Wine

My career in wine, like all aspects of my life, was never part of a masterplan. It was more a matter of luck and good timing.

My entrée into the wine trade came when I joined Seagram to take on the role of brand manager for a portfolio of champagnes. I couldn’t believe my luck. I was in my late twenties and mad about wine, and there I was, being paid to market wonderful champagnes, attend tastings, visit Champagne itself and find out which foods go well with champagne (most things, even chocolate, but not chilli or cheese). Not only that, the company also paid for me to take The Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s (WSET) Higher Certificate and Diploma which opened up the world of wine-making and wine-tasting for me.

Once I had these qualifications, I decided to leave the corporate world and take my chances as a freelance wine consultant working from home. In between the marketing and PR work, I studied for the prestigious Master of Wine exam and travelled to wine-producing countries to improve my practical knowledge. I passed the Master of Wine at the first attempt, but by then was expecting Tom and Alice and was unable to celebrate in style.

All through living abroad in Germany (1992-95) and Belgium (1995-98), I squeezed in little bits of wine-work around having and looking after three children. When we came back to England I did freelance work for the WSET and Waitrose and generally kept my tasting up to scratch. My specialist areas remain the same as ever: Australia, New Zealand, Champagne, the Rhone, Sherry, and I have very soft spots for Portugal, NE Italy and Alsace.

These days, I still do the occasional tasting for clients and these serve to remind me that I haven’t forgotten all I once learned. And that I will probably never lose my taste for champagne.