Professor Spotlight: Kelly Magyarics
Kelly at the top of Table Mountain, South Africa
Get to know one of our most traveled professors!
It’s a true pleasure to be the Editor-in-Chief of Alcohol Professor, now in its 7th year. But I couldn’t be in this position without the help of our talented roster of Alcohol Professors! We recently profiled Maggie Kimberl, who has been reporting all things American Whiskey (and a bit of Canadian too!) from her base in Louisville, Kentucky, and Brian Petro, our hardworking cocktail historian in Dayton, Ohio. Now it’s time to get to know the DC area’s own Kelly Magyarics!
I love receiving pitches from Kelly because she always has these fun outside-the-box ideas I’m typically too brain fried to consider covering myself. “It’s spring! What about cocktails with tastes of lavender?” What about “winterizing” that warm weather classic the Gin and Tonic?” “Should we offer alternatives for people who don’t actually like bubbly (I know) for a New Year’s piece?” “What about which wines to sip with Thai food?” “Since leisure travel is out for now, how about pairing transportive songs with matching cocktails (and in this article she gets tips from industry experts about the basic cocktail skills to master at home while you make them)?” "Most recently she even took on the daunting task of finding wines to sip with that notoriously tricky flavor foil, asparagus.
Here’s Kelly!
Amanda Schuster: Please tell us your “origin story”. How did you become a wine and spirits writer?
Kelly Magyarics: I have a degree in Communication and French, but after college I got a position in tech support, technical writing and training at a Manhattan investment bank whose IT department was looking for someone with a communication rather than “techy” background better equipped to deal with the high-maintenance portfolio managers. But I have always enjoyed cooking and dining out. I hosted my first dinner party at age 14, a Japanese-themed birthday soirée complete with a make-your-own stir fry station.
In the spring of 2001 I enrolled in Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Wine School—one of the last sessions to be held at the top of the World Trade Center. I remember taking the E Train from my office in Midtown every Monday night, snagging a seat in the front row and just being in awe of the view, the experience, and Zraly’s passion for wine. It was not only a career-changing experience, but a life-changing experience as well. We relocated that summer to the D.C. area where I got another tech job, but I couldn’t stop reading and learning about—not to mention tasting—wine. I enrolled in WSET courses and pursued (and passed) the six-unit Diploma certification. I created a side hustle teaching interactive wine tastings for private events like bachelorette and birthday parties as well as corporate team building and employee recognition events and those at restaurants and resorts.
One day I cold-pitched Wine Enthusiast and was surprised to get a response that led to my first real assignment: pairing wine with junk food. I realized that while I enjoyed teaching people about wine, I enjoyed writing about it even more—and writing gave me more schedule flexibility since I could do it whenever I wanted, even in my pajamas if I felt like it. When the current cocktail renaissance took hold I started writing more about spirits and libations, and traveling also opened up other opportunities for me. Today I am very fortunate to be able to write for a variety of publications in the food, beverage, travel and lifestyle space.
AS: Before the pandemic, you seemed to be traveling quite a lot for work. Do you miss it? If so, what are some of the things you miss most, and what are you sort of glad you don't have to deal with right now?
KM: Sigh. I miss traveling so much. It’s been years since I’ve stayed in one place for so long. I’m the type of person who longingly looks towards the sky when I see a plane and have to check my FlightAware app to see where they are headed. If I’m not traveling then I’m researching an upcoming trip or planning future travel. I had a trip scheduled with Intrepid Travel at the end of March to Bhutan, a country that’s at the top of my bucket list. I was also set to go to Petit St. Vincent in the Grenadines at the end of April for a four-day acoustic guitar workshop. I started playing guitar a few years ago but am still very much a beginner and was looking forward to playing on the beach. Who knows when I’ll fly somewhere again.
Those Facebook Memory notifications we get every day are a blessing and a curse. It’s great to look back at some of the places I’ve gone but it makes me miss traveling even more. And I’m one of those rare people who actually loves airports and relishes air travel. I find the energy at airports to be fascinating: families excited to be going on vacation, couples headed to their honeymoon, even business travelers who are annoyed or stressed or over it. There’s just so much happening, it’s fun to people—watch and soak it all in.
AS: What are some of the most exciting places you've visited and the most interesting experiences or surprises along the way?
Kelly in Bangkok
KM: Last year around this time I embarked on a twelve-day culinary tour around Thailand that was tied in with the coronation of the new king. It was absolutely incredible. Thai cuisine is my absolute favorite, and we ate our way around the country: crispy Chiang Mai noodles, more varieties of pad thai than I knew existed and some cold, refreshing, crunchy thapthim krop for dessert on the beach in Phuket. I can’t wait to go back.
In October I returned to my favorite place on earth, Bora Bora and stayed at incredible overwater bungalows at the St. Regis and Le Meridien. I’ve always joked that if the locals there believe in an afterlife they are going to be sorely disappointed as heaven cannot be more beautiful. I’ve been to a lot of gorgeous islands and beaches but nothing tops Bora Bora. (Though I would like to check out the Maldives and the Seychelles just to be sure…)
And then there are some of the unique experiences I’ve had over the years: taking part in an emotional healing ceremony with a shamen far from the crowds at Machu Picchu, foot-treading grapes in a lagare in the Douro Valley, going on safari in South Africa and then soaking in a view of Table Mountain a few days later from a suite at The Silo Hotel, bathing in the thermal springs at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, tasting Assyrtiko (one of my favorite white wines) amid the blue roofed and stark white buildings on the Greek island of Santorini. I’ve been very very lucky.
AS: You write about wine and spirits, do you have a favorite subject to write about, or is there something you haven't covered yet (doesn't have to be in this genre) that you want to try?
KM: I adore wine and it’s what got me into this field, but I have to say that writing about cocktails can be a bit more fun. When you open a bottle of wine you get what you get. Sure you can pair it with different foods and sometimes cook with it or use it in a drink, but it’s usually pretty straightforward. But there are infinite possibilities when you crack open, say, a bottle of gin: Martini, French 75, G&T, Negroni, countless riffs.
Most gratifying has been getting to learn and share the stories of so many talented people in the food and beverage industry: winemakers, distillers, bartenders, sommeliers, chefs, hotel managers. I relish getting the chance to tell others about the path to their passion.
AS: Zoom virtual happy hour - yes or no?
KM: I mean it’s all we have right now, right? A good friend and I have had a ritual for the past few years where we get together on Friday afternoon for Wine Time, either on her patio or my deck if the weather is nice, or in her living room or my basement bar if it’s not. For the past few months we’ve been doing it via Zoom. It’s not quite the same but we still get to connect and catch up over our favorites (crisp whites, sea salt popcorn and Manchego and charcuterie). I also regularly catch up with another group of friends in the neighborhood, as well as my brother and his husband in L.A. And Zoom has also given me the chance to reconnect with a few friends I hadn’t talked to in awhile.
AS: You are based in the DC area - do politics ever mix with the drinking scene there?
KM: Sometimes. Right now Capo Italian Deli is offering cocktails served in a Fauci Pouchy which is a clever homage to the voice of reason keeping us sane right now. During election season there are always drinks inspired by the candidates, etc. But there is way more to the D.C. area than politics. We have an incredible wine, cocktail and food scene.
AS: If you could be at a bar or restaurant right now, which three famous people, past or present, would you most want to be sipping with and where would it be?
Anyone who really knows me knows the answer to this. If it had to be only three it would be Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison. (Sorry Ringo!) And of course we’d be sipping drinks at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
AS: Oh, poor Ringo! I’ll let you have four then.