While many of us spend the last few hours of work fantasizing about the first glass of wine we’re going to have after a long day at the office, entrepreneurial genius Angela Aiello turned her passion for wine into her life’s work. We’re more than just a tad jealous. The founder of iYellow Wine Club, a wine club that brings wine from around the world to its members along with expert info for aspiring winos, Aiello gets to meet other wine lovers on the job while planning vino-related events and classes for iYellow members (by the way, membership is free and there are already over 10,000 iYellowers out there). We caught up with Aiello to find out more about her dream job at iYellow Wine Club and her other passions…
Give us a snippet about you. What should people know?
I’m a wino and I have lots of wino friends. You should join our club.
How did you get involved in the wine world and what inspired you to start your own wine club?
Well, I grew up and worked in wine country. I moved to the city and needed to make some friends and, well, a bottle of wine brings people together. So I started a club and now there are over 10,000 of us. It’s so cool! Now I run a wine club full time, and I had only dreamed that life would end up this way!
We have heard that you are a card-carrying member of the Riesling Club but is there any other wine you can’t get enough of right now and why?
If I had to be monogamous with any wine it would be Riesling for shizzle! But I have flavour and seasonal flings with Chardonnay, Pinot and Shiraz.
You’ve just landed on a deserted island, with no way of contacting the outside world. You aren’t panicking, though, because you see a bottle of ________________ and you can live a happy life sipping away.
A balanced, tasty bottle of VQA chardonnay. Damn, that liquid is good!
Finish this sentence: I love Toronto because…
…it is where I work and play, and it is close to Ontario Wine Country.
What are three things you simply cannot live without?
Lipstick, a comfortable bed, a corkscrew.
What’s your favourite restaurant (or wine bar!) and why?
Well, I consistently dine at Nota Bene, sip wine at Reds Wine Tavern, and hang out at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto.
Besides wine, what’s your favourite drink/cocktail?
Gin and Guinness.
Let’s get social for a mo’. How can people stay up-to-date with all your city-trotting?
Twitter, baby! Follow me at @angelaaiello and @iyellowwineclub. And join iYellow Wine Club.
