I’m Jane Clare and I’m a journalist. In January 2012 I began a freelance wine column for the Liverpool Post. I now write for Saturday Extra, a lifestyle magazine published in several regional newspapers.
I had tentative beginnings – a trip to Chablis made me want to find out more about wine. I began a newspaper column under the One Foot In The Grapes umbrella (thanks to my workchum for the fab title which lives on here!) I’ve never set my stall out as a wine expert. I think I’m like many people – enjoying what I drink and wanting to find out more. Sometimes wary of stepping out of comfort zones. Mentoring me with those first steps was the lovely Gray Simpson from Corks Out in Heswall.
I then caught the wine bug. I enrolled on a couple of courses. I received a distinction in the Level 2 wset exam (Wine Spirits and Education Trust, www.wsetglobal.com) and a merit at Level 3 (Advanced) – both through the Liverpool Wine School (www.liverpoolwineschool.co.uk).
This website is a collection of some of the columns I’ve written and other musings along the way. I can’t always devote the space I’d like to some of the wines I review for the papers; so time willing I’ve now started (as of Feb 2014) to add lengthier reviews under the tab In My Glass and tagged What It Says On The Vin. I’m still not sure if anyone will understand that tag. My tortured head.
I used to write a blog claretsgirl.co.uk – in fact it’s still there. Mainly about mum and dad. But when dad died it seemed fitting to leave the final blog about him as the last contribution to the blog; I didn’t want to go back to it.
I began life blogging as claretsgirl because that is my twitter name, @claretsgirl. That was born from being a fan of Burnley FC – the claret reference re: wine is purely coincidental. Though now it looks as if it was planned. Spoiler Alert: My twitter feed can be full of football, dogs and wine.
So here we are.
This blog is about wine and now and again drinking something else. Other snippets too, perhaps, should the fancy take. I bloody love wine. That’s about it really. It’s not rocket science.
*The column appears in these titles: Liverpool Echo – South Wales Echo – Daily Post Wales – Huddersfield Examiner – The Chronicle, Newcastle – Teesside Evening Gazette – Birmingham Mail – Coventry Telegraph – Paisley Daily Express
It can also be found on several websites, including these:
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk
www.birminghammail.co.uk
www.chroniclelive.co.uk
www.coventrytelegraph.net
www.dailypost.co.uk
www.birminghampost.co.uk
www.getreading.co.uk
www.gethampshire.co.uk
www.getsurrey.co.uk
www.getbucks.co.uk
www.examiner.co.uk
www.journallive.co.uk
www.getwestlondon.co.uk
www.crewechronicle.co.uk
www.loughboroughecho.net
www.chesterchronicle.co.uk
www.gazettelive.co.uk
www.walesonline.co.uk