Q) Tell us a bit about you and your role at Corney & Barrow.

I joined C&B in 2015 and my role primarily supports the team looking after restaurants, bars, travel and corporate customers. I run all sorts of training sessions, including ‘wines by the glass’, ‘upselling’, ‘new listings’ and ‘food pairing’. I also teach and oversee the delivery of WSET courses (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) — mostly for our customers but also for my colleagues in the UK and, more recently, Asia. It’s a hugely varied role and no two weeks are the same! I love getting to meet the people who are on the front line of hospitality and working with them to grow their confidence and knowledge of wine.

Q) What is the question you get asked the most when teaching about wine?

Consumers often ask me, “When do they put ‘x’ and ‘y’ into the wine?” — they’re talking about all the aromas and flavours we describe when tasting wine. It probably sounds like a silly question to wine buffs, but you hear descriptors like lemon, peach, raspberry, blackcurrant, vanilla, butter, pepper, (the list goes on!), and it’s rarely mentioned that wine is simply fermented grape juice.

Hospitality workers tend to want to know which wines are dry on their list — it’s an easy one to answer as most wines are dry! Although, I try to follow this up by giving them brief explanations of a few different wines that they can recommend to guests.

Q) What is your favourite wine topic to teach people about and why?

It’s hard to pin down just one topic! For many people, the subject of wine is intimidating and overwhelming; it’s hugely rewarding to break down those barriers. When I’m training hospitality teams, I try to steer clear of stuffy language and jargon and give them ways to talk about wine to consumers, that they can both relate to. My trainees have often joked I have an analogy for everything! But it’s great to see the penny drop when you explain a concept to someone that they can understand and feel empowered to share that knowledge.

Q) How did you end up working in wine? Have you always had a passion for the subject?

A month after I turned 18, I started working in a Victoria Wine shop. I knew nothing about wine, and to be honest, I didn’t really care — it was just a part-time job. But I started to learn from reading wine labels, listening to my colleagues and talking to customers. As I learnt more, my enthusiasm grew and I loved making recommendations to customers, especially when they came back and shared how they got on.

Q) What has been your favourite wine experience so far and why?

It’s so hard to think of just one — I am very grateful to have tasted amazing wines, visited stunning locations and met incredible people over the years. One of my most memorable experiences was visiting a producer I worked with near Adelaide. One day, we visited several wineries, picking up various bottles of wine to sample (for educational purposes of course!). That evening a real motley crew assembled: about 12 of us, all from different parts of the world and connected with wine in different ways. We drank, ate, talked, sang and laughed, all under the clearest, light pollution-free skies I’ve ever seen. I even saw a shooting star! Although, to this day, I’m still not sure if that was the effect of the wine…

Q) For someone who is new to wine, what are your best wine and food pairing tips?

My view is controversial to some, but I always say forget the ‘rules’. Get the food right, get the wine right, and you will enjoy them together. Someone could present you with the best wine and food pairing ever, but if you don’t like the wine or the food, you won’t enjoy the pairing. I feel that the training I was given early on was very prescriptive and restrictive. We add salt to food to enhance flavour, so in turn food will enhance the flavour of your wine. Make sure you like both to begin with and they will likely get better together.

Q) What advice could you offer to someone looking to start a career in the wine industry?

Hospitality or retail are often the gateway for many into the wine industry. Languages are also an advantage. Complete some wine qualifications if you can — many businesses will support your training, but I know my first employer appreciated that I undertook some by myself. And get to as many tastings as possible, both to further your wine knowledge and to network with those already in the trade.

Q) When you are not educating people about wine, what might we find you doing?

My world mostly revolves around my amazing 4-year-old daughter. When I am not tending to her school and social life requirements, I try to get some downtime by practising yoga, escaping with a good book or enjoying my newly found pleasure of gardening. But my first love is music: gigs, festivals, kitchen discos, ‘caraoke’… nothing feeds my soul like singing and dancing, and I’m delighted my daughter has the same opinion!