253: An Emotional Guide to Wine + How to Get a Solid Wine Education with Jane Lopes

Which physical aspects of working in a restaurant might surprise you? Why is it hard to get a good wine education? How can an emotional guide to wine deepen your pleasure in it?

In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with sommelier and author, Jane Lopes.

You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks

Two of you are going to be the lucky recipients of a copy of Jane Lopes' books. One of you will win Vignette: Stories Of Life And Wine In 100 Bottles, and another will win How To Drink Australian.  To enter, email me at [email protected] and tell me that you’d like to win a copy. I'll choose three people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!

Highlights

Why did Jane decide to study Renaissance literature at the University of Chicago?

How did Jane transition from academia to the wine industry?

What were the sensory and social aspects of wine that initially attracted Jane?

Why is it hard to get a good wine education?

Which physical aspects of working in a restaurant might surprise you?

How did Jane incorporate creative wine pairings and experimentation in her time as wine director?

What was the inspiration for the name of Jane’s first book, Vignette?

Why did Jane include resources for alcohol use disorder in her book?

What was the most surprising insight that Jane discovered while writing Vignette?

Why did Jane agree to be a part of Esquire's television series Uncorked, despite her anxiety?

What happened to Jane before her advanced sommelier exam?

Key Takeaways

Working in a restaurant is incredibly grueling both physically and emotionally. Thos in it are prime to excessive drinking and that’s why the hospitality industry, which includes both restaurants and wineries, has the highest rate of substance abuse among any profession.

Jane makes some excellent points about why it’s hard to get a good wine education, both in terms of cost and the variety of wines you need to taste, especially if you want to make it your profession.

I love her approach in her first book as an emotional guide to wine to deepen your pleasure in it.

Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live

Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wed at 7 pm ET on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or YouTube Live Video.

I want to hear from you! What’s your opinion of what we’re discussing? What takeaways or tips do you love most from this chat? What questions do you have that we didn’t answer?

Want to know when we go live? Add this to your calendar: https://www.addevent.com/calendar/CB262621

About Jane Lopes

Jane Lopes is a Nashville-based sommelier, author, and importer. In September of 2019, Jane finally put her University of Chicago literature degree to good use in publishing her first book, a personal and educational guide to wine called Vignette: Stories of Life and Wine in 100 Bottles. In 2020, Jane and her husband Jonathan Ross co-founded their own Australian wine imports company: Legend. Jane’s second book, How to Drink Australian (co-authored with her husband), will publish in September 2023.

To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/253.