I’m not 100% convinced that Amy Zavatto is a real person, so if you’ve met her, please vouch for her.

Though Amy splits her time between New York City and Shelter Island (where she grew up), we have yet to meet in person. She’s a ghost or perhaps a figment of New York wine’s collective imagination, writing about Long Island and Finger Lakes wines as part of her writing for a variety of outlets, including Imbibe, Edible Manhattan, Wynn Magazine, Foxnews.com. Her work has also appeared in Details, More, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Food & Wine. She is the author ofThe Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bartending, Eat NY, and co-author of The Renaissance Guide to Wine & Food Pairing.

And yet we’ve never quite crossed paths. Last year, we were supposed to speak together on a panel about wine writing. It was canceled. This year, she was in the Finger Lakes just before I was. And we inexplicably never bump into one another at local events either.

Regardless, we’ve taken a leap of faith and I’m happy to announce that Amy has joined the NYCR team. Her first piece, about her experience serving as a judge at this year’s New York Food & Wine Classic will be published later this week.

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