We were lucky to catch up with Regina Jackson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Regina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

COVID has created actually more opportunity to reach wine consumers not just in house. We have been able during the pandemic to expand our virtual wine tasting options. Wine makers were not able initially at the onset of COVID to travel. We were able to connect online our distributors, importers, and winemakers to our consumers.

Before COVID, we only did in house tastings, we now offer virtual tastings as a part of our wine offerings. This has been a game changer for the business.

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

I am Regina Jones Jackson, CSW, FWS, WSET Certified, Sommelier is the Owner and Principal Wine Consultant at Corks and Cuvee®. Corks and Cuvee® is a wine company providing lifestyle offerings for wine enthusiasts.

I graduated from The University of Georgia. I left a successful career in Finance to pursue my interest in wine which started 20 years ago on a business trip. I got bit by the wine bug and began studying and taking wine education classes. She passed her first WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) class in 2012. Since that time, I have received Certified Specialist of Wine, French Wine Scholar, and WSET III advanced certifications. I am a Sommelier and am currently studying in the WSET Diploma Program prerequisite for the Master of Wine program.
I started my company in 2014, as a wine consultancy. I consult with restaurants on their wine lists. I also assess and consult for residential cellar owners.
In early 2018, I opened Corks and Cuvée Wine and Gift Shoppe in Conyers, GA. The wine shop is comprised of tasted Old World and New World vines, wine accessories, wine tasting station, and private tasting room. There are monthly guided wine tastings facilitated by a wine professional. In its short time, Corks and Cuvée Wine and Gift Shoppe has been selected by TRIbella® as Wine Establishment of the Month. The McBride Sisters Wines featured Corks and Cuvee Wine and Gift Shoppe as a wine shop to support. I have been featured in Wine Enthusiasts, Voyager Magazine and Shout Atlanta. I was also selected to attend Oregon Pinot Wine Camp in 2022.
Corks and Cuvée will be expanding the brand by curating wine travel experiences. Corks and Cuvee Wine and Gift Shoppe will also be expanding to other markets.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I would have to say the pandemic really tested my and my staff’s resilience. I immediately had to figure out if we were going to close or weather the storm. Once I was to confirm my biusiness was considered essential, I knew I had to pivot. I did not know what COVID was all I knew is I wanted to keep my staff, my family, my customers, and myself safe. So I decided to shut the doors and go to phone orders and curbside service only.

Our doors were closed for almost a year. We were able to finally open our doors for retail only no tastings. We slowly ushered in tastings and charcuterie.

We are fully open now and let me say it was quite the ride, but we perservered as a team, I perservered as a business owner and leader.

We now have clientele who say to us “we are so happy you made it through the pandemic”.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was…….go to college, get a “good” job, retire. I realized the path to success is mapped out by the person taking the journey. There is no one blueprint to success.

I started out in Finance and had a very successful career in Corporate America. I just had a different idea about my journey and life. I loved the wine lifestyle and for me leaving my career was making space for someone who wanted my job and I could pursue what I loved. I have a very successful 2nd career and I get to do what I love to do everyday and I get to make the decisions that work for me and my family without asking permission. This is really my why :-)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.corksandcuvee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corksandcuvee/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corksandcuveewine
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/corks-and-cuvee-conyers

Image Credits
Kustom Creations