What made me pursue a career in Wine?

I wanted to bring my extensive analytical and coordination skills into the wine industry. For the previous few years, I have been writing about wine with a vague idea that I’d like to do something with it. It never occurred to me to start a blog at first, simply adding to the wealth of knowledge already found online in numerous review sites and sharing thoughts and observations on the industry as it evolved. It took positive encouragement from two key members of the wine industry for me to take a more formal step into this world of wine.

I have previously worked as a judge at the People’s Choice Wine Awards and as a runner at the Decanter World Wine Awards. This combined with my WSET qualifications has given me the opportunity to learn about a huge variety of wine and liaise with people involved in many areas of the industry. I am hardworking and highly organised. I am a team player and approach all tasks with enthusiasm and pragmatism.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINE AWARDS 2019 – JUDGE

The ethos behind the PCWA is simple – giving the consumer and small business buyer the opportunity to vote for the wines they love means that they are at the heart of the process, rather than being disengaged from it. Helping facilitate more informed buying decisions and connecting retailers with what their customers want.

Key Role Requirements

  • Initial blind tastings to determine the quality and drinkability of submissions
  • Assess the variety, style, region, and country of submissions for suitability within groups
  • Evaluating the quality of submissions on a multiple tiered score system for fair and independent analysis
  • The secondary judgement of presentation and media related to retail and design at the consumer level

Decanter World Wine Awards - Decanter

DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS 2019 & 2020 – RUNNER

The Decanter World Wine Awards is the world’s largest and most influential wine competition. Judged by the top wine experts from around the globe, the DWWA is trusted internationally for its rigorous judging process.

Key Role Requirements

  • Assisting key judges with paperwork, equipment, replacement submissions if unsuitable for review
  • Preparing, cataloguing and sorting wine samples in advance of selection and comparison
  • Preparing flights of wines for the judges to assess, ensuring secrecy and integrity of the blind tasting process

WSET Level 3 Distinction (WSET Level 4 in Progress 2020/2021)

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is the largest global provider of wine, spirits and sake qualifications, leading the design and delivery of wine and spirit education for five decades

  • – Theory of Wines of the World
  • – Analytical Tasting of Wine
  • – Wine Trends, Service and Storage
  • – Key Wine-Producing Regions of the World
  • – Factors influencing the Style of Wine
  • – Food and Wine Matching Effects
  • – Changing Styles and Tastes of Wine
  • – Environmental Impacts on Wine

Based on my own experience, as well as what I’ve observed, here are some tips for getting into the wine industry in the UK.

  1. Earn your stripes in retail/sales. Getting the experience of how wine sells in this country, be it to consumers or businesses, provides a strong foundation for a career in wine. Companies like Majestic, Enotria, Liberty, Oddbins and many others recruit pretty much constantly, so there are many opportunities. It may not be glamorous, but it’s a crucial first foot on the ladder.
  2. Take WSET courses. This should be a no-brainer (though see also point five, below). Eventually having the Diploma on your CV is invaluable proof of your commitment to and understanding of wine. Good companies will fund your WSET education.
  3. Play the long game. Many starting roles in the wine industry pay quite badly, especially compared with salaries for equivalent roles in finance or property or insurance. The primary attraction of the wine industry has never been getting rich, although it’s certainly possible to do so. When I work out how exactly, I’ll blog about it. Instead, enjoy the perks of working with an endlessly fascinating drink, and remember that it might take you many years of pleasurable drinking before you achieve your dream role.
  4. Broaden your horizons. There is no substitute for working in different sectors of the business, especially in the vineyard and the winery. This usually requires travel and can be significantly disruptive – but is completely worthwhile. I’ve never worked in the hospitality sector, and that’s a big gap in my understanding.
  5. Ignore all this advice and trust your instinct. No, really. Loads of wine people at the top of their game have never worked in retail or taken a WSET exam. The above tips show you one path to a potential career in wine, but that doesn’t make it the only way. What really matters is that you. I can appreciate how that sounds, reading a recommendation from my wine blog to tell you not to listen to sources like my own. Just take my advice, but remain objective!
  6. Really want it. Maintaining your wonder for wine is paramount. The industry works because people are devoted to the cause. If you don’t get thrilled by wine in all its guises, working with it isn’t a good idea. But if you do, it’s one of the luckiest and most enjoyable jobs going.