Thrive In Wine Event, 27th June

On the 27th of June, we held our second event in the Club Thrive series, Thrive in Wine. At WSET School London, an incredible panel of wine experts and educators shared their journeys into the industry.

The second strand of Club Thrive, Thrive in Wine, kickstarted on Monday evening. This marks the opening of applications for 9 scholarships, including a WSET qualification and mentorship. Held at WSET School London, hospitality professionals joined us from across the sector. The event began with a wine tasting led by wine educators, Mags Janjo and Shane Jones. Attendees tasted two wines from South Africa; Aslina Sauvignon Blanc 2021 and Mama Afrika Malbec 2020, and one from France, Charles Frey Pinot Gris Symbiose 2019. The wines were paired with plantain chips from Olu Olu foods, and South African biltong. As a result, the educators demonstrated how wine can pair with foods broader than the typically available European food pairings.

The Panel

Subsequently, our host and panel had an engaging discussion on the world of wine. Host Audrey Annoh-Antwi presented the panel with a variety of questions about their time in the industry. The panel included Luma Montiero, Anoushica Matthews, Luke West-Whylie and Winnie Toh. They discussed how they got into wine, a pivotal moment in their careers and where they see themselves in 5 years. Firstly, Luke spoke on how his leap from whisky to wine was driven by a desire to ‘stay hungry’. Furthermore this feeds the joy he gets from providing a good experience to customers alongside a team he strongly supports. Winnie shared how working in the industry has allowed her to travel over the world. Curiosity brought her into the world of wine, and will hopefully one day take her to her very own venue.

Next, Luma expressed her passion for making the industry more inclusive in the future. Having experienced the predominantly white, male-dominated industry, she now puts her efforts into helping the sector become more inclusive and representative. Overall the support from peers seemed to be a crucial aspect of our panellists careers; Anoushica praised her family and friends for pushing her to take steps forward. She emphasised her love for people and explained her focus on her own journey came from not worrying what others are doing around you.

Following the discussion was networking, accompanied by some plant-based canapés from That Hungry Chef, Pratap Chahal.

The Thrive in Wine event marks the opening of applications for the 9 scholarships we have available. Scholarships include qualifications across 3 WSET Levels, and mentorship. Find out more on how to apply here.