BETH VON BENZ
Porter House
New York
EXPERIENCE
- Porter House
- Restaurant Associates, New York
- Guastavino's, New York
- Estiatorio Milos, New York
- Chelsea Wine Vault, New York
Beth von Benz hails from Boston, but the lure of New York City pulled her south and she has lived there for over 20 years. While working as Bar Manager at Tatou Supper Club in Manhattan, she was able to further her wine knowledge by joining Kevin Zraly's "Windows on the World Wine Class", Willie Gluckstern's "Pairing Wine with Food" series and "Get Wine" at Peter Kumps, along the way earning certificates from the American Sommelier Society and the Higher Certificate from the International Wine Center. She is currently working toward her Masters of Wine and is the Wine Director and Sommelier at Porter House, in the Time Warner Building in New York City.
In the 1990's, Anjoleena moved to New York City and joined the service team at Blue Water Grill, one of the Manhattan-based B.R. Guest Restaurants, which mandates food, wine and service classes for all employees. Anjoleena's intense interest in the wine classes yielded her a harvest of benefits. Invited to attend "Wine College," she was named Valedictorian and took the American Sommelier Association course.
Formerly the Wine Director at Judson Grill, Beth managed a list of 300 plus wines, receiving Awards of Excellence from the Wine Spectator Magazine. In addition to taking every opportunity to travel to the world's wine region, Beth regularly participates as a guest Sommelier at the Carmel Valley "Masters of Food and Wine" event and has served for 7 years as a guest taster at the Wine Spectator's Wine Experience in New York. She also contributes articles for various publications including Food and Wine, Food Arts, and Santé Magazine. Beth sits on the executive advisory board and the wine tasting panel for Bon Appetit magazine and has been a guest Sommelier on the wine panel of the New York Times. She also teaches classes at I.C.E., formerly Peter Kump's Cooking School. Beth has also explored the world of wine retail, working for the esteemed Chelsea Wine Vault and Gotham Wines, both in Manhattan.
Outside of work Beth, with her husband Scott Mayger, Wine Director at wd~50, hosts wine dinners in her home, typically attended by many sommeliers from New York's favorite restaurants. "It's a wine thing!" explains Beth.