ASI MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2025
An Iranian Woman’s Journey into Sommellerie: rediscovering Persian wine culture
An Iranian Woman’s Journey into Sommellerie: rediscovering Persian wine culture
FEATURE ARTICLE
With Samira Kakh
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Samira Kakh was born and raised in Iran, a country where the culture of wine is ancient, complex, and largely unspoken in modern life. Today, she is building a future in wine in New Zealand, having passed her certified course with the Court of Master Sommeliers, working through WSET, and most recently completing ASI Certification 1. In theory, it is unimaginable. On paper, it seems improbable. In conversation, it feels inevitable. Her story is not one of rebellion, but of continuity. Of curiosity carried quietly across borders. Of recognising something familiar the moment it appears, even if it wasn’t poured at the table. While wine was forbidden during her upbringing, hospitality was anything but absent. “Even though alcohol is prohibited, the Persian table has always been about generosity, beautiful flavours, and connection,” she explains.
“My earliest memories are of my mother and grandmother cooking dishes layered with herbs, spices, and textures. Nothing came out of a package. Everything was from the farm and the hillsides.” Food was formative, not ornamental. Her grandparents and great-grandparents were farmers. Pistachios, almonds, pomegranates, sheep, preserved meats, foraging trips into the mountains. “Food was always part of my DNA,” she says. “I was really curious about flavours… I grew up next to my grandparents butchering, preparing meat, harvesting from the farm. My grandfather used to forage for herbs and spices from the mountains. I would play around him but also smell and watch.” That attentiveness, the habit of observing before speaking, remains central to how she tastes today. “It comes naturally to me,” she says.
Samira Kakh
“My earliest memories are of my mother and grandmother cooking dishes layered with herbs, spices, and textures.”