The Scandinavian Wine Academy-family

The Scandinavian Wine Academy (SWA) was founded in 1996 by Britta and Dick Samuelsson. As early as in 1998 SWA started its first sommelier education. Britta and Dick now run the school together with their children Maya and Filip, as well as all of their colleagues. Together they form the Scandinavian Wine Academy-family.

Britta Samuelsson

Britta Samuelsson

CEO

Britta Samuelsson is the CEO of SWA. This means that she has the ultimate responsibility for the business and is head of finance, human resources and strategic development. When Britta is not in the office, she is at her and Dick’s apartment in Spain or dancing flamenco.

Dick Samuelsson

Dick Samuelsson

Principal

Dick is SWA’s principal. He has worked with wine for more than 35 years, primarily as a wine chemist at Vin & Sprit, Swedens former monopoly of import and distribution of alcohol. Dick is always in search of new knowledge, which means that he is unbeatable in Trivial Pursuit. 

Maya Samuelsson

Maya Samuelsson

Marketing

Maya is head of marketing at SWA. As a child she was trained by sniffing and tasting different sodas in black glasses. Nowadays she is an educator and competes in sommellerie. She is also frequently seen on swedish TV where she match food with wine. Maya has a background as an elite gymnast.

Filip Samuelsson

Filip Samuelsson

Strategy & Economy

Filip is working with strategic development and economy. With financial responsibility and business development as his main interest, he is involved in a lot that happens at the company. On his days out of the office, you will find him at the Royal Institute of Technology, where he doctorates in Physical engineering.

Erik Plöen Casterud

Erik Plöen Casterud

Director of Education

Erik is our Director of Education, a teacher and he also manages a lot of the economy. He started at the swedish alcohol monopoly in 2006 and has since worked as a wine director at Restaurant GQ, started a brewery, studied geology & climatology, oenology and business & economics. He have gained the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits.    

Love Åkerberg

Love Åkerberg

Course administration

Love is in charge of all the beverages during the courses and office management. He is also known as Scandinavian Wine Academys “mood manager”, ensuring that everyone feels at home. An educated Sommelier, who have been working with us since 2015. Before he joined the Scandinavian Wine Academy-family he worked behind a deli counter where his love for food and wine really blossomed.

Anette Zellén Söderström

Anette Zellén Söderström

Key Account Manager

Anette worked as a Key Account Manager for a long time before deciding to change her life towards food and wine, her number one passion in life. She became an educated sommelier which lead to her working at the swedish alcohol monopoly and later as a Marketing Manager at a wine retailer. She got to the semi finals at the Swedish sommelier championship 2015. She is the Key Account Manager at Scandinavian Wine Academy and is also teaching at our shorter courses.

Anneli Nicholson

Anneli Nicholson

COO

After 20 years as CEO and leader within IT Anneli took a new step in the wine world to Scandinavian Wine Academy. Anneli is COO here at SWA, which means that she is working besides Britta and supports here to set new goals, set budgets and has staff responsibility. Anneli found her interest for wine 2005 when she moved to Australia and realized that the wine world is so much bigger (and better) and that is why Anelli and her husband bought an import business and manages it for 3 years. Anneli has a strong belief that all humans can and wants to develop themselves and has a passion for leadership.

Maria Buchmann

Maria Buchmann

Course administration

Maria discovered wine when her family bought a vineyard in Hungary about 15 years ago. Her focus is now turned towards her newly opened distillery where she’s making Gin, amongst other spirits. She’s been in the restaurant business since she was 17 and have also managed to run a design store, a café and a winebar. She has a background in economics and became a sommelier at Scandinavian Wine Academy in 2016. Maria is in charge of our Gothenburg classes.  

Mauro Nicastro

Mauro Nicastro

Marketing & administration

Mauro studied to become a Sommelier at Scandinavian Wine Academy 2016 while he worked at The Winery Hotel as a Sommelier and assisting Winemaker. He thinks that it is an amazing feeling to turn a grape into wine and has worked three harvests in 2017 in South Africa and Chianti, Italy. He has also worked in restaurants, Michelangelo which is owned by his uncles among others. Mauros passions are traveling and experience new areas, tastes and cultures. He is also a big fan of Sake.

Thomas Ilkjær

Thomas Ilkjær

Director of Education Denmark

Thomas is our director of education in Denmark. He’s an author and has written several books, he also writes about wine in various publications in Denmark. His main field is Italy.      

Anna Pakka

Anna Pakka

Course administrator

Anna has her roots in the northern part of Sweden, specifically Luleå, but has for most of her childhood lived in Stockholm. Anna Lives with her husband and three children and on her spare time she hangs out with her friends and likes food and wine. She has previously worked in preschool but thought it was time to do something else. Anna became a Sommelier in 2018 at Scandinavian Wine Academy. She is now expanding her knowledge in France and reading French Wine scholar.

Anders Molin

Anders Molin

Educator and Marketing

Anders is a certified sommelier by Scandinavian Wine Academy and has also taken the WSET Diploma in London. He has been working with winetasting for over 10 years now and has also his own business where he lectures about wine & food. He owns La Casa Vola in Piemonte where he arranges group trips.