Claudia Zárate Vergés is recognized as an outstanding woman Wine Sommelier and Tea Master of Mexico. Her career is interesting and infinite; and it joins her passion for good living. Her travels and studies about the flavors and regions of wine make her discover, in each journey, the new trends in the world of wine, where she studies and applies her knowledge, always taking into consideration the fine demands of the palate of wine lovers.

Her curiosity has not only been in the area of wines but also in tea, so she took the course of teas and infusions in London England with Jane Pettigrew. She also made a foray into pastry making by taking the French pastry making refresher workshop with chef J. Belouet from BELOUET CONSEILLE in Mexico and Cordon Bleu in Mexico City.

She was part of the Mexican Association of Sommeliers as a taster and instructor where she also assumed the role of Director of International Affairs. She has taken courses on Oenology at the University of David in California USA where she took the Rootstock Identification, Wine Grape Variety Identification and Vineyard Irrigation workshops.

She has been invited for the second consecutive year to Japan by the Japan Tea Export Council in 2018 where she was able to visit Shizuoka and its tea plantations and be in contact with Japanese tea producers and traders in the country. Later she continued with a visit to Kagoshima, in the south of the country where he also visited the tea plantations and enjoyed the teaching and hospitality of this region.

In 2017 she was invited by the University of Shizuoka and the Japan Tea Export Council to be at the University and could meet directly the specialized researchers and Masters in the field of green tea and their valuable discoveries in the field. She also visited plantations of producers in the area of Shizuoka participating in workshops in the preparation of tea with the traditional manufacture that characterizes Japan.

From 2018 to date she has been the Executive Director of the International Tea Master Association (ITMA), in which she has participated as Tea Master and Tea Blending since 2014 as instructor and director for Mexico and Latin America. She has made several technical visits around the world, to mention only some of them: Chateau longueville Comtesse de Lalande (France 2011), Chateau de Pez (France 2011), Pedroza, Vega Sicilia, Abadia Retuerta, Liberalia, Frontaura in Ribiera del Duero and Toro, (Spain 2010) and others like Chateau Fonchereau in Montusan Bdx (France 2007 and 2011), Zone of Villafranca del Penedes (May 2003), Arandas (Jalisco), to the Zone Del Rhin (Germany 2002), to the Zone Del Penedes (2001), to the Wineries in the zone of Bordeaux (France 2014), to Borgona ( France) during the grape harvest the Wineries of Clos Vogeot, Nuits St-Georges, Patriarche.

Was an advisor on Alcoholic Beverages in several Food and Beverage Establishments such as Buddha Bar Mexico in its opening in Mexico City in 2011, as well as for private cellars and special harvest tracking in France and Spain. Previously she was sommelier and wine director for the restaurant la Gloutonnerie when it opened in Mexico City. She oversaw private cellars and advises wine collectors in Mexico, the United States and England.

She was part of the Mexican Association of Sommeliers as a taster and instructor, where she also assumed the role of Director of International Affairs and has taken courses in Oenology at the University of Davis. She has been certified by the WSET Wine and Spirit Education Trust based in London, England.

She also did part of her studies in Mexico City at the Universidad Anahuac, where she took a Diploma in Oenology and a Diploma in Management of Food Establishments. Later she took the diploma in Distillates with the Mexican Association of Sommeliers.

Likes to teach various courses on wine appreciation and pairing amateurs, professionals, and chefs certifies tea sommeliers and tea masters with the ITMA International Tea Master Association based in Dallas, Texas. Besides being a wine sommelier, is a Tea Master and Tea Sommelier certified by ITMA International Tea Masters Association, USA.

Has participated as a collaborator in Eddy Warman’s radio and television program, in her capacity as a sommelier to complement and validate the spaces dedicated to wine, champagne and liquors and in the radio program ” Qué tal Fernanda” by the host Fernanda Familiar on the subject of tea.

She has been an ambassador for prestigious international brands such as Grey goose vodka, the Twinings of London brand, and collaborated in research for Coca Cola Co. soft drinks and Bacardi Co. Mexico.

She currently serves as Executive Director, a certified Tea Master from the International Tea Master Association based in Dallas, Texas where she teaches Tea Sommelier and Tea Master certifications worldwide and is a member of the Dallas Sommelier Society where she is contact with professional Sommeliers in Texas and other regions of the US.