In Conversation with Wine Expert Jane Masters

MIKE COLQUHOUN13 November, 20251 Mins read316

Add RIVIERA BUZZ as a preferred source on Google

Jane Masters has an encyclopaedic knowledge of wine and wine-making which together with her travels gives her a unique perspective on not only the business of wine, but also the way that things are changing.

It is always a joy to chat to Jane Masters. Her ability to communicate what is a very broad subject into something understandable to people like me who enjoy wines though lack the appreciation of how they arrived in the glass. It is an amazingly complex and fascinating subject.

Having had an academic grounding in the fundamentals of wine, Jane entered the wine making industry and so ended up, quite naturally, in France. Her interest in wine spans the chemistry into the tasting. From there Jane passed through several iteration in the wine making side of things to being brought in on the consumer side of things. This led her into consulting about wines and creating events. She has achieved recognition as a Master of Wine. That is a very potted history!

^{Courtesy Jane Masters}

Her book, written with Andrew Weather – Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine, takes on the difficult and very ‘now’ subject of wine-making against the background of the market place and, of course, the challenges of the climate. It is a book that looks specifically at wine making though it can be used as a template for the challenges facing all businesses. It has had many positive reviews, not least by famed wine critic, writer and journalist Jancis Robinson OBE.

Jane spends as much time as her busy calendar allows in Nice. I envy her stunning apartment that looks over the terracotta coloured tiles of the old town towards one of the towers that crown Nice. When in Nice, Jane spends a good amount of her time testing out local places that offer great wines. It is interesting to note that French wine consumption has reduced in volume whilst being replaced with the demand for high quality wines. I am pleased to report that this reduced consumption of wine is not evident on the Riviera, especially of quality wines!