Q&A

Give us a Netflix recommendation. I’m really enjoying Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon, and Happy Valley on the Beeb.

Do you have any sporting loyalties? Bristol Rugby. I have travelled to Béziers and Genoa to see them play.

Who’s your favourite music artist?

I love Mika – he was a bit of a blip in 2007, and I managed to catch him at Glastonbury at the height of his short burst. But I still listen to the album, along with any classic 80s music.

Any superstitions?

I try not to walk under ladders – more as an engineer than superstition – and I touch wood regularly.

Who’s your favourite wine critic?

Anne Krehbiel. She has a lovely way with words; gentle and classic. A breath of fresh air.

What’s your most treasured possession? It was my dad [John Avery]’s last voicemail but in changing phones it got lost. My two child necklaces that my grandfather gave me; and my mum’s teddy, Sweep, that she got when she was five that I gave to my nephew a couple of years ago.

What’s your proudest moment?

Lecturing at the Christchurch Capital of Wine Symposium in New Zealand in 2010.

Mimi Avery represents the fifth generation of her family to be associated with Averys Wine Cellars, the famous Bristol business which is now part of Laithwaites. Her career started with Winesource in Holt, followed by five years at the International Wine & Food Society in London. At Avery’s she has worked in the shop and as a member of the buying team. She is now brand ambassador.

What’s the first wine you remember drinking?

I remember the smell of sherry and Madeira from very early on. I suspect that my dummy was dipped in it. I don’t remember the little finger dipped in Champagne and put in my mouth the day I was born … but it has happened to all of us. Probably the first real wine I remember tasting was a Bordeaux in my grandfather [Ronald Avery]’s house when I was around six. I often smell polished old wooden cupboards in mature Bordeaux, and think of this style of wine and the house.

What job would you be doing if you weren’t in the wine trade?

I have a degree in civil engineering and tried out for the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers while in the Territorial Army. But my daydream was always to be a ski instructor in winter and a dive instructor in the summer.

How do you relax?

I love reading, walking and spending time with my extende d family. Once I am fully moved back into my house I will also love entertaining and sewing.

What’s the best book you’ve recently read?

We Are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins – an eye opener – and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles for fiction.

What’s your biggest regret?

Not going whale watching in Kaikoura on my round-the-world trip after poly, but I rectified that on my trip in 2016. And not asking my grandfather and father more questions – or writing biographies of them.

Who’s your hero? My dad.

Any hidden talents?

I am a very good chocolate brownie maker, and seamstress – making bodiced dresses etc.

What’s your favourite place in the UK? Little Arthur beach, on a sunny day, in the Isles of Scilly.

If we could grant you one wish, what would it be?

Ensure that humans don’t destroy the natural world.