Catherine Agelasto

About Catherine Agelasto

Surely inspired from a young age by her grandmother’s Champagne family in DORMANT or by her Greek origins, the wine from Chios, the island of her ancestors, being described by Virgil as the true nectar of the Gods … After a few enriching years in tourism and marketing, Catherine has only one idea in mind: to work in service of her passion, wine. A passion she developed from the age of 16, she then lived in MACON and Beaujolais, still fermenting, tasted from the pot, is one of her first memorable memories.

In 1989, during a business lunch with a former minister, she was overwhelmed by the tasting of a 1972 Musigny from Comte Vogûé. She remembers being with her eyes closed, enchanted by the complex bouquet of this nectar. Where do these subtle and moving aromas come from? She wants to know. She decides to deepen her knowledge of wine, and thus builds a wine library that she constantly updates. And above all, she cultivates her olfactory and gustatory memory, an essential tool for the sommelier.

Her first cellar, in a closet, no one is allowed to touch. She prepares the bottles with love to share them while concocting a meal that matches the wine. She already loves to describe her taste sensations and seek the balance between flavors. She frequents fine dining establishments, always amazed by the creativity of chefs and the pursuit of perfection. However, she favors friendly places. For her, gastronomy and wine belong to the realm of art but also to the opening of the heart and mind.

In 1997/1998, she enrolls in evening classes at the Union of Oenologists of France.

She tastes and tastes again…

In 2001, she would like to dedicate more time to wine, so when she is offered to give tasting classes, she does not hesitate, leaving marketing and public relations to share her time between the transmission of “the knowledge of good drinking” and vineyard visits, the heart of wine. Thus, she creates AGELASTO DEGUSTATION in 2002. Quickly nicknamed “the Stakhanovite of tasting,” she is seen everywhere at all professional fairs, so eager is she to discover and understand wine.

In 2006, a few thousand bottles later and enriched by intense emotions, she finishes on the podium of the Master of Port competition.

2011: She is elected Chief Treasurer of the Association of Sommeliers of Paris.

2012: She is featured in the prestigious Who’s Who International Wines and Spirits guide.

2013: She receives the supreme distinction of Master Sommelier, crowning her experience.

What characterizes Catherine AGELASTO is her passion for wine, her roots, her radiance. Her eyes shine when she talks about it, and she transmits her enthusiasm to you. Her approach to tasting is very original. She gives you the basics of sensory analysis: the visual, olfactory, and gustatory aspects of wine. Then she asks you to forget everything and enter a world of emotions and vibrations. She deeply respects winemakers who love their land and does not attach importance to the notoriety of wines when selecting them. What matters is what she feels in her entire being and not just the sight of a label. Naturally frank, spontaneous, and honest, she expresses herself without ambiguity or commercial constraints. She does not assign scores to wines. She likes to say that she opens doors by letting you taste all styles of wines: light, powerful, technical (not too much though), natural, unusual, … with a strong attraction to healthy wines. The mission she has set for herself is not to convince that a certain wine is good or not, but to make known the differences between wines and the origin of these differences so that everyone finds the right taste that delights their palate and spirit. She also organizes wine and food pairing dinners, oenological workshops, vineyard visits, team-building events, and gives tasting classes. She intervenes directly at the event location: in France and abroad.

Her clients are mainly large companies: IBM, BRED, EDF, SAFRAN, … .