The phrase “a one-woman show” is often thrown around to describe women who kick butt at their jobs—but for wine director Christine Wright, that’s an apt descriptor.
Without any sommeliers on staff—or even someone to help in the cellar—Christine is “the end-all-be-all” of her wine program at NYC’s Hearth, James Beard Award-winning chef Marco Canora’s restaurant. “Literally every case of wine that comes through the front door, I stock and organize—but I love that,” she tells us about her role. “I love that I absolutely know every bottle in my cellar, secret stashes, what needs to move and what I’d like to hang on to.” Plus, she runs the wine program at Zadie’s Oyster Room in New York’s East Village.
Her journey to becoming this “one-woman show” is notable because she’s never taken a “proper wine class.” As a child, says Christine, “I was always wanting to put on a dinner party complete with my mom’s vintage glassware and beaded napkin rings, helping cook dinner for my (very large) family, and inventing recipes.”