'The Wine Lady' - UAE Famous by What's On
By Paul Matthews
July, 08 2021
In the July issue of What’s On, Lindsay has been dubbed ‘The Wine Lady’ in the magazine’s monthly ‘UAE Famous’ feature. Grab a copy of the magazine or scroll down to see the full interview. Cheers!
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UAE famous: Lindsay Trivers
Who are you, and what made you famous?
Well, someone referred to me the other day as ‘the wine lady’, which is either high praise or a sweeping generalisation on my intake. Six years ago I started a company called The Tasting Class with the goal of making wine education fun and bringing it into people’s homes. We’ve expanded enormously since then and now host more than 300 events a year and have also launched the UAE Vine Festival, the largest wine festival ever staged in the country.
What inspired you to make the move to Dubai?
The same thing that keeps me here, opportunity. There’s a real thirst here, pardon the pun, for fun, new ideas. And, if you have one, people really respond positively to it.
How do you think the wine industry has evolved over the years?
It’s seen a huge shift. 7 years ago there were few if any places to learn or improve on your wine skills. Now there’s a fantastic community of wine lovers throughout the country, and so many more resources and experiences for them to use and attend. Not to mention more venues with serious wine programs. Long may it continue!
What’s been your biggest achievement since arriving in Dubai?
Too many to name one! Getting married and having a baby – and keeping her alive and healthy for four years – have been huge. Launching The Tasting Class and watching it grow and take on a life of its own over the past six years has been amazing, too.
What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?
It’s not uncommon for me to be out four or five nights a week hosting experiences, so there’s a large social element to my work. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but a good bottle of wine in front of the TV and some quality time spent with family and friends is really precious to me these days.
What do you love about the UAE?
Warmth. I may be Canadian but I’m not built for the cold. I also love the way people here are keen to know more, explore more and talk about things more. It creates a really exciting climate to live and work in
What are your biggest goals for the next year?
We’ve just finished working with a best selling author to create a play based on the history of gin that will launch here later this year. We call it a comedy with cocktails and it’s a chance to taste gin drinks while you laugh. It’s a world first and we wanted it to premiere in the UAE. Plus the UAE Vine Festival returns at the end of the year and it will be bigger than ever.
Do you think you’ll stay in the UAE forever?
We came here with the usual expat mentality that we’ll try it out for a year or two. But, I love what we are doing and am in no rush to leave. We’re building something very exciting here and life is pretty good.
