Born in Cameroon, Magnavai (Mags) Janjo came to live in Brighton in the UK in 2006, at the age of 15. After studying chemistry and maths his first job in wine was at Waitrose, which sponsored his early WSET studies. He then moved to UK importer Winetraders, followed by a stint in the corporate division of Majestic and then three years at the London retailer Roberson. At the end of 2019 he registered MJ Wine Cellars as a limited company, which after a little over two years (most of that time under the pandemic) is turning over £400,000. “We might scratch £1m in 2022,” he says. In 2020 he set up BAME Wine Professionals with Jancis Robinson MW, a “directory of talent” whose stated aim is to “shine a spotlight on wine talent in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities”. A certified WSET tutor, in 2021 he was one of 12 recipients of the £12,500 Golden Vines Masters of Wine scholarship.

How did BAME Wine Professionals come about?

Jancis Robinson was doing an article [for the Financial Times] on prominent people of colour in wine, and she came to me to help her find people. We had the idea to create a directory of talent, for on-trade, off-trade, salespeople, brand owners. That became BAME Wine Professionals

What is the aim of BAME Wine Professionals?

It’s about giving practical help to someone from an underrepresented background to thrive and succee. We ask ourselve what sort of help would that sort of person need? When we started, the interest was from people who wanted to get in to the industry, and from companies who maybe wanted help on setting up a DEI programme. Now it’s grown to the extent that I’ve integrated it into part of MJ Wine Cellars, so one of the team there is in charge of the BAME inbox.

What sort of practical work do you do with companies?

It might be any size of company from start-ups to major corporations. We are working a lot with Louis Roederer to offer educational courses. We are in our second year and have been able to get 3 people through level 3, have now taken on doing a Diploma Scholarship

At MJ Wine Cellars is it your policy to list only black and ethnic minority winemakers?

We concentrate on that. We have four on the list, from multi-talented and award-winning winemakers like Ntsiki Biyela of Aslina Wines. She’s South Africa's first Black female winemaker. The number’s growing, but it’s very important to stress I don’t import a wine because it’s made by a black person. It has to be good, and the commercial side has to make sense. We never do things as a box-ticking exercise – “Let’s present this beause it’s been made by a black winemaker”. Everything has to be on merit. The last thing I want is tokenism.

What are the barriers a Black person faces in the UK wine industry?

When people say racism is dead, we say “Get out and talk to people”. I have personally experienced racism on numerous occasions – my car pulled over, lights flashing, siren sounds; being stopped and searched – you’re walking along the street in Brighton and a police car draws up, “What are you guys up to? Where are you headed?” Every one of my friends has had similar experiences, multiple times.

So those are the barriers. As a result of that sort of thing you lack confidence. You feel you don’t belong, that you can’t do the job, you feel they’re not interested. You feel you have to prove yourself over and above anyone else, you have to work twice as hard to get the same credibility. It’s exhausting. The temptation is to walk out – I’ve done that. In my early 20s I went to a tasting, saw literally no one who looked like me, tasted two wines and walked out.

That was in your 20s. Now you’re at the top of your game – presumably you have no problem with confidence now?

When I was studying for diploma I thought I couldn’t fail. It breeds a kind of grit, if you have the character. If you don’t, it can crush you. I teach a WSET class and I walk into a new class and you see their surprise when they realise you’re the tutor, and I think, “Why do you assume I won’t be able to do that?”

If you had to choose one sector to reform, which would it be?

The entire industry could do with a shakeup. We need a top-down approach for everyone from buyers to front-of-house to decision makers. Look at the board of any big company: they are all exactly the same. Look at the demographic – it’s an old boys’ club. If you look a certain way and sound a certain way, you’re accepted. Wine is particularly backward in that way but brewing and spirits are hugely diverse – just compare a Smirnoff or Jameson ad with the average wine ad, which would show a white middle-class family in the vineyard. It’s crazy because there’s a major commercial advantage to being more diverse. To say “the interest doesn’t exist” is a lie. [Wine retailer] Majestic’s diversity and inclusion project takes 50 students once a year, and it’s always oversubscribed. I teach them, and they have a pass rate of over 80%, with many passing with merit and distinction.  

As you’ve said, you have to work twice as hard…

Exactly. Because people come from underrepresented backgrounds they have had to work twice as hard, and more often than not they are brilliant at what they do.