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OH WOMANIYA! THE PAVING WAY FOR TOMORROW
With International Women’s Day (March 8) around the corner, we speak to seven inspiring women who are pioneers of their respective fields and believe the sky is their limit I think your work should speak for you: Sonal Holland, India’s first Master of Win
After climbing the corporate ladder for seven years, Sonal Holland, at the age of 33, decided to pivot in her career and set a new goal for herself. She wanted to become India’s first Master of Wine, the highest achievable level for a wine professional. Ten years later, she achieved the feat and became India’s first Master. Not one to differentiate between men and women, Holland says, “You’ll never see me say, ‘India’s first woman Master of Wine’. That was never good enough. I think your work should speak for you.”
The reason behind changing her lucrative career was two-pronged. “It was not my calling. I also wanted to be able to deal with my health issues, while starting a family,” she says.
With no wine knowledge and as someone who was only a social drinker, she stumbled upon the wine market when it was a “pre-sunrise industry”. She says, “I wanted to make a change. There was a lot of interest in the wine industry in India at that time. But, there were no qualified wine professionals.”
Holland credits her husband, Andrew, for being “her rock”. “When I doubted myself, he would prod me along. I used to feel guilty, as a mother. But he would say, ‘You see, she (her daughter) will be very proud of you’,” the 50-yearold shares.
The Master of Wine started her journey almost two decades ago and has noticed a shift in the alco-bev industry. She says, “When I started out, there weren’t any women in the field. But I have seen a paradigm shift. Many women have entered the industry. I’m humbled that young women reach out to me and say that I have inspired them.”