May Matta-Aliah is Lebanese by birth, but has called New York home for the last 30 years. With two decades of wine education under her belt, May is happiest when swirling, sipping and sharing her love of all things wine. She’s racked up an impressive list of wine certifications and has represented numerous wine regions as an Educational Ambassador through her company, In the Grape.

May is a Dame, a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier New York (LDNY), just like me. We’ve worked together on various events and enjoyed some leisure activities outside the organization, including pickleball. I was able to get her to take a break from her busy schedule to answer some of our fun questions.

Which food product, ingredient or gadget would you never give up? Why?
My wine key! Thankfully, I have many from all the events I attend, but how else could I get into my favorite beverage of all time, WINE!

Describe your last non-holiday dinner party.

Two of my close friends have September birthdays, so we planned a girls’ weekend at my friend Sandy’s beautiful house on Long Beach Island, and I played chef. We started the dinner with a festive glass of Franciacorta – I just had to mention this beautiful Italian sparkling wine region that I have been lucky enough to work with since 2016!

We sipped our wine while taking in the sunset over the marsh, accompanied by my appetizer course: homemade caponata, burrata with heirloom tomatoes and prosciutto with shaved parmesan on crackers, served with fried rosemary.

Dinner was my lasagna, which is a favorite of both my friends. Who doesn’t love a good lasagna? It’s one of my favorite meals ever since I was a child, and I could say the word!  Our salad was arugula with thyme and a lemon vinaigrette. We accompanied the dish with a beautiful bottle of Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

I live in Stuytown, where we are now spoiled for grocery shopping choices with both Trader Joe’s and  Whole Foods right by me. For my Burrata, Parmesan and Fresh Pasta, I visited a small Italian Grocer, Russo’s, on East 11th Street.

What would you choose for your “last meal?”

I am drawn to simple pleasures.  I absolutely love cheese, the gooier, the smellier the better. So I would just go crazy with a decadent cheese platter because I am not worrying about cholesterol at that point! I would pair it with a dry, mature Riesling, as that is my favorite white grape. To end the meal, it would have to be a flourless chocolate cake served warm with whipped cream and the tastiest raspberries. I would wash it down with a mature bottle of vintage port. At some point, I would also sneak in a perfectly ripe and juicy mango because I absolutely love mangoes!

Describe your first childhood cooking memory.

Growing up in Lebanon, our weekday meals consisted of “yakhne,” a vegetable and meat stew, usually in a tomato-based sauce, over rice. Since my mom worked and I often got home before her, I was tasked with making the rice. One of the unique features of Lebanese rice is that it’s more like a pilaf, made with toasted vermicelli, which can quickly burn, so it must be watched carefully as you sauté it in a combination of olive oil and a bit of butter. As soon as the vermicelli starts to brown, add the rice and water (1 cup rinsed white rice to 2 cups water), bring to a boil, put a lid on it and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  Even though we now have a rice cooker, I still prefer to make my rice that way. It has never failed me.

What is your go-to neighborhood restaurant?

Given that I grew up with a lot of stews and rice, and that is still my comfort food, one of my favorite neighborhood places is Desi Galli, where I always order the Saag Paneer—a flavorful spinach stew with cubes of soft Indian cheese. I always get a side of Naan that I love to use to soak up the spinach. The restaurant has two locations, but my go-to is the one in the East Village at 172 Avenue B.

Who was your most influential mentor?

Are we talking professionally? Then the answer would be Linda Lawry who was my first wine instructor and my biggest cheerleader, it is not an overstatement to say that I owe my wine career to her as she encouraged me to teach my first wine class at the International Wine Center in 2001! She also encouraged me to sit for the Certified Wine Educator Exam and helped me train for its difficult tasting portion. Finally, Linda was the person who sponsored me to join Les Dames d’Escoffier! Unfortunately, we lost Linda a few years ago, but I think of her often.

If we are speaking personally, then the answer would be my mom, Margo. My mom grew up in a small village in Lebanon with a strict father who did not allow her much freedom. As soon as she graduated from high school, she moved to Beirut, attended a secretarial school, and landed her first job as a receptionist at Exxon’s Middle East headquarters. Over 25 years at the company, she rose to become the Executive Assistant to the Director. During the Civil War, when many American companies relocated their headquarters out of Lebanon, she started her own employment agency and became one of the most respected corporate recruiters in the country. She retired and closed her agency just around her 80th birthday.

Describe your worst kitchen disaster and how (if possible) you saved it

While not truly a kitchen disaster, it was certainly a wine one! For years, I hosted a Christmas Eve dinner where I served a Coq Au Vin that I had worked on for days. While the dish gently simmered in the Dutch oven, we would go caroling in Gramercy Park, then return home to eat. That evening, upon our return, I was looking for my special bottle of red wine—a beautiful red Hermitage I had pulled from my cellar to decant. Sadly, I saw that bottle sitting empty on my kitchen counter, realizing with a heavy heart that I had inadvertently poured it into my Coq Au Vin, while my cheap bottle of red remained proudly on the counter! Needless to say, that was the best Coq Au Vin I ever made, but I’m still not sure it was worth the price!

What food is your secret guilty pleasure?
White Cheddar Smartfood Popcorn —the only time I allow myself to get it is on a road trip, because once that bag is opened, I eat the whole thing and lick my sticky fingers afterward.

What advice would you share with your younger self?

Worry less and live in the moment. Many things I worried about years ago now seem like a waste of energy and time.

If you could have anyone —past or present —at your dinner table, who would it be and why?

Since 2020, I have lost my dad, my mom, my maternal aunt, and my childhood home. I would give anything to dial back the clock and have one more meal with them all around our round dinner table, eating my mom’s cooking and hearing my aunt laughing at one of my dad’s jokes. It is moments like that one takes for granted till one day they are just a memory.

Be sure to follow her on Instagram at @inthegrape, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also listen to her interview on the Italian Wine Podcast.