Valeria Gamper

The Path

Training at WSET and ASI gave Valeria Gamper the technical base that would support the rest of her work. The early years were shaped in hospitality, where service leaves little room for drift and every glass is part of the standard. At Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she worked in sommelier / hospitality industry roles before moving into the wine distributor team member role at Cluster Selected Wines in Buenos Aires, Argentina. That shift moved her perspective from table service to market circulation, adding another layer to how wine is represented and discussed. The role of Wine Ambassador at Viña Cobos placed Valeria Gamper in direct conversation with wine itself and with the language used to explain it. Across those positions, the throughline is not speed but accumulation: each step adding another set of habits, references, and responsibilities to the same discipline. Today, Valeria Gamper is wine educator of CAVE (since 2020), wine educator of IAG (Instituto Argentino de Gastronomía) (since 2020), consultant (since 2020), educator (since 2020), jury panel judge of Decanter World Wine Awards, and embajadora of Star Wine List. The common ground is clear: teaching, evaluation, and the authority that comes from sustained technical work.

The Work Today

On the Decanter World Wine Awards panels for Argentina and Spain, the task is close reading. It asks for an organized palate, attention that does not rush, and the ability to hold onto detail once the glass is gone.

Signature

Blind tasting is the center of Valeria Gamper’s teaching. It removes the label from the equation and puts attention back on structure, sensation, and repetition. In that method, wine is assessed on what it shows in the glass, and the training is in learning to name that clearly.

In Their Words Those preferences sit alongside the professional work without pulling away from it. The potato omelet with rosé from Navarra, the steaming Mate from Argentina: both point to a palate that moves between service, memory, and habit. For Valeria Gamper, wine is a working language, a practice of attention, and part of the everyday table.

Recognition

Valeria Gamper has received Association of the Sommellerie Internationale / Best Sommelier of the Americas 2022 (2022).