Nadia Dubeau: wine, mushrooms, and real estate

Nadia Dubeau is going places. She’s worked in the wine industry in one way or another for over 15 years and is determined that nothing will stop her.

Nadia has travelled the world. She has studied winery and viticulture practices at college in Niagara, Ontario, and has successfully completed Master’s level viticulture courses in ITALIAN in Italy.

Nadia dreams big, and she’s found a great job where she reps for Oyster Bay winery out of New Zealand. That gives her the freedom to do what she wants when she wants – as long as she gets the job done. How many people do you know would want to do that?

Find out what Nadia’s journey has been and where she’s headed here at Wine Behind the Scenes.

What you will learn from this episode:

• Learn about the tips for getting started as a wine rep and know your way around the wine industry.
• Find ways to become the best wine rep you can be and the perks of working as one.
• Hear about valuable thoughts on getting WSET certification.
• Know and understand LCBO’s role as a wine regulatory body [one of the strictest in the world].
• Hear about what other interests and exciting possibilities await you beyond the wine industry but that would still tie you back into it.
• Get familiar with the rules of each region where grapes are grown, and wines are made.

Nadia’s wine background stems from an entrepreneurial spirit – her first taste of the wine industry was running her own tiny wine agency, focusing on selling Prince Edward County wines to the Toronto and Muskoka markets. She wanted to develop her knowledge and dove right into her WSET studies, followed by a few years in Niagara College’s Wine & Vit program. This was interrupted by a year studying viticulture in Italy, where she attended a university in Piacenza, working on Masters-level viticulture courses. Since then, she has worked both in the production side of the wine industry in Niagara and Prince Edward County, in sales, and as a sommelier at some of the best restaurants in Toronto, Niagara, and Muskoka. Her interests include wine, of course, personal finance, mycology, cooking, real estate, and she loves hanging out on the dock with her cat, Giorgio.

Get in touch with Nadia Dubeau:

• Email: nadia.dubeau@gmail.com.

Topics Covered:

01:12 – The perfect place she’s in right now

01:43 – A backtrack as to how she got started in the world of wine

04:46 – Looking forward to the possibility of traveling to New Zealand and Australia

04:22 – How is it like working as a wine rep in a company at the same time in LCBO, one of the strictest wine regulatory bodies in the world

06:32 – What her specific assignment in LCBO is and the territory she covers

08:27 – Basic things you can do to get started as a wine rep and what you can do more to be the best wine rep you can be

10:00 – Sharing her thoughts on getting a WSET

11:31 – The most difficult region to learn when it comes to Appalachians, terms, and language

13:08 – Relating her learning and travel experience in Italy

14:17 – The rules you’ve got to learn in every region

15:39 – Nadia’s interests outside of wine that’s worthwhile and which still connect to the world of wine

17:06 – The best things about being a wine rep and the exciting possibilities that await with the kind of work she does and all the other interests she has

19:17 – One crazy thing she did in her twenties and what she would advise herself back then for that decision she made

Quotes from Nadia Dubeau:

“I wanted to start my own business… so I started a small wine agency, and I started selling products from a few small wineries out of Prince Edward County.”

“I did a minor in Italian when I was in university doing my bachelor’s, but I hadn’t spoken Italian for a while. When I got to Italy, I discovered that half of my courses were Master’s level Italian language science-based viticulture courses.”

“Actually, the LCBO is one of these strictest, if not these strictest, regulatory bodies in the world.”

“So many people are willing to help. If you find somebody that’s a winery rep, say, “Hey, I’m really interested in getting to this field. Could you give me some advice, or I’d love to come out on the road with you one day. What do you feel about that?” They probably would be willing to take you with them.”