Think you’d like to know more about wine but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you’re on this path but need a simpler, more enjoyable way to join up the dots?
Vininspo! is here to ensure your every interaction with wine - buying a bottle, browsing a list, being hosted, taking exams, touring vineyards, travelling overseas - is as relaxed and rewarding as possible.
Anyone who enjoys wine belongs in this world. The curiosity you bring is welcome; it makes it a better place.
Vininspo! begins with the idea that wine is a travel experience. It isn’t a sub-culture open only to the initiated; it is the fascinating world - nature, history, geography, sociology - around you.
With plain English, thoughtfully engaging audio-visual content and a range of voices and personalities, Vininspo! specialises in making connections. These connections become the colour that makes the wine map complete, compelling and memorable to normal people.
Wine is a thing of wonder that should bring happiness and togetherness.
If you’d like to be part of it - safe in the knowledge that the time and money you spend will enrich your life experience - then Vininspo! is for you.
ABOUT ED MERRISON
Ed has always been fascinated by connections between people and places. He studied modern languages and travelled extensively on the way to a career as a journalist, at first in print and then in digital media and television. From there he took the plunge into wine to further explore the relationship between people and place, and to share with others the wonders of nature and culture.
This skillset has been given unparalleled potency by specialism in the field. Ed spent almost a decade spearheading the education and marketing drive at top Australian importer and distributor, CellarHand. He followed this up with his role as editor with another cutting-edge wholesaler, Bibendum Wine Co. Over this time he has judged at wine shows, taken part in the Len Evans Tutorial and been named Australian Dux of the Wine & Spirits Education Trust’s Diploma program, which he continues to teach.
Vininspo! uses this as a springboard to pour a sense of wonder, discovery and connection into the world of wine. Sticking to the journalist’s mantra of keeping it simple, relevant, relatable and interesting, Ed’s goal is to encourage active participation in wine, fuelling curiosity, fostering relationships, creating memories and building a vibrant, inclusive future.
Please get in touch: welcome@vininspo.wine
QUALIFICATIONS
2022 Len Evans Tutorial scholar
2018-present WSET Diploma lecturer (2023 WSET Accredited Educator and Internal Assessor)
2016 WSET Diploma - Pass with distinction / Australian Dux / Fine Wine Partners Scholarship winner
2000-2014 Journalist writing for Guardian, Bloomberg, Bravo, Sky News (London), Star News Group, Herald Sun, Business Spectator
1998 MA in Modern Languages, University of Oxford
1996 Scatcherd European Scholarship, University of Oxford
1995 Kolkhorst Exhibition in Modern Languages, University of Oxford