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Julia Coney
Founder, Wine Columnist | Black Wine Professionals
Experience
2024 - Present
Co-Host
Just Getting Better (Podcast)
2022 - Present
Wine Consultant
American Airlines
2021 - 2022
Wine Columnist
Sweet July Magazine
2019 - 2022
Contributing Editor
VinePair
2016 - Present
Wine, Travel & Lifestyle Journalist / Wine Educator / Speaker / Consultant
Julia Coney Enterprises, LLCWashington, DC
2006 - 2016
Freelance Beauty & LIfestyle Writer
All About The PrettyWashington, DC
2006 - 2010
Legal Assistant
Kirkland & Ellis LLPWashington, DC
2005 - 2006
Legal Assistant
Weil Gotshal and MangesWashington, DC
2002 - 2005
Legal Secretary
Weil Gotshal and MangesHouston, TX
1998 - 2002
Legal Word Processor
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPHouston, TX
Education
Champagne Master-Level Candidate
Wine Scholar Guild
Fellow
The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa ValleyMeadowood, CA
WSET Level Two Certification
Wine & Spirit Education TrustLondon, UK
Advice from Julia Coney
Quotes about career path, skills, and teamwork from an industry leader.
Important lessons I have learned throughout my career are:
(1) Done is better than perfect. (2) Keep trucking, as long as you know in your mind why you are doing something. (3) “No.” is a complete sentence.
Advice I’ve received that still resonates today:
(1) Everything is figure-out-able, but you won’t have everything figured out. (2) The only thing constant is change, regardless of how you choose to handle the change.
I knew this industry was right for me when I realized I didn’t want to be an older beauty writer where youth wasn't always considered as being the best.
There is beauty in aging. I wanted to have a career and legacy in something I could see doing forever. I will always love beauty and just like wine it has trends, but like fine wine I think we all get more interesting as we age.
I continue to educate myself daily through self-study; I read something every day about wine and/or grapes for at least 15 minutes.
I have always found my inspiration in magazines and books.
I am still that person; I still subscribe to print magazines of all kinds. When I visit bookstores, even just looking at book covers and seeing the colors, inspires me. I’m also inspired by art, including virtual tours of museums around the world, even though they aren't directly related to my work.
The three things I can’t live without to do my job are my Coutale wine opener, my computer, and Kindle.
I recommend all wine professionals read Wine Business Monthly.
There is no work/life “balance,” it’s called “the juggle.” The word balance shouldn’t exist.
There is no balance, the days will blur and so you have to juggle.The key to the juggle is to realize – before you hit the wall – how you are going to juggle things. Sometimes you will still hit the wall. My advice if you are hitting the wall is to put a block in your calendar that says, “Don’t schedule anything”. Some days you’ll be good at it, some days you won’t.
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