Uncorked: Sarah Jane Evans MW

Fresh from being awarded the WSET’s 2017 Outstanding Alumni Award, Sarah Jane Evans MW tells db what sparked her love of wine, how she is just as distracted by pictures of cats as the rest of us and why she detests receiving bottles of wine wrapped in polystyrene.

Sarah Jane Evans became an MW in 2006, winning the Robert Mondavi Winery Award for the best results in the examination’s theory papers. Beginning her career in book publishing, she spent a decade as associate editor of BBC Good Food magazine. During that time, she was also President of the Guild of Food Writers and completed the WSET Diploma in 1998, winning the Freixenet Scholarship. She has also served as chairman of the IMW (2014-16), writes for several drinks publications, including the drinks business, is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino and co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards, and is currently busy finishing a book on the Wines of Rioja and Northern Spain.

What bottle sparked your love of wine?

When I was very small my father and friends bought what seemed to me then an enormous barrel of Burgundy. It sat in our garage for several months. On a given day the adults turned up and the men syphoned the red liquid into the bottles and corked them, and the women glued on the labels. Then I remember that they all lay on the grass and fell asleep. I didn’t notice anything unusual about the division of labour but I was interested in the magical connection between the liquid and the sleepers. It took me a few years to work that one out!

I was destined to be a wine drinker, rather than a fan of cider, beer or spirits. But I’m nervous of suggesting there was one wine that lit the fuse. In these situations people usually nominate a First Growth or similar; I’ve never liked the necessary implication that one’s first experience of drinking was exceptionally privileged. However I would say that before going up to Cambridge I lived in Spain for several months, and discovered and learned to love Sherry. And I certainly drank plenty of it as a student.

What would you be as a wine?

A fine, dry Amontillado: persistent, polished, memorable. Or a Madeira: becoming ever more fascinating as the years pass!

Where are you happiest?

Happiness can be momentary and frequent – a glimpse of autumn countryside, or a view of mountains, or coming into land after a trip away (not arriving at the airport, you understand, just the prospect of homecoming). Or it can last longer, an evening at home with some or all of the family.

What’s your greatest vice?

Looking at pictures of cats on social media, when I should be writing.

Best advice you ever got?

In a former career I was President of the Guild of Food Writers. I remember the food writer Glynn Christian sharing his experience at a meeting. He said: “Be good to people on your way up, because they will pass you when you are on your way down.”

Your cellar’s underwater, which bottle would you dive in and save?

I’m not a great one for deep-sea diving! – Or for regretting past losses. I’d have happy memories of those wines, but I’d prefer to look forward to the opportunity to start again. The world of wine is endlessly absorbing.

What’s the best and worst thing about the wine business?

It’s a terrific world, with lovely people, and I feel very fortunate to be part of it. On a day to day basis, I detest receiving parcels of bottles wrapped in polystyrene. I get stuff all over the floor and the granules stick to the bottles AND it’s not recyclable.

What’s on your wine bucket list?

There are still so many wine regions to visit. I am going to Tenerife for the first time next month. I am keen to go a bit further, to the Azores, and further afield still to Israel and to see more of China’s vineyards.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

My family would be the guests – they put up valiantly with my time studying for the MW, so I want to share the joys of the business with them. And then for the dream food and wine, I would invite the Roca brothers to plan the evening. Joan and Jordi Roca in the kitchen, and Pitu Roca in charge of the wines. Probably best to ship the family to Gerona than to ship the Can Roca premises to London, but one can but dream!

Personal satisfaction (Parker points – out of 100)?

Professionally I have to use 100 points, but personally life is too rich and varied to be captured by numbers. Words are much better: terrific, delightful, fascinating.

Which wine would you like to be served at your funeral?

I haven’t the first idea!