TEAM MEMBER
Jennifer Lyons
EVENT COORDINATOR

Hello, fellow wine and foodie friends!  My name is Jennifer Lyons, event coordinator for Boston Uncorked.  My love of wine stems from a childhood filled with the intracacies of the kitchen and flavor profiles, as I was raised by a mother who trained as a professional chef, and taught me how to cook almost before I learned how to walk!  Discovering that the right wine paired with the right dish can be an even better flavor than each of them separately spiraled me into a life long obsession full of endless possibilities!

I first really started to discover wine on a summer study abroad trip I did in college which started out in Italy.  I was already excited to be in Italy for two of my other passions, opera and food, and it was in exploring these that I discovered a third passion, wine.  The daily brilliance of simple Italian table wine, which is as ubiquitous in Italy with your meal as water!  When I got back home for my senior year of college I immediately signed up for a two credit wine tasting class to start my basic foundation of wine knowledge.

Over the next couple of years, I began to be able to recognize more subtle differences in the different flavors of wine.  It was at my law school graduation party when I broke out a '85 Opus One that I felt my minor obsession transform into a passionate hobby.  Now, I didn't just want to know more, I needed to know more!  What made this bottle SO much better than anything else I'd tasted before?  Why was this year in particular so good?  Why wouldn't it taste the same if the same blend of grapes had been grown in Bordeaux, France instead of California?  Was it the soil?  Was it the weather?  Was it the vintner?  Was it all of them- oh God the possibilities!?

Moving back to Boston after school, I did several things to advance my wine education.  I began working at a wine store two nights a week, I joined Boston Wine Women (and now currently hold the role of co-president), and I discovered a role model to emmulate, Andrea Immer.  As the first woman ever chosen for Best Sommelier in the United States I was truly impressed.  Now, as a member of her wine club, I receive two to three bottles a month with matching food suggestions and enjoy trying both her challenging recipes and the new and creative ways she finds to pair the wines with different dishes.  In addition, I attend the Bueno Queso Social Club, which meets once a month and pairs wine with different artisan cheeses and is a great educational experience run by some incredibly knowledgeable people from Formaggio Kitchen and Atlantic Imports. 

Through the pursuit of these activities it was only a matter of time before I found Boston Uncorked and simultaneously found people who share my passion and my desire to continue to learn and share what they've learned.  I hope you enjoy your Uncorked experience and don't hesitate to contact me if you need suggestions on how to continuously evolve your wine experiences!

Cheers,

Jen