suvi believes that wines are an excellent Christmas gift—at least if you know the recipient. “A wine purchased to suit the recipient’s taste is a thoughtful and high-quality gift that will be used, rather than left to gather dust at the back of a cupboard.”
