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More than a year ago, we began planning for how to jump start Ainoa’s growth.  As the plans took shape, it became very clear that our biggest problem was time.  We simply didn’t have enough time to do any of the tasks needed to achieve growth.  We were in fact barely keeping up, and there was no way we could take the next step unless we expanded our team first.

So as soon as the new Board approved our growth plans and in spite of the poor economic climate, we began the search for our first full-time employee.  Initially we reached out to a few people we knew who we thought would be good, but the timing and situation wasn’t right for any of them.  So, in late January we posted an open invitation to apply for the role of Winery Manager at Ainoa.  We didn’t know who would apply, so we made the job description and requirements broad, figuring we could tailor the actual duties of the new person to match their talents.  After all, having someone competent to take over any of the tasks that had been burying us would allow more time to focus on other items and finally allow Ainoa to flourish.

But even before our applications deadline, a new war started in middle east.  Quite quickly, the already anemic Finnish economy visibly slowed further as people anticipated worse times ahead.  It was a pattern that we had become accustomed to – there have been a constant string of shocks over the past six years.  Every time things began to look up, something new made everyone nervous again and the cycle would repeat.  It would not have surprised anyone if we had decided that making our first critical hire at this time was just too risky, and we did like most others: hunker down and wait to see the economy improve first.

We didn’t do that.

In part, that was due to the euphoria of seeing who applied for the position.  Sommeliers, chefs, business executives, experienced store and restaurant managers, sales and marketing professionals, craft alcohol production specialists (of almost any type of alcohol you can think of), previous entrepreneurs and many others with different backgrounds looking for a new opportunity to contribute.  If we had the means to do it, we could have assembled the dream team for Ainoa. 

But the larger reason why we decided to go ahead with the hiring is that we are old enough to know that even if times are tough now, they will improve.  We don’t know when, but we know it will.  And if we don’t prepare for better times now, we will not be in a position to fully take advantage of the stronger economy when it happens.

With all these great candidates, we picked the one that we felt would be the best at driving our most acute need: bringing Ainoa’s communications and marketing to the next level, manage the winery shop and to contribute in diverse ways as Ainoa’s needs grow.

It is our great pleasure to welcome Ines Oreschnikoff to the Ainoa team and officially introduce her as Ainoa’s Winery Manager.

Born in Helsinki, Ines moved to Austria in 2018 to pursue studies in the wine industry after volunteering at a winery in Chile. Following the completion of her studies in International Wine Business at the University of Applied Sciences in Krems, she proceeded to graduate from Johannes Kepler University of Linz with a MSc Management with a major in Marketing.

She returned to Finland at the end of 2024 with a new type of appreciation of the beauty of Finland. With a global working experience from the wine industry from two continents and three countries, Ines has an excellent understanding of how to bring the wine world closer to the consumer.