Alex Berry

GREAT TO MEET YOU

A graduate of William Angliss College in the 1980s in Wine Marketing, I have been in the fine wine sales and marketing business for more than 40 years. Over that time I have become a well-known wine and spirit educator, enterprise trainer, wine writer, and wine consultant throughout regional Victoria and southern NSW. My experience spans sales and marketing, wholesaling, and sales executive and I’ve been successfully trading as an Independent Fine Wine Specialist for the past 7 years, working through regional Victoria and southern NSW. Wine has provided more than my career path, it is my passion taking my travels extensively through the wine regions of France, the distilleries of Scotland and Ireland, and Kentucky USA, the home of Bourbon as well the wine regions closer to home in regional Victoria, King Valley, Victorian Alps, Goulburn Valley, and Southern NSW.

My enthusiasm for wine was born in my formative years in Melbourne. Returning to night school to finish my leaving certificate and complete my Diploma of Sales and Marketing in the early 80s while working full time and raising a family. After completing my wine marketing degree at William Angliss College in the late 1980s, I went on to complete my advanced certificate of wine and studies in Champagne, Australian Wine Culture, and Sensory Evaluation of Wine while gaining experience by working at night in Fine Dining restaurants as a barman and waiter.

My education and early hospitality work have afforded me a strong grasp of the industry as a whole that I pride myself on, with experience and education in every aspect of wine delivery from the vineyard to the table.

I was instrumental in setting up the Victorian Liquor and Catering division for a large multinational company in Melbourne and was promoted to the position of Melbourne Liquor Controller for the group for five years before moving my family to Albury/Wodonga where I joined Orlando Wines in 1992. Over the next 20 years, I became the face of the company through regional Victoria and southern NSW. A tree change in July of 2012 led me to begin my journey in July 2012 as an Independent Fine Wine Specialist.

I often conduct degustation wine dinners and held a masterclass for one of my clients in Shepparton in 2002 at the Goulburn Ovens TAFE training facility which was so successful, I was invited to train their students in wine appreciation for their certificate courses. Without a formal wine course in place, I wrote a complete training course from an introduction to an advanced certificate level based on their learning outcomes and competencies. The Goulburn Ovens TAFE adopted my training modules for all wine training and taught at several of their Campus for over ten years.

In 2010, the McPhersons Publishing Company in Shepparton approached me to write an article for an upmarket quarterly regional wine and food magazine. I produced articles for six issues before they invited me to write a weekly column in their Saturday edition for a 16-page lift-out on regional wine and food. Enthusiastic and passionate about regional boutique wineries, coupled with my extensive experience and knowledge of the industry, my articles attracted widespread attention and I became a household name and popular identity in the region.

By the late 1990s, I had toured Ireland and worked with the Irish Whiskey Distillers’ Association completing studies in Whiskey Appreciation. I was appointed brand ambassador for Irish Whiskey for Pernod Ricard and toured regional Victoria conducting Whiskey training and education seminars. In 1999, I attended Vinexpo in Bordeaux France and I spent 6 weeks touring the region to gain insight into the culture and to really understand the French wine industry. The year 2000 took me to the distilleries of Scotland’s highlands, lowlands, and Islay to discover the ultimate charm of Single Malt Whiskey. I then went on to visit the home of Bourbon in Lawrenceburg Kentucky and Louisville, learning from the master distillers.

Since returning, my whiskey appreciation seminars have been quite sought after!