Top 3 NYC Summer Food & Beverage Events

Summer Fancy Food Show

Welcome to America’s largest specialty food and beverage show. The Summer Fancy Food Show is the best way to stay on the cutting edge of industry trends. Discover new and noteworthy products while making valuable connections.  

When: June 26 - 28
Where: Javits Center

Uncorked: NY Wine Festival

The Uncorked: NY Wine Festival features over 100 wines to sample from more than 50 wineries. This cocktail attire event will be jam-packed with live music, a bubbly bar, International wine area and gourmet food vendors.

When: July 16 at 2pm
Where: Metropolitan Pavilion - 125 West 18th Street
Price: $60 - $70

Ciderfeast

Ciderfeast is an outdoor event featuring the best regional, national and European ciders from more than a dozen cider makers pouring over 30 ciders. Pair your beverage tastings with fancy grilled meats and veggies and live entertainment.‎

When: August 6th at 1:00 PM
Where: SolarOne - 24-20 Fdr Drive Service Road East
Price: $55 - $80

Entering the Marketing World of Wine and Food

Two weeks into my internship with Nonni Strategic Marketing and I am finally able to get to the office without using the subway mapper app. Aside from being able to navigate the A line, I now know things like the difference between gluten-free and certified gluten-free or between Burgundy and Bordeaux-shaped wine bottles. More importantly, as a proclaimed lover of cheeses, I have found Nairn’s, the crackers that my board has been longing for.

Other than becoming more wine savvy than my friends, I do hope to learn more about the food and wine public relations world during my time at Nonni Strategic Marketing. Nowadays, food media is everywhere, and when I undoubtedly see an aerial-shot video of an aesthetic dish in the making within one minute of logging on to Facebook, I will probably watch the whole thing. The way digital media/technology has influenced these industries is fascinating to me and is why I chose this field as my business degree concentration.

So, in many ways, interning at NSM this summer has already been a great choice. At a smaller company, too, I find that the handful of people you have to work with can make or break the environment and I could not have asked for better co-workers. Side-note: I made the current summer playlist on the website and if you would like any music recommendations, totally shoot me an email.

A Day Well Spent, as told by Nonni Strategic Marketing

9 am
Wake up as well rested as your grandmother's cat on a warm Sunday afternoon. Make some Flahavan's Oatmeal with carrot cake toppings.
Shaved carrot, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, sugar...Oh heavenly creaminess, that’s good.

11 am
The surging feeling of newfound energy inspires you to jump into a pair of neon spandex shorts and go for a run through the park, stopping to pet every dog in sight.
Covered in dog hair, don’t care!

1 pm
Read the New York Times and attempt the crossword puzzle, ultimately giving up after 43 across officially numbs your temporal lobe. You take a stab at Sudoku. After realizing you’ve just been staring at a bunch of tiny boxes for an hour, you call your friend Kathleen and she invites you over for lunch.
Hey, Kathleen. What's up, girl? … Sure, tapas sound wonderful.

3 pm
Meet Kathleen at her apartment and notice that she has redecorated the space in an attempt to look Bohemian-chic. It worries you. You lend an ear about her recent breakup and subsequent trip to Thailand. You continue to worry and suggest she joins you at a cooking class at Eataly.
Wow, it sounds like you're doing really well. Uh, by the way, are you free this weekend?...

5 pm
Still hungry, you remember why you don’t usually eat tapas. You crack open a package of Nairn’s oat crackers and, feeling the oatspiration, look up s'mores recipes for half an hour on Pinterest. You eventually graduate to oat-based pie crust recipes and finally land on DIY dreamcatchers. Your mind drifts back to Kathleen and you quickly close your laptop. You receive a text from your glam friend from grad school.
Happy hour at your place? I know just what to bring.

7 pm
Head over to your friend’s apartment, bottle of classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in hand, to binge-watch 80’s movies on a projector. Upon arrival, he offers you Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Unable to choose, you decide to open both. He has Coravin so it’s no big deal.
The Kiwi is hitting one spot and the Cab is hitting another. Adulthood is amazing and so is The Breakfast Club. Don’t you...forget about me…

11 pm
Arrive back home, pop a jar of overnight oats in the fridge, and snuggle in bed, thinking back on your day well spent and looking forward to tomorrow.
MMMmmmm...ZZZZzzzzzz…

Spotlight on Lauren Ames, Account Coordinator

Hello, June! This month's NSM Employee Spotlight is on our Account Coordinator, Lauren Ames. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What's your role at NSM entail (a day in the life of...)?
I do a lot of communicating: discussing wine shipments with importers and wineries by email, corresponding with journalists, bloggers, and restaurateurs over the phone, and connecting with clients' consumers via all types of social media.

Top tips for when you network with people in the trade?
Being new to any industry is daunting, especially the wine industry, when some norms are spit buckets and people with professional titles like Master Sommelier. My approach is to be myself, be kind and ask a lot of questions.

What are the most memorable moments you've had working at NSM?
Any time I get to work with a brand that I am already loyal to is exciting, like rolling sushi with Flahavan's oatmeal or snacking on Nairn's oat crackers at the office. Going to wine tastings isn't too bad, either.

What are your favorite websites, blogs and/or social media accounts that you follow?
Reddit is my go-to, which leads me to a lot of miscellaneous online publications. As far as social media goes, my Instagram is flooded with food and tattoos, and my Twitter feed is outlined by comedians and politicians, who both provide equal amounts of entertainment.

Best dish you’ve eaten while traveling?
I’ve eaten so much amazing food that it’s almost impossible to choose. Panang curry in Bali. Dak galbi in Seoul. Shawarma pita in Tel Aviv.

Favorite thing to do in NYC?
Take advantage of all the amazing museums (and suggested donations) and different kinds of food (and cocktails).