About Jane Clare
I’m a journalist of 30 years’ standing...well...most of them sitting, to be fair!
About Jane - Journalist, Writer, Educator, Events
By a twist of fate, about 10 years ago I found myself on a very enjoyable road discovering wines, tasting them, writing about them, and learning about them.
I was getting on with my life as a journalist, a career which I’d started when I left school. I’ve been an editor, a commercial editor, and an editorial training manager.
When the wine bug grabbed me, I studied for qualifications with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and I now hold the diploma in wines and spirits.
My business, One Foot in the Grapes, is now an approved programme provider, running some of the courses I once took myself.
I absolutely love hosting wine events, helping people understand more about wine in a non-geeky way.
I’ve learned the wine love. I’m now passing on the wine love.
How my wine life began
In 2011 I caught the wine bug when I visited Chablis on a press trip and the rest, they say, is history! I was hooked.
My desire to discover more about wine led me to launch the column One Foot in the Grapes in the Wirral News, which I edited at the time. I wanted to learn about wine. Simple.
The lovely Gray Simpson, (one-time wine, spirits, and beer buyer in Heswall, Wirral) was my mentor at that early stage, and he gave me the encouragement I needed to follow my new-found passion.
In 2012 I was asked to write the wine column for the Liverpool Post. I then turned One Foot In The Grapes into a blog, which helped me create and then share my columns for The Post (a paper which is sadly no more).
The wine column then moved into the Saturday Extra magazine, which is published in Big City Newspapers across the UK, including the Liverpool Echo, Newcastle Chronicle, Birmingham Mail and the South Wales Echo.
Other titles later came along, meaning my wine columns are syndicated in regional newspapers across England, Wales, and Scotland.
About Jane's own WSET Journey
I wanted (and needed) more confidence and knowledge. I enrolled on courses with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.
Studying at the Liverpool Wine School under the brilliant Dan Harwood, I received a distinction at Level 2 exam and a merit at Level 3
I then continued my studies on the intensive WSET diploma, a course designed for wine trade professionals. I now hold that qualification and am officially Jane Clare DipWSET.
My wine writing has led me to being accepted into the prestigious Circle of Wine Writers alongside some of my wine heroes, such as Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke.
About Jane's wine writing
I share my love of wine in my weekly drinks columns, printed in multiple syndicated, regional publications across the UK including the Liverpool Echo, the Newcastle Chronicle and the Cambridge News.
As of August 2025, I’m writing a regular column for the lifestyle magazine YM Liverpool.
I’m thankful to have discovered a subject I love and I’ve been able to share that enthusiasm via the written word, as well as via wine events and teaching WSET wine qualifications.
Contact Jane Clare
If you'd like to know more about holding a wine event, WSET qualifications, or something else, get in touch!
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