Julia tastes success with her very own wine school
JULIA LAmbeth set up her own wine school after working as a manager for majestic.
the 30-year-old from bermondsey, South London, spent five years with the wine store chain before launching her business in December 2014.
Around 50 to 60 people a week attend her South London Wine School courses and tastings at the mitre hotel in Greenwich.
‘having been at majestic, I learnt quite a lot about wine and had been able to study for a WSet (Wine and Spirit education trust) diploma,’ says Julia.
‘When I completed that, I had all this knowledge I was eager to tell people about. but I had also spent a fair amount of time doing day-today chores such as stacking boxes.
‘I realised I wanted a role involving education, based on helping people understand wine and the styles of vintages they liked.
‘I knew people in other parts of the country who had set up their own wine schools, having met them through majestic. they said it was hard, but going well. I thought that I could do “hard” for something that was worthwhile. that was the thing that made me go for it.’
the school offers three types of tastings: those aimed at beginners with an interest in wine; corporate and private tastings; and WSet accredited courses.
A single evening tasting costs as little as £22.50 with themes including Chile and Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, and Spain, Portugal and Italy. Four-week courses cost £95 to £100 and take a closer look at wines across the world.
‘I was amazed at the response of people from the start,’ says Julia. ‘I love doing the courses; you get to talk about such a variety of things with different people.
‘I teach some of the WSet qualifications as well, so I’ve got a range of topics I talk about. Some are basic and others go into quite a lot of detail. my aim is to make it enjoyable and accessible for people.
‘You still get that misconception of wine being a bit stuffy or you need to know certain things in order to enjoy it. I don’t think it’s true. I try to make sure people get an idea of what wine tasting is and hopefully what they should be able to get out of it.
‘It’s meant to be fun. It’s a social, enjoyable thing as much as it is about education.’
For more information about Julia Lambert’s courses, see southlondonwineschool.com