ABOUT
Amandine Angélica
It all started when…
My passion for wine began at home, in France, amongst family dinners and especially grew following a visit to my uncles’ cellar. In my first experiences with wine, the wine was diluted with water, to ‘build’ my palate and accommodate to the tannins. I recall this was always a moment of joy and I was allowed only half of a glass of wine on special occasions such as a family birthday or Christmas. My first contact with alcohol was wine, and I began to appreciate good wine from an early age of around 19 years old. My uncle Andre was aware that I appreciated wine, and would open special bottles every time I visited him and his wife.
Background
While in France, I studied Sales in my tertiary education and from this, worked in Transport and Logistics and Health insurance and Financial placement. I have always been a good listener and enjoy bringing my customers the solutions they are seeking. I enjoyed building a personalised approach for each customer and was rewarded as being identified as one of the best employees in the sales teams in both Transport and Insurance companies, regardless of my youth (which at this stage was as a 23 year old within the Insurance company, and a 20 year old within the Transport company, of which I was the youngest person to hold this position within the national Transport company).
In my first experiences, I enjoyed wine however didn’t know further than to enjoy it. For example, I was unaware of how to distinguish a ‘piquette‘ (bad table wine) from a Grand Cru. I have always enjoyed a glass of good quality wine in a restaurant and have always been curious to taste new wine when the opportunity presented itself (for example, not only ‘classic’ or traditional French wines).
"
Attending this practical wine course with Amandine was informative and great fun. Her enthusiasm for wine is obvious and infectious. She has a broad knowledge of Australian and international wines and delivers the material in a way that is easy to absorb. The practical part of the course is particularly enjoyable!
/ SHARON, MARGARET RIVER /
Experience
My wine journey (in a professional sense) started in 2015 when I decided to travel the world. I wanted to link one of my greatest passions in life with my professional life. I knew that wine was where I wanted to focus and build a sustainable career. As I’m not a professional dancer, and would never be, I chose wine.
I am a very optimistic and curious person. In the early stages, I didn’t know how, but I knew I wanted to make my passion for wine a day-to-day job in some way.
In 2015, while in Sydney I began studying wine, starting modestly with the WSET Course (Level 1) based on Australian wines; along with studying at the library about the history of wine and attending organised and structured wine tasting as much as possible. I was told by my close friends who also share a passion for wine, that I had a great palate and a unique way of speaking about wine, mainly due to my French background and English being my second language. I made my friends laugh a lot when I first started describing wine with comments such as “mouldy fridge nose” or “citron meringue tart aromas”.
Throughout my time in Sydney, I established a close knit circle of friends and tasted many great Australian wines as a group (within moderation). One of which I fell in love with is Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon. This is what ignited my decision to move to Margaret River and immerse myself in the local wine industry.
I have an immense respect for the process of grape growing and farming, and have always said ‘it all starts in the vineyard’. I started my wine journey in the vineyard and worked for three months of leaf and fruit dropping, picking grapes and pruning the vines. Simultaneously, I began exploring the many cellar doors throughout the Margaret River region (I have visited 85 so far!).
While fulfilling my farm work commitments, I also began working in the Cellar door on weekends and quickly realised that this was my dream work environment - to be in a role where I am able to talk about wine all day long is my ideal job.
While working in the Cellar door, I quickly noticed that many people are uncomfortable with wine and feel embarrassed to talk about it. Every day I shared my knowledge with people, and tried to link the pleasure of wine tasting with a learning experience. Throughout this, I kept growing my own knowledge by spending hundreds hours at the library, studying and learning.
I soon realised that my own personal studies were not enough to satisfy my curiosity and thirst for a wider understanding of the wine industry, and as a result in 2016 I enrolled and obtained a Merit in the WSET Level 3 in Bordeaux.
My interest in wine has only grown over time and what began as general curiosity has become my passion!
My friends are totally amazed (or sick) at how much I speak about wine, it is an endless topic for me!
In 2019 I passed Introductory level of Court of Master Sommelier : another worldwide wine school based in London.
Wine is an endless topic as you never stop discovering new wines, producers and styles. Your palate is constantly changing as you age, tastes different wines and food from different places.
Humbly I like to share my wine passion and help you to understand its world.