Nina Jensen

Nina Jensen’s work is rooted in dining-room service and wine communication. She entered hospitality as a waiter’s apprentice, learning the basic mechanics of the floor, then moved into floor staff work at Le Sommelier in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 2012. There, wine became a larger part of the job and her service discipline took on a sharper sommelier frame. Roles at Anarki in Denmark and Kong Hans in Denmark added the daily structure behind a wine program, including preparation before service, confidence during service, and the ability to make knowledge useful without making it heavy.

Her career moved from table-by-table guidance into broader responsibility as Head Sommelier at Lyst in Vejle, Denmark. She later became Wine Director at Alchemist in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2023, her work as Wine Director at Alchemist received the Star Wine List of the Year International Final Grand Prix, placing the program within an international field of judged wine lists and service teams. Since 2024, she has served as a jury panel member for Star Wine List of the Year competitions.

Across her work, the focus has remained on timing, tone, listening, and restraint. Wine service is treated as a floor craft, where the bottle must become a useful decision for the guest. Jensen’s practice centers on wine details communication, with technical information such as origin, producer, structure, maturity, and context translated into something exact and usable. The goal is not to display knowledge, but to make it clear, durable, and helpful at the table.

Her record also includes major sommelier honors. She was runner-up in the Contest of the Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa in 2021 and runner-up in ASI Best Sommelier of the World in 2019. She won Best Sommelier in Denmark in 2017, the Castel European Sommelier Cup in 2016, and the Nordic Sommelier Championship. These recognitions sit alongside her service work and judging role, but the center of her career remains the dining room, where every recommendation is immediately accountable.