It was a bottle in the early 2000s that started it all. There I was in Oddbins, looking for a decent bottle of wine to take to a dinner that evening. I avoided the shop assistant’s kind offer to help, fearing that any question I asked would simply expose how little I knew. Intrigued by nothing more than an inviting label and a reasonable price, I picked up a bottle of Concha Y Toro’s “Winemaker’s Lot” Chilean Malbec. That’ll do, I thought, and I walked out of the shop with more hope than expectation.
The first sip vastly expanded my awareness of what a wine could actually be. I was seduced by the flavours of ripe blackberries, baked cherries, vanilla, and chocolate – all fused together with a delicate smokiness. It was silky smooth, delicious, and truly captivating. I left the dinner that evening elated with my new discovery. I also faced a challenge – I knew I could find more wine that would bring as much joy as this one, but I didn’t want to leave it entirely up to chance.
That moment became the catalyst for my pursuit of wine education. I enrolled in a casual wine tasting course in Bristol, whereby each week we were introduced to a few expressions of a particular grape variety, ending with a blind tasting. The course quickly became the highlight of my week, and I expanded my knowledge further with books and other wine tastings.
I improved my sensory skills by paying closer attention to what I ate and by investing in a Le Nez du Vin aroma kit. As well as being a heap of fun, this kit helped me test whether I could really identify flavours like raspberry and caramel without a visual cue. Although challenging at first, it got easier with practice and then very gratifying when I could find the same flavours in wine itself.
I knew my interest had evolved into a passion when my friends and family started sending wine-themed birthday cards.
After a few years, it became apparent that this approach to learning would only take me so far. My foundational knowledge about wine wasn’t strong enough; having no framework to connect new regions and grape varieties to, they were easily forgotten. I knew that to make worthy progress, I would need to adopt a more serious approach to studying.
In 2011, I started evening WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) classes at Vinopolis in London. I started with Level 2, shortly followed by Level 3. This was the first time I really enjoyed studying.
My strong interest in wine helped the information stick in a way I wasn’t used to; I was truly starting to get to grips with it. After Level 3, I considered taking on Level 4 (also known as the Diploma). I quickly dismissed the idea after realising the sheer depth of the course material and the time commitment that would be required. I was nowhere near ready. I chose to take a break from studying wine and practice what I had learnt at Level 3.
In 2015, I met my beautiful wife, Emily, and we got married in 2017. We had our wedding reception in the wine cellars at Berry Bros. & Rudd, followed by a honeymoon in Burgundy.
Then wine went a bit quiet in my life. It took a back seat whilst my ever-growing excitement gave me a guided tour of other beverages.
First it was craft beer, then coffee. I was in search of a new direction in life, and coffee was leading the way. I took the coffee industry qualifications as far as they would go (I still hold a Q-grader licence), and I entered national competitions to hone my sensory skills.
However, there was one question I kept asking myself: If I moved into the coffee industry, what would I do? Nothing seemed to fit.
At the end of 2021, I watched an interview comparing the sensory evaluation of coffee with wine. The interview referenced the film Somm, a documentary that follows a group of friends as they work towards achieving the title of Master Sommelier.
While watching the film, I was struck by a deep knowing that my true path is in wine. I also felt grief from not truly committing to wine earlier in my life. Perhaps earlier simply wasn’t the right time, after all.
The curiosity that led me to the film had developed into an enthusiasm for wine that was stronger than ever. Shortly after, I signed up for the next enrolment of Level 4 – the Diploma.
What had once seemed intimidatingly complex now felt like the natural next step. It had been a decade since Level 3, and I knew I needed to polish up my theory before the course started. I attended as many tastings as I could and worked through the Wine Scholar Guild courses for France, Spain, and southern Italy, all with great joy.
Here we go!