Ep. 1127 Anna-Christina Cabrales | Voices With Cynthia Chaplin

Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. This episode has been brought to you by the wine to wine business forum twenty twenty two. This year, we'll mark the ninth edition of the forum to be held on November seventh and eighth of twenty twenty two in Verona Italy. This year will be an exclusively in person edition. The main theme of the event will be all around wine communication. Tickets are on sale now. So for more information, please visit us at wine to wine dot net. Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. I'm Cynthia Chaaplin, and this is voices. Every Wednesday, I will be sharing conversations with international wine industry professionals discussing issues in diversity, equity, and inclusion through their personal experiences, working in the field of wine. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and rate our show wherever you get your pods. Hello, and welcome to voices. I'm Cynthia Chaplin, and today I am very happy to welcome Anna Christina Cabralis to the show. She grew up surrounded by chefs in her family, which sounds great to me. But she didn't find her way into wine for many, many years. She studied economics and psychology and East Asian studies and investor relations, so a boring person, obviously. But then she made the move to French culinary Institute. And gained a culinary diploma and became a certified sommelier at the Court of Master sommeliers in the US, and her career took off at Laurel Wine in New York City in two thousand and twelve, where she eventually became the general manager and the wine director. And she was director of education at Independence Wine spirits. And just this year, in June twenty twenty two, Anna Christina joined Y enthusiasts as Tasting director at their Westchester New York headquarters. So she told me this is her first interview as Tasting Director, and I feel so excited to be the first one to get to chat to her before anybody else gets in there. So, she's also a mentor at Wine Unifai and a member of Batonage Forum, both of which are near and dear to my heart, and Leedham Desgolfier in New York. And she's the founder of a group called Sumation, which I can't wait to talk about a community of sommeliers who promote inclusion in conversation about topics that surround blind. So thank you so much for making the time to talk to us, and welcome to the show. Cynthia, thank you so much. It's truly an honor to join you on this podcast. Great. Well, I I have got to ask what was it that prompted your jump from a successful career in investor relations into the world of wine. I mean, was it the foodie side of your family? What seduced you away from finance and all the glam and got you into food and wine. Sure. So I really wanted to go to culinary school, but being the first generation of my family to have the opportunity to go to a university, my family said, you have to do it. And so I did. But ultimately, my heart led me back to wanting to go to culinary school just simply because my uncle who attended the French culinary Institute, which later on was named, the International Culinary Center, really reminded me of the best memories I had as a kid. I can still remember those moments where he'd asked me to join his homework assignments which was to figure out or master a certain recipe. And one of them was lasagna. Ah, nice one. Yeah. It was so much fun. And I remember clearly that he said So what does ricotta cheese smell like? And I didn't know. I just said, smells cheesy and he said, no, go ahead and smell it. And I did. And I put my nose in closer to the ricotta. And then he just dumped my face into it. He said, go smell it. At I laugh so hard. We had the biggest laugh, and I can remember that memory clearly, and I can almost frame it in my mind. And it's one of my best memories as a kid, and especially because At that time, I was really into magicians. I read on Harry Udini and Love David Copperfield, and I felt in a way I was performing magic. I was creating something that brought people together. And so to see that Laziah on the table, which is, you know, not a typical Filipino dish and have our family come together, I felt like I was performing a little bit of magic, and that was the start of everything. That is so great. That's exactly how I feel about cooking and about wine, you know, making something, from a pile of ingredients that don't necessarily go together, and you're never sure how it's gonna turn out until the end. So a lot of it is on faith. That's I like the alchemy, and I like the I like that you compared it to David Copperfield and the and the magicians. That's a great image for me because I, of course, that's that's part of my growing up time too. So, I wanna really congratulate you also on your new job at wine enthusiasts. You have got a lot on your plate. You're leading the tasting team. You'll be keeping an eye on beverage trends. I know, the wine enthusiast showroom education and tasting center is at your headquarters in Westchester in New York too. So fill us all in on what your new role will be. What what does a tasting director do at wine enthusiasts and what goals have you got for yourself for the next couple of years? Well, as you mentioned, there's quite a bit there, but you know, truly at my core, I'm trying to make wine accessible. And, well, just to kick things off, I don't know if you know this or those who are listening, but wine enthusiasts is a WSET certified school. And While these classes are not just offered to employees, they are available to everyone virtually for the moment, but we're hoping to open this up sometime soon. I don't have an exact date. So we can really do this in person. And so that kind of sparked everything. And we'd love to have more events in person and really make wine accessible. But on top of that, I'd like to make my tasting team and my reviewer is even more accessible. So if someone truly wants to learn from us, it's possible. So that's kind of the core of it. And, you know, I'm just a bit of a social butterfly. I wanna connect with everyone. So I wanna make sure that I'm reaching people who are also having a hard time getting into Manhattan who can maybe drive a little bit closer to our West Chester location and, you know, join in the fun. That sounds amazing. I I did know that you had a WSET app because I'm a WSTT educator myself. But, beyond that, I have been a wine educator outside of WSET for a long time. And I'm really torn at the moment personally, sort of between WSTT, very traditional structure, and sort of the way that I'm heading with my own, external teaching, which is focusing on accessible language and access accessible descriptors and things. I had this conversation with Michelle Brampton about where is WSET going. So, I'm gonna now have this conversation with you. Where would you like to see WSET go in terms of making why more accessible because the language and the structure can be pretty tough for people sometimes. Sure. A lot of it for me is language considering, I am a reviewer as well, and making sure that we can really, well, as we our motto is at wine and enthusiasts bring wines to life. I want our reviews to be accessible. We can relate to each other and learn from that and or at least generate curiosity. So for me, language is definitely a priority for me? That's that is amazing. You're singing my song. I'm very happy to hear that. And it sounds like you've got the drive to really keep focused on that. So I'm I'm gonna take that one step further from sort of transitioning between traditional and and modern. And I know outside of your official job with wine enthusiasts, you're involved in all of these other programs that mean so much to so many of us in the wine sector Now I already mentioned you're a mentor at Wine Unifai. One of my favorite wine people in the world, Alicia Pounds' Branken, is head of mentorship there. And I really love their mission in promoting ethnically and racially diverse wine sack and welcoming and elevating and amplifying the voices of, underrepresented people in our sector. And, you know, obviously, you and I quite happily agree that education is the cornerstone to sort of the progress that we want to see happen. So Yeah. Let's just talk for a minute about, what you're doing at YunionY as a mentor. You know, what drove you to take on that role? What actions are you taking with YunionY? Sure. I'm gonna take one step back and really have you get to know me at my core. I'll share with you a story from my teenage years where I remember my father waking me up for school. I was just feeling, I guess, lazy that morning, and he was tickling my feet to get me to wake up. And he said something really profound to me that stuck with me for years on it, and he basically said, you know, you're really lucky to go to school here. You know, there are a lot of kids in the Philippines who can't afford it or have members in their family who are sick. And so for so therefore, they have to stay home. And I went to school that day, and I just kept thinking about it over and over again. And it led to conversations where ultimately I started up my own foundation. I named it access with my initials in it just to give it a little. Personality and personality. And, you know, it started off as a essay writing competition with one school and about eighteen kids where they would be awarded scholarship money to help them get into high school. And then from there, my grandfather's organization helped high schoolers, get into college. And over the span of eight years, that competition grew to eight schools and over two hundred students. And then, unfortunately, college kind of, you know, happens. And I, unfortunately, had to stop it, but it meant so much to me because I consider myself an average student. I have to read things several times, and I sometimes wonder if what if this child in the Philippines was just given a chance in education, what would happen? They're probably smarter than me. And so what would happen? And from there, that's kind of why I support education so much, but then taking it one step further, mentorship is so important because I start to wonder what would have happened to me if someone was there to help guide me along the way to help shape me, especially as I had questions, or I just didn't have certain resources. So that's why I stay active in organizations, like, why by that just helps open doors. I believe that education just opens you to a whole new world of opportunities and everyone deserves that chance. I completely agree. And I think You clearly get it, but I think sometimes what people overlook is what a two way street it is, mentoring young people in education. I think anybody who's who's been in this industry for a while, especially women, we all tend to take someone under our wing from time to time. And it's not just to help them, but it also lifts us up and reminds us what we're passionate about in our industry. So, I'm really thrilled that you, I mean, first of all, queued us for starting that kind of a you know, a group when you were a teenager, my god, but to keep that spirit of supporting other people's, you know, educational aspiration going, you know, even now that you're, you know, a very well respected professional. That's so inspirational, and I really appreciate the fact that you give time to do that. And Alicia is is quite similar in those ways. So I'm I'm thrilled that you see the benefit of mentoring not not just for the people you mentor who I'm sure, you know, get quite a lot out of the joy that you clearly bring them, but, also, just to keep your hand in the game that means something to you. And I think that's that's marvelous. So well, Batanage forum is another one of my favorite organizations that you're involved in, and and that one's, you know, all women in wine, and their their aim is to educate the wine world, you know, and lift up women, and and take a good look at the historic challenges that women have faced in the wine sector. I know you were part of, the Court of Master Shameli in in the US, and we all know, about the scandals that happened there. So you're working with Baton Rouge. Oh, how are you collaborating with this group? You're mentoring at Wine Unifi. You've got a really tough job. What the heck are you doing with Batonanage for them now? Italian wine podcast, part of the momo jumbo shrimp family. Well, first, let me backtrack a little bit. You know, I am a big supporter of, women in the workplace, women in business, women in wine. And solely, because I I didn't even know I was truly being mentored from the start of my hospitality career by a woman by the name of Rita Jame. Who actually recently, inducted me into Ladamba Skaffier. She is a dear friend and mentor to me, and I didn't know that she was truly, like, guiding me. She did it in such a graceful and quiet way, but she was with me the entire time. I just didn't really think of it as mentorship until truly I became a mentor myself. And so she helped me realize what mentorship means to me and how I need to define that for myself. And so I'm really grateful to be part of organizations like wine unify and Batonanage. And so Batonanage helped me get introduced to ten women who really want to be part of the wine business And while the commitment is only an hour worth of conversation, for me, mentorship runs even deeper than that. I believe in organic and ongoing communication and growth and potentially even friendships. So while I hope to take on a new set of mentees, right now, it's, you know, I'm just really honored to be part of their stories and however they should need me. And when I'm ready, I'll, you know, again, be part of another set of stories and journeys, but I'm really grateful to even have the opportunity to be part of this organization that means so much to me. I I wish that it was around during the time that I really needed the support. So I'm really honored. It's so true, and I I'm many moons older than you are. And there were not a lot of women mentors available back in the day. And I like what you said about, discovering the grace of of an appropriate mentor. You know, there's a lot of, lip service and an actual action, you know, not just lip service taking place in the wine sector right now. That's super exciting. And loud and big. And I love that, and we definitely need it. But there are a lot of people who are just approaching the wine industry for the first time, young, who who that that sort of level of, in your face, support doesn't really work for them. And I like the idea of a graceful mentor. I think that's that's a lovely image that you created, giving space to people who want to have an hour of conversation and have a quiet discussion and and a graceful conversation. I think that's something that sometimes gets overlooked right now. We we feel like we need to make noise and make up for the shortcomings of our, you know, industry that we all love. And sometimes, I think we tend to forget about that. I like that graceful side of it. So, I'm I'm gonna take you on to the next step of your graceful side because I know that, you know, the group you actually founded yourself, but kind of, I guess, the big sister of access is summation which is spelled s o m m for all of you who are listening and can't read my show notes as in Sommelier that you founded in twenty twenty with some colleagues during the pandemic, which, again, kudos to you for not sitting around watching Netflix like the rest of us. You know, it and you founded this in order to support and expand the camaraderie and the collaboration in the wine industry. And your website on summation describes the group as talented sommeliers and wine industry taste maters spotlighting winemakers through Instagram live chats and illuminating the latest wine trends all while bringing a smile to your face, which sounds absolutely fabulous to me. So what's going on at summation now? The COVID pandemic is over, What are your hopes and dreams for this group that you founded in that crisis? You know, now moving forward into more positive era, what's going on with Samage? Sure. I wanna dive into Samation just a little bit more because I love my summation team so much. So summation is the result of a little project I started right in the beginning of the pandemic. I named it talking with my mouthful. So that really goes to show you. I should never name anything because it'll be really quirky and corny like that. But but the idea was to basically bring everyone together during a time of darkness, isolation, and fear. I was living in a small studio by myself. And I, again, I'm a social butterfly. I need to feel connected. There's something about working the, you know, the dining room floor and feeling a rhythm and people calling for your name because they need you that you're you're bringing them comfort that I truly missed during the pandemic. And, you know, I've tried to find every way to do it and it was on Instagram. I was the only way for that I thought I could connect. And so I started these Instagram lives. My first one was with Jeff Harding from Waverly Inn. And, like, wait, you know, maybe we can you know, reach people this way. And for quite some time, I was going six days a week interviewing someone for roughly forty five minutes. And some of the best conversations happened post production, if you will. They felt like it was a cathartic experience for them where they just started to feel good and started to admit, wow, I didn't realize how much I was feeling, and some of them even cried. Some of them were overjoyed. Some of them started new ideas and businesses. And then I started to think maybe there's something here. Actually, you know, I was told, you know, what? Maybe you should, you know, get a group together. And so I roped in six other friends. I didn't really give them much of a choice. And I said, you're doing this with me, and then we came up with an approximation because, you know, we are just all about the the larger group with some of all its parts, if you will? Yes. Some of the parts is greater than yes. Exactly. Exactly. And so we connected with various different people in the industry. Anyone who you know, is an adjacent to wine, and we wanted to spotlight all of the voices that really need to be heard and just learn from them whatever their talent should be. And we are really grateful to also continue the conversation with them should it be they started a new business or they decided to pivot. So we feel very much connected to the community in various different ways and even as an organization, we have morphed ourselves. We all worked the floor at one point. And now all of us have pivoted into something else. I mean, like, look at me, you know, I'm not wine enthusiast. So while things are changing, what I love about this group is that we can adapt. And while we are moving away from these Instagram lives and perhaps traditional posts, we're creating breals that are educational and inspiring And at the same time moving things into the, you know, in person realm of things where it should be might be part of an event, but you may not realize it to hosting our own events. So we're adapting ourselves, and it's a really, you know, our group is a really great gauge to see, like, what's truly happening in hospitality. Everyone's moving around. Everyone's pivoting. But at the same time, I love how we still have a good pulse on what hospitality is in its current state. Yeah. And it's it's not just pivoting through that. It's also pivoting through, social media and new technology. I mean, moving on to reals. Reals is everything right now. It's everything. It really is. It's incredible. And that's the fact that, you know, you're taking what is still pretty much an infant group, summation's only been going for two years, and already moving away from Insta Lives and into Reals. Yeah. That shows a great flexibility and adaptability. Plus, it's, you know, it's aspirational. This is gonna keep going. I I feel like this has got some some traction going. So before I let you go, I just wanna get back to your day job back to why enthusiasts. I I read a wonderful thing that Jacqueline Strom, the president in and publisher of wine enthusiasts said about you. She she called you someone who has a focus on community and comradery and making wine approachable. I think we've seen that in this interview today. I think it's pretty clear from all the groups you're involved with. And I really appreciate that ethos because that's what my podcast is about, and that's what I try to sort of model in what I'm doing in line as a writer and as an educator. And I'm just wondering how you're going to bring your style and your personality into wine enthusiasts. You said you're focused on language, but what else do you see yourself doing? You've been there for about ten minutes, like, How are you gonna bring your ideas to bear on wine enthusiasts programs and activities going forward? What would you like to do if they just gave you the keys to the kingdom and said, here you go? Well, the thing is we're already there and we're definitely, like, getting started. It just the beginning, but being a BIPOC Asian female and why, my job is to show up, speak up, and make sure that voices are heard and represented. And that's not a small feat. Nope. It is not. It is not. But I'm really proud to share my friends, any resources or pool of contacts that I have to really, you know, share with this group who's doing their homework to make a conscious effort to, you know, make sure that the wine enthusiast's voice is diverse and representative, inclusive, and just welcoming. That is my role. Oh, it's a lot, but I, you know, I just really want to make sure that we have representation across the board? Tying back to to what you said about your teenage self when you started access. What sort of advice? What would you say to young Anna Christina Cabralis back in the day, back when you were doing access, how would you get that, you know, sort of show up, speak up, share, do your homework, network? How would you get that message across to young you know, not just young Filipinos, but young by park Asian women who want to get into wine. What what are the two things you would tell them to do? Find someone who inspires you who opens up doors for you who doesn't let you say no, but try and go for it and helps you do that. Oh, that's excellent. That's excellent. Not just inspires you, but help share. Yeah. And just don't be afraid to make a lot of mistakes along the way. You won't please everyone at first, but if you come with the right intentions, it'll all work out. That's so positive. This has been such a fun conversation. I know it's early afternoon for your there. It's late in the evening for me. So you've just lifted up my entire evening here in verona with this positive attitude, and I'm so excited for wine enthusiasts that they had the sense to hire you. I think a lot of good things are gonna come from having you at at the helm there. And I wanna wish you all the best of luck with your new job. And thank you again so much for spending this time with me and talking to everybody who's this new. It's such a joy and honor. Thank you so much for the opportunity, Cynthia. This was absolutely amazing. We hope you enjoy today's episode brought to you by the wine to wine business forum twenty twenty two. This year, we'll mark the ninth edition of the forum to be held on November seventh and eighth twenty twenty two in verona Italy. Remember, tickets are on sale now. So for more information, please visit us at wine to wine dot net. Hi, guys. I'm Joy Livingston, and I am the producer of the Italian wine podcast. Thank you for listening. We are the only wine podcast that has been doing a daily show since the pandemic began. This is a labor of love, and we are committed to bringing you free content every day. Of course, this takes time and effort not to mention the cost of equipment, production, and editing. We would be grateful for your donations, suggestions, requests, and ideas. For more information on how to get in touch, go to Italianwine podcast dot com.