Where’s the Money?
My wine journey has been long, and mostly fun. Starting out as a passing interest, it became a passion – sometimes an indulgence, often a luxury – and more recently, a slog. The wine-writing world is saturated, and even if it were not, the problem is that no one wants to pay to read content anymore. We have all become spoilt, with information available at the click of a button, free at the point of delivery. Talking to others in the wine sector, it seems they are struggling, too, to make a living. The hospitality industry is under serious pressure to remain profitable (the effects of lockdown are still being felt, and the industry holds its collective breath every time government taxes and duties on alcohol come up for revision) meaning independent wine merchants struggle to make a worthwhile living unless they have the premises to serve food with their wine. A wine educator friend has decided to give up running tasting events as the fee she can charge barely covers the cost of the wines, let alone her time for preparation and delivery of the event.
As well as writing, I do some wine judging and critiquing of supermarket wines. So far this year, I have received no payment for the judging or critiquing whatsoever. So where is the money being made in the wine industry?
Andrew Jefford and Jamie Goode, household names in the industry and Goode, a Master of Wine to boot, have both written quite openly about the struggle. I suspect a large part of the problem is that wine drinking is considered ‘glamorous’, easy even, and therefore unworthy of financial reward. Journalists writing for respected publications write of paid trips to wine regions, sumptuous hospitality, and new discoveries. Paid trips they might be, but these journalists are also saying when they complete their annual tax returns, they find they are not making the minimum wage for their efforts. This would suggest that everyone in the industry is wealthy, and working in wine is for the privileged. We are supposed to have moved on from those days. Wine drinking needs to be relatable if it is to survive. With fewer and fewer people globally consuming alcohol, the industry faces a struggle if it is to compete for people’s hard-earned cash. And yet, we continue to offer wine courses from different examining boards that provide qualifications in the industry, including BSc/BA and Masters degrees in oenology and wine business. All these courses and qualifications that are available to people wishing to join an increasingly struggling industry are undoubtedly fun, as well as very hard work. At WSET Diploma level it would be difficult to commit to the workload while working full-time (unless you are in the industry itself).
In polite society, we don’t like to talk about money, and it is not my plan to tell you where mine comes from (except to say every penny was earned) but I can say that so far I have spent upwards of £38k on my wine qualifications, and I’m still going: WSET all levels, WSG, a BA, along with my memberships of related professional bodies. Of course, my main motivation in studying wine is the pleasure that is derived from drinking: its social benefits, the travel, language, and history. I am not expecting to recuperate my financial outlay, but when I pitch a piece to the wine media, a response would be nice. (The going rate, at 30p a word is not going to change my life). Invitations to volunteer my writing to publications still abound, but if it’s good enough to publish, it’s worthy of payment, surely. So where is the money? Wine judging might sound like a fun gig, but believe me, it is hard work. Living outside London means it can take 8 hours to complete the assignment, including a meal at some point. For this, I often get no payment, not even expenses. After the last rather unedifying event, I have decided to draw a line. Perhaps I should be flattered to be considered up to the task. I’m not. And as for supermarket wine reviews; supermarkets, with their billion-pound annual profits …
For as long as I am enjoying the wine journey, I will carry on doing the things I do, albeit with a tougher skin and never shying away from saying ‘no’ to requests for unpaid effort. Have I really spent nearly £40k on my wine education? Oh, I think I have just found where the money is …