I met a girl recently who has a dream job - she helps wine drinkers choose better wine! I just had to know more about the wine-drinking travels she was telling me about, and I'm sure you do too, so I asked her to share her story with me...

 

Jo Randell grew up in Windsor, and has lived in Maidenhead for around 10 years now. She is married with two kids, Kitty, three, and Henry, two. 

Her business, Perfect Friday Wine, gives wine drinkers a nudge in the right direction through a little bit of jargon-free education, through her blog, as well as providing a personally selected portfolio of wine available to buy.

   She says: 'The emphasis is on drinking great value wine without all the pomp and circumstance, afterall, wine should be about having a good time, not all about expensive Bordeaux and other fine wines.

   'My initial interest in wine lead to me studying for my WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) exams after attending an English Wine tasting some years back - the thought that we could make some excellent wine
on our doorsteps intrigued me and I wanted to know more. This ignited a hope that one day, perhaps I could start a new career in the wine trade.

Returning to my IT job after my son was born was a massive anti-climax. My role had changed and I was no longer enjoying what I was doing - I needed more if I was to be leaving the kids all day.

   'Then, within a matter of days, I was both complimented on my wine-tasting palate by a fellow wine buff AND was offered a job in a wine
shop! It was the boost to my confidence that I needed to make me believe perhaps I could one day work with wine - hence I started writing my blog, to see where it might take me.

   'I am a bit of a geek, and I love understanding more about why wine differs so much in character, style and price. Plus, it's a bit of a privilege to be delegated wine chooser, as the "expert", when out for dinner as I get to drink precisely what I like!

   'I worked in IT for the same company for 15 years. I was a project manager for eight years and a rower for five years. I'm hoping that a combination of my planning and process experience, my Business
degree, my WSET education and all those mornings out on the river at 7am in the freezing cold will set me up well for a new career running wine events and sitting on a market stall selling wine in all weathers!
   'Since starting the blog, I've been inspired to drink different wines in places that I wouldn't have visited otherwise, to report back to my readers. It's on these wine-drinking travels that I bore my husband with ideas and ways to bring something fun to the wine drinkers of Maidenhead where, although there are exceptions, I see a gaping hole in the places to engage to buy or taste decent wine.  

   'I've grown my customer base through social media, specifically my blog, Facebook and Twitter, and word of mouth. I've also been writing for a local free magazine, Life Etc., which I've had some fantastic feedback from.
   'I’ve learned so much since I started out. From how to use Twitter, to how to run a small business, that there are a lot of inspirational women out there in a similar situation to me, right back down to increasing my wine knowledge and network.
   'It’s early days yet, but I'm looking forward to my energies being spent
on my own dream, for the benefit of the family, rather than somebody else's dream. 
  'The worst bit about my job is having to constantly justify why my wine isn't cheap like in the supermarkets (you'll have to come and see me on the stall for a taste to see why). Either that, or drinking wine could become a bit of a bus man's holiday? Could be worse?
   I can’t really say this was my childhood dream, as that might sound a bit weird, but it’s certainly a pipedream that I've been chasing for more than a decade. And so far, so good.

 

For more info, visit 

or 

Look out for Perfect Friday Wine in our Christmas gift guide next week!

Oh, and remember to drink responsibly!