Welcome to Ignition Law’s new ‘Igniting the Spark’ series, where we spend 5 minutes with inspiring entrepreneurs, talking about the key moments that defined their career.
This time, we speak with Sara Guiducci, a Senior Fine Wine Sales Executive at world-renowned Corney & Barrow, one of the longest established Independent Wine Merchants in the UK. Sara completely changed the course of her career, and life, following a glass of particularly good wine. Here’s why…
Each vintage is unique. It captures a moment of time and it captures the history of the people who made it at that time, which is rather beautiful, don’t you think?
The moment that ignited the spark in me (to move career/start a business) was…
I’m originally from Holland and went to University in the UK. When I graduated I returned to Amsterdam, working for a big IT company. I hated it. Through work, I travelled a lot and ended up in very nice restaurants, drinking very nice wine that I knew nothing about. People would ask me what I would like to drink and I just didn’t have a clue how to respond! One day, I decided to go into a wine shop. I told them I knew nothing about wine and asked if I could work on a Saturday to learn a bit. They told me to turn up late on Saturday afternoons and stay for the wine tastings. So I did.
I really knew nothing about wine and they poured some amazing wine and their knowledge was inspirational. One day, among a lot of tannic wines, there was this rich, velvety wine; 1982 Pétrus. It is a great wine and I have never tasted it since. Even when I heard the name and vintage, I had no idea how special the bottle was, but tasting it, I suddenly understood why people became obsessive collectors and realised that I wanted to learn more.
My UK-based husband proposed, and one of us had to move country – I agreed to move to the UK on the basis that I could change career to go into the wine trade… I had to take a big paycut, but knew that I could keep learning for the rest of my life and that was exciting.
The thing that’s most surprised me since I made that move is…
Two things really stand out. Firstly – the people that I have met. In the world of wine you meet some real mavericks, and it is a culture of enormous generosity. I am currently studying towards the Master of Wine. Every year, leading figures from the industry travel from across the globe to share their passion. They give their time, unpaid to teach people like me, which is extraordinary and very humbling.
The other thing that has really had a huge effect on me is the concept of time when it comes to wine. You plant a vineyard when you are 23, wait 3 years for any grapes, 7 years for the grapes to be ready to make decent wine. Then, if you make tawny port, you wait 30 more years for your wine to be ready. It means you probably drink the first drop aged 60! By that time, you can’t change anything – and the lessons you’ve learnt will be appreciated by the next generation.
It’s an interesting concept in today’s world, where everything is instant. People can think money can buy anything – but that’s not true when it comes to wine, because of the length of time it takes. It is totally different to any other industry. Each vintage is unique. It captures a moment of time, and it captures the history of the people who made it at that time, which is rather beautiful, don’t you think?
The toughest challenge I’ve faced is…
For me at the moment, it’s completing my Masters of Wine course. You learn all aspects of the wine industry. You have to become an expert in every field, including blind tasting. Blind tasting is the best way of tasting. You look at a wine without preconceptions in regards to quality or region and are totally reliant on your senses – taste and smell. As people we normally rely on speech and vision and it teaches you to approach life differently. You need to know the theory, but academic knowledge is not enough. You have to trust your senses. It’s all about what’s in the glass. It’s very difficult to revise for a test like that!
My biggest success has been….
One of the happiest successes in my job is when you see someone who comes to invest in wine purely because of its monetary value, and then watch them transform into a collector and connoisseur. When you see people change like that, it’s brilliant. The world of wine has really transformed me, so I love it when I see that happening in other people.
I’m very good at…
I think I’m very good at sharing my passion for wine. That’s what fires me up every day and gets me out of bed every day. I love learning more about it and I love sharing what I’ve learnt.
The type of person I look to recruit into my organisation is…
I would always look to recruit someone who is passionate, has new ideas, and refuses to sacrifice on quality. I think that this type of person will probably be totally and utterly unmanageable, but these are the characters that transform a business, and they will make the businesses of tomorrow.
The part of my day I most look forward to is…
The morning. I am a real morning person. I see every day as full of opportunities, and also the chance to drink my next glass of wine! My alarm goes at 4.45am, and I’m on a train by 5.30am. I aim to get home before midnight, but in my industry, every day is different.
If I could give my 18-year old self one piece of advice it would be…
I would tell myself to savour relationships with the extraordinary people I will meet. I’ve met so many inspirational people. In good times, you share the best experiences with these people, and learn a huge amount. In bad, or tough times, these are the people who will give you the inspiration to get up and move on. Don’t waste time on people who are small-minded and drag you down.
Outside of work I can be found…
Studying towards my wine exam. That’s pretty much it at the moment. I don’t really do anything outside of work and studies. That sounds really rather sad, but I love it.
My philosophy on life is…
Follow your passion, and the rest will fall into place.
If I was asking the questions, I would want to know…
What is the best wine that I’ve drunk. If I could have another glass of 1945 Château Margaux, I would be very, very pleased. It captures a victory vintage, the heat of the summer and the wine today is extremely beautiful. Sadly it is almost impossible to find a bottle with perfect provenance – and believe me I’ve looked!
What do you like about Ignition Law?
I met David during a difficult time of my life. I was grieving and nearly lost my life in a traumatic miscarriage. All very profound. David was professional, quickly built a good relationship of trust and most importantly he has always understood that I am driven by passion and integrity and that it was far more important to me than money. Since we met, he and Alex set up Ignition Law. The whole concept is based on interacting with people, by understanding who they are and what motivates them rather than treating them as numbers on a page. They believe in individuals and long term relationship. I think that is pretty rare in today’s world, but very important.
