Новый менеджер по образованию в области напитков New York Kitchen рассказала о планах на осень и поддержке Buffalo Bills

Jen Menges was hired earlier this year to be New York Kitchen’s first beverage education manager. A familiar face in the Finger Lakes wine world, here’s what she had to say to Louise Hoffman Broach about her job and the spirited beverage industry in the region and where it’s headed, and also the Buffalo Bills: LHB: Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? JM: I grew up outside of Rochester in a small town. I had a large extended family that was very close. I spent a lot of time with my cousins and my aunts and uncles — I didn’t realize how rare it was to have such a close-knit and loving family and how lucky I was to enjoy that. LHB: What did you do after high school? JM: I went straight to undergrad. I thought I wanted to be a teacher, so I went to Roberts Wesleyan and got a dual degree in childhood and special education. LHB: How did you first get interested in wine? What did you do to prepare for your career in the wine industry? JM: I first became interested in wine after spending a weekend with friends visiting wineries on Seneca Lake. We spent a winter weekend traipsing around doing all the normal things, and my husband and I realized how much we enjoyed it. I stumbled into my career in wine — I actually spent nine long years working in the corporate world and was slowly burning out before starting to work part-time in the wine industry. As far as preparation goes, I guess you could say that I read a lot. I got my hands on as many books as I could and just read and read. And of course … I sipped. LHB: You mentioned working at Fox Run. What did you do there? How long did you work there? JM: At Fox Run, I worked part-time in the tasting room. I was still working at my full-time job and would go to the winery on weekends. When harvest rolled around, I would come in extra early and go up to the winery to learn from Peter Bell — anything he would teach me about winemaking — before heading back down to the tasting room. I poured wine, gave tours, and helped run the tasting room. I was there for about three years. LHB: Did you work anywhere else between there and Hermann J. Wiemer? What did you do at that vineyard? JM: I left Fox Run when I also left my full-time job, and I took the leap and went full-time into the wine industry at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. I had a lot of different titles there and I did a lot of things in the near decade that I worked for them. I ran the wine club, oversaw operations, worked in sales for the grapevine nursery, helped with the tasting room, oversaw part of our export program, ran events, did marketing — the list could go on. I did a bit of everything outside of winemaking and vineyard work. LHB: You said you deeply love New York wines. What do you mean, for those of us who don’t know wine, by “the traditional method, sparkling in particular?” JM: We can’t call it champagne here, or anywhere else in the world except in the Champagne region in France, but what I mean by traditional-method sparkling is just that: champagne-like wines. The Finger Lakes makes incredible sparkling wines and have been doing so since the mid-1800s — we have a long and storied history regarding this style of wine — and today, make sparkling wines that rival some of the best Champagnes, in my humble opinion. LHB: What do you think about the future of the wine industry in New York? JM: I think the future is bright! It has been for a long time. New York continues to show well on the world stage; I can say that because I’ve poured NYS wines all over the world and love to see the joy on people’s faces when they taste the wine. It’s all about letting people know that we make wines here. LHB: What attracted you to the position of beverage education manager at New York Kitchen and Beverage University? When did you start? What are your responsibilities? JM: I’ve been teaching at New York Kitchen as a beverage educator for a few years now; it’s something I have deeply enjoyed. I always leave a class energized and excited. I was very lucky to call my predecessor, Maiah Johnson Dunn, a dear friend of mine, and the executive director, Alyssa Belasco, also a dear friend. So when it came time for Maiah to make a change, I was lucky enough to get a call from both of them asking me if I would consider applying. I started in March of this year, and I’ve been loving every minute. I oversee our Beverage University — all of the classes and the educators. I also get to help plan and execute incredible events, like the collaboration we did last week with Lincoln Hill Farms called “The Sparkling Table,” highlighting sparkling wine from the Finger Lakes. LHB: What are some of the other programs that you’ve created over the summer? How have they worked out? How was the Producer Masterclass Series? JM: As I just mentioned, we had this incredible collaboration with Lincoln Hill Farms where I brought six of my favorite sparkling wine producers together for an evening where we paired their wines with bites from Lincoln Hill Farms, and then a friendly competition where the guests voted on their favorite wine at the end of the evening — and we literally crowned the winner. It was educational and fun. The Producer Masterclass Series is going great — we have a lot more planned — and even though my background is in wine, we’re gearing up for our first spirits-focused masterclass ... I couldn’t be more excited! LHB: You teased a little bit about a “wellness” class. How did that go? JM: Our first one was called “Sip & Stem,” and we had E. Paige Vinson come in; she owns Budbreak Flower Farm, and she’s the winemaker at Vineyard View Winery. To me, there are few things more relaxing than flowers and wine together. In a world that sometimes villainizes alcohol, I wanted to frame it in a softer light that it can be used, safely, for wellness as well (with all of the caveats of being careful with alcohol of course!). I’m currently planning a pumpkin-smashing “wellness” class because sometimes getting your frustrations out is wellness too. LHB: What else do you have planned for fall? JM: My colleague, Caitlin Costich, the culinary education manager, and I are planning a collaboration for a fun “Game Day” class where we want to pair beverages with your typical game day foods and which Buffalo Bills player we’d pair with those pairings. Stay tuned! LHB: What else can people expect from New York Kitchen, besides the wine segment? JM: We have so many fun cocktail classes. We did one over the summer that was called “Patio Pounders” that was so popular because it took the complicated out of making cocktails. LHB: Outside of your job, you said you were an ardent Bills fan. Do you have plans to attend a game in the new stadium? What do you think about their chances this year to go to the Super Bowl? JM: I am a huge Bills fan, and have been since I was a tiny little girl. (My fondest memories are of sitting at winter games with piles of snow on my knee caps — these were the games my Aunt Connie could afford to take us kids to!) I can’t wait to get into the new stadium, so fingers crossed that it happens this year. As a Bills fan, hope always springs eternal, so I will always Bill-ieve that we’re going to the Super Bowl. Go Bills!