Interview with Signature Master of Wine, Justin Howard-Sneyd
Posted on Sun 21st Sep 2014 at 13:46
Justin Howard-Sneyd entered the profession in 1991 when he worked as a 'helper' on the International Wine Challenge. In the following 6 years, he worked in a small wine shop, ran wine tasting courses, and briefly worked for Oddbins, before packing his bag and started working on 6 vintages in South Africa, France, Hungary and Romania. .
Justin returned to the UK and worked as a wine buyer for Britain’s leading supermarket, and became a Master of Wine in 1999, winning the essay prize, and the Tim Derrouet award for an outstanding performance in both theory and practical exams. In 2005 he became ran the Waitrose buying team and moved to Direct Wines as Global Wine Director. Justin founded The Hive, a wine consulting business, in 2013 and he now dedicates his time consulting to as a wide variety of other businesses across the world of wine. Justin is an integral member of the Signature Wines team responsible for the development and strategic planning for Stobi Wines in the UK. Continuing our series of Q & A’s with the Signature Experts, here is Justin Howard-Sneyd’s interview:
- How did you get into the Wine Industry? I went to work for the International Wine Challenge as a 'helper', and was able to taste so many wines in a couple of weeks that I realised that wine tasting was a learnable skill, and that I could learn how do do it.
- What made you decide this was the career path you wanted to follow? I really liked the people! It is a very friendly business.
- What wine regions are currently exciting you? The Roussillon (obviously, as I own some vines there!), many regions of the ancient world that are just now beginning to re-emerge as winemaking hotspots - Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Macedonia etc.
- What is your favourite aspect of working in the wine industry? The world of wine is a microcosm of many things I am interested in - a wonderful mixture of biology, chemistry, gastronomy, social history, geography, travel and artistry. And the worst? Because wine is a world that attracts many people, it is very hard to create a viable, sustainable business.
- If you had a wine tasting with your top ten wines, which famous people would you invite? If I am allowed to resurrect dead people, I'd love to have a drink with one of my personal heroes - Douglas Adams. The God Pan would get the party going. William Shakespeare would be high on my list, and if I invited Eddie Redmayne to keep Amanda happy, then I think I'd be allowed to invite Cate Blanchett, Thandi Newton and Helen of Troy. We'd drink Pan Galactic Gargleblasters, Krug, some top-notch Sherry (to keep Will S happy), and some DRC. Maybe Domaine of the Bee would get a look in later in the evening, and we'd finish off with Tokaji.
- If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would do? This party idea is growing on me! I'd exhume and revive Douglas Adams, and with his help we'd build a time machine, and travel round inviting people.
- What changes would you like to see in the wine industry? There are a lot of people with expensive taste in cars, holidays and fashion, yet who seem happy drinking wine at £5-£7. I'd like more people to feel comfortable spending over a tenner, and I'd like to help them find a wine that they love.
- How would you convince a non-wine drinker to convert? I'd remind them of Aristophanes' quote "When men drink wine, then they are rich and successful, and win lawsuits, and are happy and help their friends - quick, bring me a beaker of wine that I may wet my mind and say something clever"
- Finish this sentence: “wine is best drunk…… what more do I need to say?"