Maya Samuelsson

Projects

Maya Samuelsson is a sommelier profile involved in many parts of the wine industry. She works primarily at Scandinavian Wine Academy, a sommelier school, run by her family. She’s been seen a lot on TV, but is also a wine writer and a coach for the Swedish National Sommelier Team as well as a board member for the Swedish Sommelier Association. She also organizes different wine tastings as well as act as a conferencier or judge for different wine competition.

Scandinavian Wine Academy, Vinkällan Dryckesutbildningar in Sweden, was founded in 1998 by Mayas parents, Dick and Britta Samuelsson. It’s the biggest sommelier school in the Nordics and one of few that’s recommended by the International Sommelier Association. The school focuses on a one year long sommelier education but holds shorter courses for wine enthusiasts as well as masterclasses and high-level courses for those who already hold the sommelier diploma. Courses can be found in many different places over Sweden, as well as in Denmark, and online under the name DigWine.

Current TV-project includes Drinking with Joe & Maya, where the pair travels Sweden to experience and highlight the unique beverage culture and all the passionate producers who resides here. Watch and meet beer brewers, producers of berry wine as well as learning more about Swedish alcohol laws and great restaurants and wine bars in the country. The first season was released on Pluto.se in June 2024. A TV-serie available to watch right now as well is Wine First, airing on American TV for over 50 million viewers. Maya, together with Liora Levi from Norway and Yolanda Año from Argentina, travel the vineyards of the world learning more about the specific areas, as well as challenging local chefs to create dishes to local wines.

Maya has also been seen a lot in the local morning show Nyhetsmorgon at TV4 where she’s been recommending wines and organizing educational wine segments since 2014, as well as heard education about wine on the radio station Rix FM.

Maya is also a wine writer, currently mainly for ELLE Mat & Vin, where she has her own segments in all printed numbers. She’s been at ELLE since 2019 and recommends wine to all recipes in the magazine, showcases her favorite wines and has a wine school called “dryckescoachen”. Some articles and beverage tips are available to read online as well. 

She is a coach for Swesomm, the Swedish National Sommelier Team, after having competed in sommellerie herself for many years. She won the Lily Bollinger Award in 2014 and the Nordic Ruinart Challenge in 2016, she also came third in the Swedish Sommelier Championship in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She is a board member for the Swedish Sommelier Association helping organize competitions and push the profession to new standards.

She can be found holding a lot of educational tastings for both private companies and on-trade organizations, as a conferencier for big sommelier competitions like Swedish or Nordic Sommelier Championships, or for wine competitions like Star Wine List of the Year. She is also often a jury in the same competitions as well as for Lily Bollinger Award and Swesomm Junior Challenge, but also in wine judgment competitions like The Swedish Wine Tasting, Wine Nordic Challenge and Mundus Vini Nordic Addition.