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Susan Fingerhut – just a wine lovin’ transplanted Jersey Girl

By Judith Pannebaker

It was a long and winding road for a self-described wine-lovin’ “Jersey Girl,” but Susan Fingerhut finally made it to the Texas Hill Country – and now she stays busy promoting the fruit of the grape in the Lone Star State.

“I am passionate about what I do and I feel my job is to make everyone else passionate about it, too,” she said in a recent interview. “I have 20 years of wine knowledge jammed in my head.”

Fingerhut’s extensive knowledge will be tapped in September at the annual Cajun Festival at Medina Lake. As volunteer wine director, she has selected six wines – three whites and three reds, all from Texas vintners – available this year for the first time at the popular festival.

“The wine booth will be located between the professional and amateur competitors in the Great Gumbo Cook-Off,” she said. “And we’ll offer tastings as well as glasses of wine.”
Additionally, each booth that sells homemade Cajun, Creole and Louisiana foods will offer wine suggestion to pair with the different selections.

When apprised that most people might prefer a beer with their Cajun food, Fingerhut shot back, “With a gumbo that includes a lot of fiery sausage, there’s nothing like a nice Reisling or Shiraz to cut through the spices.”

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1981, she spent the next 10 years as an advertising executive in New York City.

Friends made while serving as media research director for three magazines, “Mother Earth,” “Spy” and “American Health,” introduced her to great food and wine in the go-go ‘80s. And, according to Fingerhut, having “an unlimited expense account” didn’t hurt either.

“I discovered that the magazine editors held wine tastings at the office every Friday afternoon, and, in my non-aggressive way, I shouted, ‘Me, too. Me, too, I really want to learn about wine, too’.”

And learn she did. The 3 pm informal gatherings soon segued into champagne tastings in the “belly of the beast,” the New York Public Library, and wine and dinner pairings at the “Cellar in the Sky,” a restaurant that once crowned the World Trade Center.

“Along the way, I learned why wine goes best with food,” Fingerhut said. “First you learn why, then you learn ‘what’.”

As an example, she offered a rack of lamb and a Syrah wine. “Separate, both are good, but since wine actually enhances the taste of food and vice versa, when combined, the lamb and Syrah are absolutely overwhelming,” Fingerhut, a certified wine specialist, said.

After leaving a position as marketing director for a computer trade publication, she returned to her “first love,” the food service industry, eventually becoming a restaurant manager for a corporate facility in New Jersey, the Crown Plaza Hotel.

Relying on her accumulated wine expertise, Fingerhut developed weekly seminars on food and wine pairings for both clients and restaurant staff.

At this time, Fingerhut met Lloyd Cohen and what started as a ride on a Harley Davidson turned into a marriage and a move to Florida. Once in the “Sunshine State,” she subjected herself to a grueling three-month interview before finally being hired as a wine consultant with Southern Wine & Spirits, which Fingerhut referred to as the “Proctor & Gamble” of wine distributorships.

After Cohen’s father passed away, the couple, like so many others before them, decided to start a new life in the West. New Mexico, Fingerhut decided, was “too brown” for a New Jersey girl. However, a longtime friend who had recently relocated to San Antonio urged the couple to “come and visit.” They acquiesced and, after falling in love with the Texas Hill County, finally ended up in the Medina Lake area.

Now, Fingerhut has turned entrepeneur, utilizing her extensive wine knowledge to build her business, “Wining, Dining and …,” which offers four components.

“I help restaurants compile wine lists and train the wait staff to offer clients appropriate wines to enhance their food selections,” she said. Currently, Fingerhut is working with the Quintiliani family, owners of the Italian restaurant, APizza Mia, in Lakehills.
She also assists restaurants offer special food and wine pairings for festive dining, noting, “I have one coming up in September at O’Brien’s Restaurant in Bergheim.”

Most importantly, however, Fingerhut helps clients assemble private wine pairings in their homes. “The clients can either cook the food themselves or utilize their own caterer or one provided by me,” she said. Preparing a four or five course dinner served buffet style allows more people to be accommodated, Fingerhut said.

“In Palm Beach, I regularly prepared evenings for 40 to 50 people,” she recalled.

By consulting with her clients, Fingerhut selects appropriate wines for each course – from appetizer to dessert. While routinely not advocating expensive wines, she has one cardinal rule. “My only insistence is that a client selects a ‘good wine’ for the entrée.”

During the evening, Fingerhut offers a mini tutorial on aspects of each selection. “It’s an educational experience that’s also fun,” she said. “I like people to come away from an evening of ‘wining and dining’ with a little knowledge and passion, too.”

For more information about “Wining, Dining and …” with Susan Fingerhut, call 210-823-0087 or email susanfingerhut@aol.com.