From time to time, we will post short interviews with interesting people about their thoughts and feelings on women and drinking. There is such a wide array of perspectives about this topic, and we are excited to gain insight into as many as possible and to share them with you.
Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan, is one of only four women in the U.S. to earn the MW title, Master of Wine, the highest and most difficult wine title to achieve in the world. In 2009, she was invited by The White House to visit its wine cellar with the Head Usher and White House Chef, Cristeta Comerford.
Drinking Diaries: How did you get interested in wine–enough to make it your career?
It was a business lunch that changed my life. I was working in investment banking in London. We had a client lunch at the executive dining facilities and they served an herb-crusted salmon and a Sancerre. Sancerre is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc, high acid wine (I know this now…no clue back then). Now salmon is a very fatty fish and the high acid cuts through it, creating a cleansing sensation on your palate, preparing you for that next delicious bite. I never experienced anything like that before and it occurred to me that the chef didn’t just say “Oh…what the hell, give them the Sancerre they won’t know the difference.” There was actual decision to put these two things together for a reason and that fascinated me. I was working 80+ hours per week and I promised myself at that moment I would spend one hour a week going to a wine class. I got bit by the wine bug (and hard!) and I needed to know everything yesterday! I moved back to the States and left my six figure salary to work for a wine store in Greenwich Village in NYC. My family thought I was nuts, but it was my passion and as the saying goes, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. I never stopped studying though and now I’m one of only four women in the US to ever achieve the Master of Wine title, the highest and most difficult title to receive in the world of wine. I never look back.
Were you always a wine drinker?
No, as my family really doesn’t drink. It’s not that they have anything against it. It was just never a focus. I didn’t drink wine until my mid-twenties. It was living in London that really sparked it. I cultivated my passion there.
Wine is obviously serious business for you at work, but do you ever just drink for fun?
While studying for the MW, where you have to identify 36 wines blind, I was a fanatic about analyzing wines. It got to the point where I was tasting only to analyze. I remember distinctly this one seminar I went to and someone sitting next to me asked simply “which one is your favorite?” Favorite?! It didn’t occur to me to choose a favorite. That was when I knew I was getting way too serious and had to take a step back and remind myself why I got into this industry in the first place…for enjoyment! So now when I’m out with friends or with my husband at home, I try hard NOT to analyze it and just enjoy it.
Do you ever crave a cold beer or something alcoholic that is not wine? What’s your favorite drink?
When I went to Bordeaux, I went to 35 chateaux in 5 days (average 7 per day) and they all wanted me to taste different tanks including Chateau Lynch-Bages where they had a table full of bottles of just Petit Verdot they wanted me to taste. Petit Verdot is inky black and extremely tannic grape variety. So to say the least, my teeth were instantly black. At the end of that week, my palate was exhausted and all I wanted was a beer. However, the nonalcoholic beverage I drink most often other than water would have to be hot peppermint tea.
Do you ever worry that you’re drinking too much for work?
No. Firstly, when it’s work, it’s tasting for analytics, not drinking for consumption. In the industry, it is very much looked down upon to be inebriated in any way. I am spitting during tastings (although it is understood that a tiny amount of alcohol does get absorbed into the bloodstream through your mouth). The definition of safe moderate drinking by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women and older people. This level causes few, if any, problems. (One drink equals one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.). Personally at home, I will generally have a glass of wine with dinner, but that’s about it.
What’s the best ‘cheap’ wine you’ve had?
I’ve had a few favorites lately. Bogle Petit Sirah (no relation to Shiraz or Syrah) at $12 is one of my favorites. Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa at around $8 is another great find for Cab lovers.
What do you think of wine in a box?
Box wine is getting higher in quality every year. I like that the technology can keep the wine fresh for up to three months. In fact a few years ago chef Daniel Boulud and Daniel Johnnes, wine director for Boulud’s The Dinex Group, along with vigneron Dominique Lafon, introduced a Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay bag-in-box wine called DTOUR. I loved it! You can keep it in your fridge and just pour one glass easily and not waste opening a whole bottle just for you. Wish we could see more like it.
Do you think there’s a difference between men and women when it comes to drinking wine?
Absolutely. Women have less body mass and muscle generally and therefore have less water to dilute alcohol which means that any alcohol in their bloodstream is automatically at a higher concentration level than for men. In addition, women’s bodies are less efficient in the way their bodies metabolize alcohol (has to do with levels of enzymes). That’s why women’s safe moderate consumption level is less than men’s. However, on the plus side, the way women’s bodies have evolved over the millennia, we have a more sensitive sense of smell and there are more “super tasters” among women than there are men. So the irony is that men can drink more, but women sense and enjoy it more.
Is there discrimination against women in the wine world?
I don’t think so, and there are more women coming into the industry every day. For example MW candidates years ago used to be predominantly men, now I think it’s more women than men (in the U.S. anyway). However, I’ve had to go around the country presenting to distributors (22 states in the last four years alone). Most of the time, when I walk into a distributor to train, it is over 75% men and many of them looking like [the character] Tony Soprano. It was very intimidating at first. One guy even came up to me before one training to say, “Little lady, I’ve been selling wine for over 25 years…how old are you?” Great. Not only was I a “little lady,” I was too young too. However, after my course, he was my biggest fan!
Is there a high rate of people with drinking problems in your profession?
Honestly, I don’t know the figures, so I can’t say. Drinking problems and drunkenness are really looked down upon in the industry. You are seriously looked on as a low-life (even if you are a head winemaker…doesn’t matter who you are). We in the industry are more educated on safe levels than most and one hypothesis is that because we have access to it more often than anyone else, it’s not forbidden fruit. I will say though we in the industry know the tricks of the trade to drink better quality, not more.
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I really enjoyed reading this interview with Jeniffer, Master of Wine. It’s very down to earth and genuine. I’m a wine lover and analyst myself who is trying to train my palate so It’s good to know that women have better sense of smell and can become “super tasters”. Congrats to Jeniffer for having achieved her dreams and becoming one of 4 women titled Master of Wine. Your are an inspiration
Norma Serrano, Wine Consultant.