First, how did you find yourself working at France 44?
Honestly, kind of by accident! When I moved back to Minneapolis for a masters program, I'd only worked for a few months in a small wine shop in St. Cloud before applying at France 44 and knew next to nothing about wine. I remember Googling "fancy wine shops in Minneapolis" and clicking on the first one I saw... and that's how I found out that France 44 even existed! Luckily, the wine team was super short staffed at the time and helped me dive head-first into the wine world and discover a new passion. I haven't looked back since!
A quick perusal of the F44 staff page tells us one thing for sure—you guys love your bubbles! Why do you think sparkling wines have such a captivating hold on experts and casual consumers alike?
Great question! It might have something to do with the fact that bubbles seem to transcend a lot of palate preferences, especially if that preference is for carbonation. I would hazard a guess that it might not actually have anything to do with how much you know or don't know about wine. From beer to kombucha, and soda to tonic drinks and beyond, the infatuation with bubbles seems to be a very common thing across a lot of cultures, traditions, demographics, interests, etc. Plus, sparkling wine is a pretty fail-proof food pairing... as well as just being downright fun to drink!
What’s your guilty pleasure drink?
Does Burger King still sell cherry Icees?
In addition to having your WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine, you’re now also the Events business GM—what are you most looking forward to about the new space?
So many things, it's hard to choose! I can't wait to get our WSET school up and running (mark your calendars for early 2023), and I'm really looking forward to welcome public class attendees back to our home base. But if I'm being honest, I'm most excited for lounging on that rooftop patio with a glass of bubbles in hand on a warm spring day.
You just attended the American Cheese Society annual conference! How do cheese nerds differ from wine nerds?
I could write a whole blog post on this topic, but the number one thing I came away with is how community-oriented and relationship-centric the cheese world is. You cheesers are as nerdy as they come, but there seems to be less competition here than there is in the wine world and there's a genuine desire to just help the entire industry succeed. It's pretty refreshing! But honestly, there are a ton of parallels and commonalities too, and it was great to learn about fermentation in a completely different light.