United Kingdom

Anjali Douglas

Anjali works as an Educator, as well as the Tastings and Events Manager, at the flagship WSET School in London. Anjali is a believer that visibility is essential for improving diversity and inclusion. In her own words: “In an overwhelmingly white industry, it’s important I show to anybody watching like me, that there is space for them too.” To that end, Anjali has begun to make use of her name’s proper Indian spelling, ‘Anjali’, as opposed to the more Anglo-centric ‘Anjuli’ (a name which can be easily anglicised to ‘Julie’). This reaffirmation of her Indian identity has in many ways helped her to alleviate the “imposter syndrome” which she felt within the industry, before finding her “home” at the WSET School London. As she prepares for her MW studies, Anjali has found her interest being drawn towards sparkling wine. This choice of specialisation has been brought about by her reading of research papers penned by such figures as Edouard Baijot MW, Álvaro Ribalta MW and Eugene Mlynczyk MW, but also due to a tasting she organised focused around female led Champagne houses, all proceeds of which were donated to Refugee Action. Anjali has used her role at the WSET to “explicitly and implicitly support those from diverse backgrounds in the (wine and spirits) trade”, including teaching qualifications for charities such as Springboard and the Drinks Trust, seeking out diverse speakers and using the events programme to showcase wines from lesser-known regions, and recontextualise the category. Anjali is descended from a line of teachers, and thus she hopes that gaining her MW will enable her to become an even better educator. As she rightfully states: “education is the essential first step to cultivate diversity”.

“I hope to use the MW opportunity to bring more confidence to all wine drinkers, and be part of the change I wish to see in the industry.”