We were lucky to catch up with Jeff Burrows recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

In the latter part of my career in engineering and project management in implantable medical devices, I developed a passion for wine and food. I combined my long interest in photography with my expanding experience in wine and started my food and wine blog, Food Wine Click! The Wine and Spirits Education Trust, an education and certification program known worldwide, offered a path to speed up my knowledge development through their multiple levels of certification. Retiring from my full time career allowed me to purse the final diploma level certification, which required two years of study including multiple exams of knowledge and blind wine evaluation. Finally, I have become a certified WSET educator and now instruct students in the program. Passion for the topic, a deep love of learning and a willingness to find and work with other students to hold ourselves accountable have been key elements to success along the way. Along with a never-ending fascination with exploring wines of the world!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into wine writing as a side- passion project while still actively working my career job in medical device product development. Wine, photography and writing offered a creative outlet that was not a part of my career job. I started my wine blog in 2012, which I continue to pursue today. Writing independently gives me the freedom to choose my subject matter and allows me to purse the less known winemakers and regions. I don’t take assignments from an editor and `I’m not limited to those large wineries with marketing budgets to fund travel and articles. I’ve worked to build an audience and connections in social media to give visibility to my work. The Wine and Spirits Education Trust certifications are recognized worldwide and provide a level of credibility that I know the subject well. I’m most proud of helping to spread stories of small, family owned wineries who might be of interest to fellow food and wine enthusiasts. My work has led to multiple awards within online wine media, including articles in well known websites such as JancisRobinson.com and ecoleduvindebordeaux.com/

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Many writers are driven by the creative urge to write. I love wine and food, photography and videography, but I’m not a natural-born writer. I chose engineering as a career for good reason! The biggest challenge for me has always been the writing. Because I love all the other aspects of blogging, I work extra-hard at the writing element. Anything worth doing will always have its challenges, we all just need to be extra dedicated to our developing sides. My enthusiasm for wine and food culture have made it easy to take on instruction at our local Vine Lab Wine and Spirits Academy, a WSET authorized program provider. The educational venue requires me to know the subject material inside and out and to be able to explain it in a way to kindle an interest in my students. Enthusiasm for the subject is key, luckily that’s easy!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media stars may have built their audience via a single “viral” post, frankly usually through luck. For most of us, building a social media audience takes time and effort. Whatever your chosen venue, you’ll need to post regularly with high quality content. Then, you’ll need to interact with others in a positive and authentic way. Social media networks are not a wine-lose situation, they are often an opportunity for everyone to build and boost their own following. Try to find other creatives with similar interests and find ways to collaborate and support each other. Over time, your network will grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://foodwineclick.com/
• Instagram: @foodwineclick
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodwineclick
• Twitter: @foodwineclick
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@foodwineclick7144
• Other: mastodon: @FoodWineClick@epicure.social

Image Credits
all images credited to Jeff Burrows