Amanda Page works for a fine wine importer and distributor, Kysela Pere et Fils, and teaches wine classes
at Screwtop Wine Bar, too. As one of
her students at several of these classes, I could see her passion for the
subject matter and loved how she made the classes super fun and interesting!
After learning that she started out as a chef, my curiosity got the better of
me and I just had to know more about her story. She was nice enough to sit down
with me over a few glasses of Zweigelt
rose at Screwtop and fill me in. This is part one of my interview with her!
Amanda said it all started with a cooking class in high
school, which led to attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York
City, where she met her now husband, who also used to be in the restaurant
industry.
She moved to DC in 2004 to help open the restaurant at the
Mandarin Oriental. But some changes in the kitchen and a tough schedule left
her wanting more. She decided to try her hand in the beverage business and got
a job at a now-closed wine store in Clarendon called Best Cellars. Her goal was
to someday return to the kitchen, but...that never happened.
However, she does still cook. She said her favorite thing to make is coconut curry broths, with chicken or tofu. She also teaches cooking classes: ranging from sushi making, to food and wine pairing, and she comes up with all of the recipes herself.
Amanda ended up becoming the general manager at the Clarendon store and then she moved to the company's Dupont Circle store in DC. She said she loved the concept of making wine something everyone can relate to, not something snobby. When the store was sold to another chain, she found herself replying to an ad for Screwtop, and was part of the team that opened the wine bar for the first time during a winter snowstorm about 7 years ago!
Now, Amanda works in distribution as a fine wine sales rep,
and holds a DWS, or a Diploma of Wine & Spirits, which is the highest level
of certification from Wine & Spirit
Education Trust, which is based in London. (These courses are no joke, I
just finished my level 2 exam and it was not easy at all)!
She said at first she was hesitant to enter a sales-related job, but she ended up loving it because of the flexibility of the schedule, which has brought her more of a work life balance, and the part about establishing and building relationships with her customer base. And obviously, because she gets to deal with awesome wine for her job!
Her career has also taken her all over the world to places like South Africa, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the Cotes du Rhone region of France and to her favorite place of all so far, Champagne, France, which she referred to as the happiest place on earth.
Part two of my interview with Amanda will be coming soon, as part of a new project.Cheers!
She said at first she was hesitant to enter a sales-related job, but she ended up loving it because of the flexibility of the schedule, which has brought her more of a work life balance, and the part about establishing and building relationships with her customer base. And obviously, because she gets to deal with awesome wine for her job!
Her career has also taken her all over the world to places like South Africa, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the Cotes du Rhone region of France and to her favorite place of all so far, Champagne, France, which she referred to as the happiest place on earth.
Part two of my interview with Amanda will be coming soon, as part of a new project.Cheers!
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