{"id":10404,"date":"2025-12-17T11:46:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T11:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/?p=10404"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:46:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T11:46:42","slug":"from-curiosity-to-craft-ashish-jha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sommelieredit.com\/au\/from-curiosity-to-craft-ashish-jha\/","title":{"rendered":"From Curiosity to Craft: Ashish Jha\u2019s Journey Shaping the Future of New Zealand Wine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assistant Restaurant Manager at Rosewood Kauri Cliffs and ranked #38 in the Top 100 Sommeliers of New Zealand 2025, Ashish Jha reflects on his path from a dry state in India to the global wine stage.<\/em><\/h2>\n

Growing up in a state in India where alcohol was banned, Ashish Jha\u2019s introduction to wine was almost nonexistent. In his early years, wine and whisky were indistinguishable concepts\u2014both distant, unfamiliar, and irrelevant to daily life. Wine was not discussed at home, nor was it part of social culture. It was only during his hotel management studies that wine entered his life in any meaningful way, and even then, not without embarrassment.<\/p>\n

In one of his first practical tasting classes, Jha was asked to describe the aromas of a white wine. Confident but inexperienced, he identified cauliflower and tomato. The class erupted in laughter. What could have been a discouraging moment instead became a turning point. \u201cIt showed me how little I knew,\u201d he reflects, \u201cand how much there was to learn.\u201d That moment sparked curiosity, humility, and ultimately a deep passion for understanding wine\u2014not as an exercise in correctness, but as a practice of observation, learning, and expression.<\/p>\n