Every once in a while you meet people who inspire you. People who brim with enthusiasm about what they do, their commitment shining through their eyes and their words. People who take their chosen path and turn it into a road to perfection, forever seeking to improve, to learn, to excel.

Khun Neung and Khun Nuu can never fail to impress. For starters, they are the only two Thai lady sommeliers on the island. In a profession dominated by males, these two amazing achievers have grabbed the reigns and emerged as the sparkling wines, err... winners of the region, through sheer hard work and unfailing dedication.

I meet the sommeliers at their Surin office, and am captivated by their easy grace and unassuming modesty in connection with a profession that they obviously live and breathe.

We chat comfortably about the business and how they go about it, and slowly but surely, as the conversation takes leave of logistics and accounts and gets to what's its all really about: the wine, the girls undergo a metamorphosis.

Faces shining, they speak eagerly of how they were first introduced to the world of wines, how they started out themselves as novices, slowly learning from their exacting mentor, wine expert Steven Roberto to appreciate and enjoy the spirits as they should be, and indeed, as they may be.

Khun Neung has now been in the wine business for six years. Prior to joining Steven, she worked at the Baan Rim Paa in Patong. Neung hails from the North of Thailand, from the region of Chiang Mai, and yet, is an out and out beach girl, which is what first brought her to Phuket.

The idea was to live and work here for a couple of years and then return to her province, she admits, giggling as she remembers. But her love for being by the sea endured, and coupled with her love for what she now does, I suspect Neung's found her terra firma.

Khun Nuu hails from the South. She first came to Phuket to study, at the Prince of Songhkla university. She subsequently worked on a cruise ship before deciding she'd had enough, and joined enVision. She has now been there five years.

Both the girls possess marketing degrees and speak very good English. Their fluency with the language has helped to make their learning in the wine-field less arduous; and it helps them communicate with a wide variety of guests that come into enVision and those that they meet on the job at various locations.

Neung and Nuu are in charge of a wide scope of responsibilities at enVision. They liase with resorts and restaurants that enVision supplies to, coordinate those supplies and deliveries, and maintain books and accounts on the business.

But without a doubt, what they like doing best, is sharing their knowledge and appreciation of wines with others. Both Neung and Nuu are out of the office frequently, conducting training workshops for staff at at various hotels and resorts. What do they enjoy best about this, I ask them.

�It's a wonderful opportunity to share what we know with others,�says Neung. �A lot of staff that we meet at the hotels, have had very little exposure to wines, and from going there to starting to learn the about tastes and experiences of different wines is an exciting journey.�

Their training is comprehensive, starting from different kinds of grapes, to wine growing regions and their unique specifications, and of course, the art of tasting wine and pairing it with the right kind of food.

And what is the most difficult part about imparting training on Phuket?

�It's definitely the language,� says Nuu, �sometimes the staff at the hotels have a very basic grasp of the English language. While we have the advantage of being able to teach in Thai, there are some English words that have very subtle connotations in the context of wines. Words like 'dry' and 'full-bodied' etc, impart very precise meanings in this context and these are hard to convey.�

�While most of the staff are very eager to learn, there are sometimes members that are not interested to be there at all,� adds Neung, plainly quite baffled that anybody could resist the lure of wine. �This can make it difficult, the experience of wine is very subjective and you have to want to appreciate it to learn about it.�

�Like when we started,� she smiles, � we were so taken by the subject, and our fascination has only continued to grow.�

�We are always learning more and more, it's a subject that never goes dry, there's always more to learn.

�I'll read any wine book I can get my hands on,� says Neung, showing me the current volume she's on, eyes shining with excitement, �it's all so interesting, I can never put a wine book down.�

The highlight of every working day, for the girls, is when at dusk they change from office wear and slip into cocktail dresses and their roles of charming sommeliers. Every evening they welcome guests and chat with them about this wine and that, imparting valuable tips to those who need them, and exchanging information with more knowledgeable guests.

It's what they do best, and what they enjoy the most. Their smiles are ample proof. �Wine is a wonderful medium,� says Neung, �you can share so much, from information to the actual tasting and enjoying of wine, it's a very social arena.�

In the future, the girls would love to visit vineyards in places that are the bastions of wine production, California, South Africa, France, Australia.

�I'd love to see and pick the grape the wine comes from,� beams Nuu enthusiastically, picking an imaginary grape and squeezing the juice out of it, �it would be fascinating to see the entire process of wine production, from the picking of the grapes, to the fermentaion and storing, I'd like to see it all.�

In the meanwhile though, the sommeliers that have inspired tens of Thais to appreciate wine, continue to dazzle guests with their knowledge and charm at enVision. Drop in any day and raise a toast to their achievements.

enVision Phuket Co., ltd. is located at Surin beach, open daily from 11 am to 10 pm Tel. 076-279-790


Aparna Raut Desai