NUTAWAN JUMPANAK

Wine Guru, Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

Nutawan Jumpanak is the first to admit that her childhood, spent in the tiny Thai province of Chaiyaphum surrounded by mountains and rivers, did not exactly point to a future where she'd be crowned Thailand's Best Sommelier 2019. However, after completing high school she moved to Bangkok and found work in hospitality, starting with bartending. Her manager at the Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa [now the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort] pushed her to study both English, and wine. “What really interested me about wine is the more you read, the more it makes you want to go even further,” she says.

In 2011 she had the opportunity to work outside Thailand, and spent seven years with Disney cruises, travelling to multiple countries. She also used this time to continue her wine studies, eventually enrolling in the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS). “I am a certified sommelier, as of 2017, which is equal to WSET level 3. Now I’m studying for the advanced level, which is another big step.”

In 2018, at the age of 34, she returned to Thailand and found work as the sommelier at Soneva Kiri, the luxury beach resort in Koh Kood. In time, her F&B director suggested she enter some competitions, particularly Thailand’s Best Sommelier which, in 2019, also included a Chilean Wine Trophy award. She confesses that her primary reason for entering was the grand prize – a trip to Chile – and although she ended up winning both coveted awards, the 2020 global lockdown means she still hasn’t been able to take her hard-earned South American vacation.

In September of 2020 she joined the Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel as the resident ‘Wine Guru’, overseeing a selection that currently numbers 256 labels. Looking ahead, she hopes to increase the complexity of these lists, with all regions of wine producing countries represented; from very approachable, reasonably priced wines to very highend bottles. “I like to bring best from each country,” she smiles.