About Me

A Journey from Wall Street to Wine

Originally from New Orleans, Christine Berenger worked in private equity, fixed income and equity and commodity derivatives for 15 years, with the majority of her career on Wall Street.

At her first job, the managing partner had a classically trained and talented chef whose previous employer had been Pamela Harriman. The chef prepared succulent and innovative meals for the team daily. It stoked a fire within her, as Christine began to view this part of her day as her own private cooking class. She peppered the chef with questions, learned a lot, experimented at home and alas, became a foodie.

While working in investment banking, she developed her passion for food, quickly adding a zeal for wine to that mix. Years ago, while other Associates in Salomon’s Sales and Trading training program were busy seeing if it is physically possible for a gallon of milk to be consumed in an hour (it’s not), running 50 yard dashes along West Side Highway, or being the subject of a “who could eat the most Big Macs in an hour” bet (without getting sick), Christine was hosting the first crab cake “throw down” on Salomon’s trading floor.

Her positions in finance provided her the opportunity to travel extensively, exposing her to a broad range of culinary and wine experiences. Her Wall Street career challenged her enormously, but she realized that she needed to feed her soul and explore her passion for food and wine. Friends and colleagues knew how much she traveled and loved food and wine. They frequently asked her for suggestions and encouraged her to write about her experiences. Fava Beans & Chianti was born.

Christine passed the Advanced Certificate Exam (level three) for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) with merit and is now a Diploma Candidate. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators (SWE) and is currently studying for the Certified Wine Educator Exam. She has also passed level one of the Court of Master Sommeliers exam. Previously, she spent the bulk of her career on the equity derivative platforms for Salomon/Citigroup and UBS Investment Banks. Most recently, she was responsible for the UBS Investment Bank’s equity and commodity index structured products relationship with UBS Wealth Management US. She resides in New York with her French husband where they are investors in Joseph Leonard Restaurant located in the West Village.