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Slideshow
10 of the best jobs in drinks and how to get them
For many, working in the drinks trade is the result of a personal passion turned into a living, and once through the door, few tend to ever it behind completely.
Working in the drinks trade: Is it a dog’s life?
As much as you might try to convince your non-drinks trade friends otherwise, working in this industry is not all about exotic travel, wine tastings and product launch parties (the drinks trade are a hard-working bunch – I’ll have you know). But such perks do soften the blow of deadlines, margin managing, demanding customers, and the pressures that come with any job.
Getting to make, sell, taste or write about something you are genuinely interested in (and most people in the trade, unsurprisingly, are) is a pleasure not afforded to those working in every profession.
From winemakers and PRs to brand manager, wine buyers and writers, we have spoken to those who hold some of the most interesting roles in the drinks business to get their insights on what their job is really like, and how best to follow in their footsteps.
Click through for their honest insights on what a typical day looks like, their least favourite part of the job, and how best to get into the biz…
For more information on undertaking a WSET course in wine and/or spirits, click here.
Wine buyer
Name: Victoria Mason, Waitrose Wine Buyer (South Africa, Loire, Eastern Europe, bag-in-box, small Bottles, low alcohol)
What route did you take to your current job?
I arrived in my current job via an English literature degree, three years in supermarket management (starting off on the Waitrose graduate trainee scheme), and almost 3 years in horticulture buying. The transition from buying plants to buying wine was smoother than you might think. On my first visit to the Loire valley I spent the whole time in the vineyards with the growers, looking at frost-damaged vines and mildew… Not entirely dissimilar to visiting a plant nursery!
What’s an average day look like?
My job is as much about SELLING wine – to the Waitrose customer – as it is about BUYING wine, so my day combines both elements. There’s a customer-facing side and supplier-facing side to what I do. Every day will start with a quick review of sales performance, especially of key lines on promotion, to ensure things are tracking to forecast and stock holding is sufficient. If it’s a Monday then there will be various department trading meetings to capture the previous week’s performance and the key opportunities (“opportunities” rather than issues!) to address. I’ll have at least one supplier meeting on any given day (often a lot more), where we will be reviewing the current business plan and looking at where we might be able to further drive sales. This is not just about reviewing the pure commercials but also the marketing plan to support the lines – featuring in Waitrose publications, for example, or in-store tastings. I’ll have a catch up with the Supply Chain team, checking in on any potential challenges to supply and amending forecasts as necessary.
I’ll always have wines to taste, either samples from the beginning, middle and end of a new production run, or new vintage options for approval. Where possible, I will blend new vintages with the producer on site at their winery but sometimes they will come to me, and we’ll blend and approve in the tasting room at Bracknell. There is often some sort of new listing in the pipeline so I’ll taste and benchmark potential new wines against each other, and, where relevant, against the rest of the market. Then I will be back at my desk looking at financial forecasting, and ensuring my promotional plan for the year is still fit for purpose in the light of a dynamic, changing marketplace. The spreadsheet work is maybe the least glamorous part of the job but critical, and I love the combination of figures and analysis, and product and marketing. Then I’ll perhaps have a meeting with our media manager, for example about an upcoming feature on different wine formats in the Waitrose Weekend paper, ensuring we have the messaging right and the photography we need.
Some part of most days will be spent communicating with our in-store wine specialists, sharing updates about new products or promotions, or responding to their queries on our online community. Label design is one part of the job I did not anticipate but is time consuming and important – whether working on an own label redesign, a tertiary brand (buyer’s own label), or tweaking a producer’s label to get it absolutely right for our shelves. I will inevitably also have contact with potential new suppliers, either via telephone or email, or face-to-face if their proposition is really exciting. It’s fair to say every day passes in a flash! Travelling is also a big part of the job, especially after vintage; I am just back from 12 days in South Africa tasting the new 2018s and understanding the drought situation more fully.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Without a doubt the people – the incredible, passionate producers I get to work with. They care so much about what they do and it’s inspiring to experience it firsthand in the cellar and vineyard. Wine is as much about the people who make it as the terroir on which the grapes are grown, and getting to know about what the winemakers are striving for in their wines, the effort that goes into the whole process, and the challenges they are facing, is essential.
And the worst?
Not being able to list all the wines I love! If only supermarket shelves were extendable… Seriously though, I have to make difficult decisions about which producers/wines/brands to back and more often than not I will have several very good options to consider. So it’s a case of balancing the commercials, the long-term potential of the working relationship, the alignment of values of my business (Waitrose being a Partnership with a sustainable approach to growth) and theirs, and my gut instinct about what will capture my customer’s attention or fulfil a need they didn’t know they had.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land your job?
I never saw this job coming. I had just assumed I would need to be an MW or have years of wine experience to make it into wine buying. So everything I did that prepared me specifically for the role was out of pure enjoyment of wine. It kicked off formally with an evening course at Berry Bros over five years ago, which prompted me to go further and start working through the WSET qualifications. I also went to all the tastings I could (London has so much to offer!) and was in the process of planning a vintage when the job opportunity came up.
So my advice would be: follow your passion for wine and take every chance to learn more. Your passion is one of your best assets and in my view is essential if you want to be a wine buyer. If you are not already in the trade, think about the skills that you have that are relevant and can be transferred to the job – retail experience and previous buying roles in other areas proved helpful for me – and if there any gaps in your skillset, work out how to plug them now.
Winemaker
Name: Nick Picone, Villa Maria group chief winemaker
What route did you take to your current role?
A combination of tertiary level education and practical experience, spanning 22 years and 22 vintages across several of New Zealand’s main regions and including international harvests in the USA and Italy.
What’s an average day look like?
My role has significant variety, it really depends on the time of year. December-January is a busy planning and preparation period for harvest. February- April is harvest which means plenty of time spent in our beautiful vineyards throughout the country and in the winery. May-August there are vintage debriefs and blending sessions to confirm bottlings from the current and previous vintage. September-October can include market work domestically and internationally. Throughout the year the constants are winemaking and blending, weekly leadership and cross departmental meetings, PR opportunities, staff management and travel. Yes It’s a cliché but rarely is there a dull moment!
What’s the best thing about your job?
I’m a winemaker first and foremost so I would have to say harvest. Always an incredibly exciting time and I relish the opportunity to focus on my core role.
And the worst?
Sir George once explained to me that we all have 10% of our job that we won’t necessarily enjoy. I guess for me that’s the paperwork!
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land a job in your field?
Make sure this is something you love. Then work as hard as you can if you plan on getting noticed. Be proactive and up skill when opportunities come along. Develop your palate and understanding of wine by tasting a wide range of styles regularly, thoughtfully and responsibly.
Event organiser
Name: Hannah Tovey, head of London Wine Fair
What route did you take to your current role?
A French degree with a year in Bordeaux, various commercial roles on UK wine magazines, publisher and show director – Imbibe, then managing director The Wine Gang.
What’s an average day look like?
A combination of external client meetings, in-house meetings with sales, ops and marketing teams, visiting competitor events or attending clients’ events, proofing and/or approving copy.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The subject matter. Plus I love all the opportunities to be creative and find solutions to problems.
And the worst?
The ever-looming, unmovable deadline.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land your job?
I’m not sure it would be prudent to offer this advice. I could put myself out of a job!
Drinks educator
Name: Jim Gore, WSET Certified Educator and Principal of WSET School London
What route did you take to your current role?
A simple part-time job in Oddbins while at university put me right in the centre of the wine and spirits world. Whilst there I achieved my WSET qualifications, and was hooked. Moving back home to Burgundy and spending some time with my mother (who has worked in education all her life) convinced me that WSET was the place for me. The final transition in to being a WSET Certified Educator was solely down to Karen Douglas, WSET Director of Global Education, who saw long before I did that education was my calling!
What’s the best thing about your job?
The students, when you’ve managed to explain something that they may have misunderstood their entire life. The wines don’t hurt either! 🙂
And the worst?
The lack of time it feels like we have to go in to detail on such a fascinating subject.
What’s an average day look like?
Early start, check your wines and IT and dive straight in to teaching. Most days involve tasting 18 to 24 wines. Realistically we have no more than 30 minutes break over the day so a good night’s sleep is essential with all preparation done the day before.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land a job in your field?
Passion, knowledge and energy are essential but the ability to explain things simply and build skills in your students is the key. Education is not telling people what you know but being able to make them fully understand the topic and then testing that they understand. It’s a subtle but essential difference. The days of standing in front of a class and giving a lecture are well and truly over. Get some practice public speaking and be prepared to prepare, a lot!
Freelance wine writer
Name: Amanda Barnes
What route did you take to your current role?
In chronological order, a passion for literature, travel, food and then – unsurprisingly – wine!
What’s an average day look like?
I’m not going to lie, it rarely starts before 9am. On an ‘office’ day I’m usually working from anywhere on my laptop until late into the evening. When I am visiting a wine region, I could be walking through vineyards, interviewing a winemaker, or tasting through dozens of samples. Weekends don’t exist – they are identical to a weekday.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The fascination. I have the fortune to meet fascinating people, discover beautiful places and taste captivating wines. You can never get bored… Exhausted, yes. But never bored.
And the worst?
The spotty pay and no job security.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land your job?
Make sure you have the right motivation, don’t underestimate education or feedback and learn the self-discipline to work hard.
Brand manager
Name: Peter English, senior brand manager premium (Penfolds), Treasury Wine Estates
What route did you take to your current role?
I came from a consumer PR agency background. I worked on a number of accounts from frozen food to Vaseline, and Girl Guides to power tools, but I always had a passion working with alcohol clients and I learnt a lot working on Diageo campaigns. I was lucky to join the business as a PR & Events Manager just as Treasury Wine Estates devolved from Foster’s and it has been an amazing journey ever since.
What’s an average day look like?
Working in marketing you’re at the centre of the business so you might be liaising with either one, or all of, Sales, Commercial Finance, Supply & Customer Services, Agencies & Brand Partners on any day. You can’t execute any of your marketing campaigns without their support.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Working with the Penfolds wines and learning from Peter Gago is obviously a huge honour but I also love the variety. Last week I was speaking to press in Paris about Penfolds and this week I’m at an NME gig sharing 19 Crimes from a tumbler. Obviously very different target audiences!
And the worst?
Working for a global new world wine company requires evening and early morning calls in order to connect with colleagues in various time zones. But saying that I’ve made great friends around the world… so it’s all worth it.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land a job in your field?
Don’t assume an in depth knowledge of wine is the key requirement. We need to find ways to tell stories and build emotional connections so welcome people from all backgrounds.
Independent retailer
Name: Melanie Brown, founder of The New Zealand Cellar in Pop Brixton
What route did you take to your current role?
After trying to be a hard-ass chef for many years, I developed an unhealthy obsession with the intricacies of NZ wine, the breadth of the industry and the people behind the wines. So naturally, my world engineered its way to creating a platform that honoured the New Zealand wine industry.
What’s an average day look like?
What is an average day?! I’m usually up around 5am, getting ahead of my day before my daughter wakes. After school run I catch up with the guys in the office, discuss our promotions and social and then head to our store/bar in Brixton to set up. There will be accounts, payments, payroll, by the glass selections to sign off on before my store Manager starts later in the day, and thats when I head back to the office. I usually spend evenings catching up on more work as I am lucky enough to have a few hours with my daughter in the afternoon. Once a week the team and I will taste through new wines, or samples, and I try to provide some in depth training so they are on the ball in the store, further extending our NZ wine conversation as much as we can.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Everything except cleaning the glass washer. But mostly our ability to showcase the incredible people and wines that ensure NZ’s reputation as a premium wine producing country.There is a sincerity and authenticity to the wines and people of our collection, and this makes me incredibly happy, which in turns happens to be the best thing about my job!
And the worst?
Cleaning the glass washer.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land a job in your field?
The wine world is full of experiences, full of personality and full of amazing humans. No one day is ever the same, nor is each wine. Ensure your passion is your focus, understand your niche and don’t expect to become a millionaire.
Wine PR
Job title: Chrissy Dorner, account director at R&R Teamwork
What route did you take to your current role?
I was living in London after university and looking for a job. I didn’t know at the time that you could promote wine for a living so when I got myself a job as an Account Executive at a wine PR agency, I couldn’t believe my luck. Fast forward ten years and I have worked my way up to Account Director level and am loving it just as much as I did back then.
What’s an average day look like?
There are no average days here but that’s one of the great things about the job. I work on a wide range of clients, all with different needs, which makes the role both challenging and varied but also means that you have to be uber organised, stay on top of what needs doing and also plan ahead. My day can involve anything from client meetings, putting together proposals, writing press releases and organising events or press trips. It keeps things fresh and interesting.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Nothing quite beats the buzz you get when your hard work has paid off and you’ve secured some amazing results for your clients. But equally, the wine industry attracts so many passionate people, from across all walks of life and one of the best things about wine PR is that you have the chance to meet and work with a wide range of them. Passion and enthusiasm are very infectious!
And the worst?
PR isn’t always understood particularly well and sometimes it’s easy to underestimate how much time and effort goes into achieving the desired results. Luckily, this doesn’t happen often!
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land a job in your field?
If you want to work in wine PR, it certainly helps if you love wine… (are there people out there that don’t?). But you also need to be driven and organised, diplomatic and a problem solver. Being an intern or gaining some work experience in a company can be a great place to start as it will give you a flavour for the job.
Sommelier
Name: Clement Robert MS, food and beverage director at Texture Restaurant Group
What route did you take to your current role?
I have been a sommelier throughout my career, working in different environments; from a very busy brasserie at Hotel du Vin, to 5-star Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Michelin-starred La Licorne in France and Medlar, London. I was in management since the young age of 22, as head sommelier at Hotel du vin. I started as group head sommelier at Texture Restaurant group (28-50 Wine Workshop and Kitchen and Michelin-starred Texture) in October 2015 and I was promoted to Food and Beverage Director at Texture Restaurant Group earlier this year.
I have always been ambitious and aimed for higher positions as I have progressed through my career. I constantly strive to improve myself in everything I do. I won UK Sommelier of the Year in 2013 and I became a Master Sommelier in 2015, yet I have still so much I want to learn and improve on.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Developing people, bringing new ideas to the restaurants. I love the fact that I manage the standards of service, food and beverage, which are the three most important factors in a restaurant.
And the worst?
Finding the right balance between being on the floor and greeting regulars and VIPs, and maintaining and improving standards, while looking after all the aspects of the administration side of my role.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land a job in your field?
Experience is key, be patient always try to improve everything you do in your current role, you need show dedication, passion and hard work. The role is all about understanding hospitality and to provide an amazing guest experience in a multi outlets organisation.
Wine or spirits judge
Name: Tobias Gorn, wine and cigar buyer (Boisdale Group), freelance shooting instructor and referee, director of spirits at Winefraud.com, IWSC panel chair judge.
What route did you take to your current role?
I started my career in an independent wine shop helping to stock the shelves during my studies. I continued with my WSET education up to Diploma level and ended up working in wine retail after university. I had a dual wine and spirit career and tried many Scotch whisky jobs and also worked as a head sommelier at a Michelin-starred restaurant in London. I was encouraged by a great friend and colleague to apply to be an associate judge at one if the biggest competitions and started to learn about how competitions work. I am forever grateful to Nicola for the friendly encouragement. After a while others started to invite me as a judge and through my slow but steady progress I’m now privileged to judge with the drinks business on their Masters Series, among many MWs. I’m also very lucky to have been promoted to panel chair judge at the IWSC and am a regular judge at IWC and many others.
What’s an average day look like?
Every day is different. Some days I do a morning of competition judging and still go to Boisdale in the afternoon to lead a whisky and cigar event or a wine dinner. These are long days and they are one of the many reasons I spit all the samples. Leaving the house at 7am and returning home after 11pm. My PB is an 18 day working ‘week’ being absolutely exhausted with my last day ending with returning from Bisley Shooting Ground after a day of teaching novices. I then received a call from a friend (Sergio from BlackBook Winery in Battersea) to swing by and help out. I thought it would be a bit of tank and barrel nosing. Instead, he had a lorry with three tonnes of grapes to move and after that exercise we climbed into the press to assemble it. It was a long evening, very exhausting but great fun after all and worth it. Having different jobs keeps me excited and active.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Learning about the product and fellow judges’ perception of each sample categories. Another great part is seeing fellow judge friends. Catching up is important and the industry gossip can be also very useful. Ultimately we are running these competitions to inform the consumer about great wines and to help the industry to better the products.
And the worst?
Having four jobs makes it hard with the time management. Sometimes I over estimate my stamina and have slightly over worked myself. Wine and spirit judging is mentally tiring and even if I spit everything as a professional should, it is inevitable to get a bit tired after hours of concentration and focus. All wine and spirit judges have to focus hard and give their best as we only have a limited time to evaluate the year’s of hard work of those that have submitted their products. The worst would be bringing a score down and being absolutely wrong about it. I’d rather make a fool out of myself than damage someone’s hard work. Chairing with a radical personal taster who can’t admit to having a bad day or being unfair on the samples for whatever personal reason is the ultimate nightmare.
What’s your best piece of advice to someone looking to land your job?
It is easy to start, just apply to be a judge on a competition’s website – that’s not the hard thing. Competition judging is harder than it seems though. One has to be humble, willing to learn, a real team player with no big ego. Patience is important too, along with focus. Beginner judges (associates) often want to shine. Nothing wrong with enthusiasm, but it is important to listen to the rest of the panel and not to go to town for something that is unanimously decided to be an X medal by the rest. We are all learning after all. It is also hard to keep personal taste out of the game. You also need to find the balance between ‘sitting on the fence’ scoring and being over exaggerated in scoring. Try to understand the category and judge the samples accordingly. People should not be afraid to score high when the sample is good. Learn from each other. It’s important to admit if one sample or two are not the strongest part of one’s specialist knowledge. It’s better to hold your hands up and admit an error in scoring or lack of understanding than bringing the scores down. Be humble. No judge is there for their personality, we are doing it as we have tried countless examples of the product and we have experience and knowledge in the particular field. Trust yourself with the evaluation of the samples and scores. Consistency will be recognised.