Beverage Training Provider :
Adventure Wine
With nearly 20 years of experience in professional and free staff training on wine sales , guest service and enhancing the customer experience , Adventure Wine has become a key resource for both on- and off-premise chain operators . It ’ s also our 2024 Beverage Training Provider , a new BevX category .
Adventure Wine has worked with multiple Top 100 retail chains in an on-going basis , such as Montgomery County ABS , Gary ’ s Wine & Marketplace , Liquor Barn , Twin Liquor , Total Wine and others . It ’ s been expanding more programs to the on-premise in recent years , with top hotels , resorts , destination restaurants and independent establishments .
Robert Cavanaugh , who founded Adventure Wine in 2005 , has drawn heavily on restaurant service research and his experience managing Ritz-Carlton Hotels in New York , Palm Beach , FL , and Washington D . C . Cavanaugh , who was also a corporate buyer for Marriott International at the world headquarters , has hosted wine education tours and seminars in over a dozen countries throughout the world .
Adventure Wine aims to make wine sales more efficient and comfortable for employees in the beverage alcohol sector , as well as bring turn consumers into wine fans . It takes the mystery out of wine using staff trainings , consumer seminars and other events for wine regions from around the world such as Bordeaux , Rhône Valley , Italy , Washington State , Argentina and others .
How do they do all this for free ? Adventure Wine is funded by major wine regions around the world , so most of its programs are available at no cost to the chains .
Adventure Wine also works to help new organizations launch — particularly female and minority-owned businesses — both in the U . S . and in Paris . Its charity events in recent years have included the United Way , Red Cross and student programs . – MD .
Raising the Bar Award :
Alex Jump
Award-winning bartender / consultant Alex Jump is also an industry advocate championing health and wellness in the beverage industry . She is the founder of the consultancy Dim Lights Hospitality and cofounder of Focus on Health , an organization dedicated to helping hospitality professionals through wellness , education and community support .
Alex started out in hospitality at age 16 , hosting at a small restaurant in her hometown of Chattanooga , TN . “ Through college , I kept working in bars and restaurants , and as soon as I turned 21 , I fell in love with bartending ,” she says .
Not long after moving to Denver , Jump became the opening bar manager for Death & Co . Denver in 2018 . “ I spent 4.5 years there , learning and
growing , until I decided to take a leap into freelancing .”
In addition to running Dim Lights Hospitality , Jump serves as director of operations at Focus on Health , alongside partners , Lauren Paylor O ’ Brien and Josh Gandee . She ' s also pursuing a master ' s degree in Public Health , and this winter will also open her first bar , with her husband , Stuart Jensen , in Denver called The Peach Crease Club .
Some of the trends Jump observes today include the rise of low- and no- ABV options , ingredient transparency and bringing back Old School bartending techniques . “ There ’ s also a bigger focus on wellness in the industry , from flexible hours to mental health support for staff , which is great to see .”
Jump and LP O ’ Brien started Focus on Health because the both struggled to care for themselves while working in such a demanding field , she says . The organization ’ s initiatives include the
No / Low Tour , the Professional Development Scholarship , training programs covering harm reduction and suicide prevention , and the No Proof podcast hosted by Gandee .
“ We saw how so many hospitality folks put their own needs last , giving so much to others but rarely taking time for themselves ,” she says . “ Too often , people in this industry feel alone or like there ’ s no way to get help . Focus on Health is here to break that stigma — by sharing our own experiences and offering training and events , we ’ re working to make hospitality a better place to work .”– M D www . cheersonline . com Winter 2024 • Cheers 19