ELEONORA JEZZI

OWNER, PAIN ET VIN

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

Meet Eleonora Jezzi - an Argentinian sommelier in love with special wine projects, married to an Israeli chef who specializes in baking sourdough bread. Together they own an adorable wine bar called Pain et Vin located in the charming Palermo Soho neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

On our Argentina group trips, Eleonora hosts a special wine tasting for us that features all of Argentina’s top female winemakers.

Follow Pain et Vin here.

1. WHAT ARE YOUR CORE VALUES AT PAIN ET VIN?

I think the strength of Pain et Vin comes from the warmness, the quality of the products, and the service. We are not so big, so we are always focused on the attention and the really good quality of our wine selection, cheese and jam, and the sourdough bread. We always knew that we had to qualify differently because we don’t have any backing to support us; it is only us, which is always a bit of a challenge.

2. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE A SPACE LIKE PAIN ET VIN? HAVE YOU ALWAYS ASPIRED TO HAVE YOUR OWN STOREFRONT?

I always wanted to have the kind of place that I would go to. My husband and I travel a lot and we always go to wine bars, and we love the ones that are very cozy, very home-y. Not because of the great selection of wines, or because they are very trendy or very expensive, but because of the atmosphere. I was very focused on that, but I was a physical education teacher, I did not always want to have my own place! This started from a crisis, from a vocational crisis from my husband, he didn’t want to work in gastronomy in Argentina anymore so I said, OK, let’s open up something that belongs to us, and run it the way we want it!

3. THE FOOD INDUSTRY IS INFAMOUSLY MALE-DOMINATED. IS THERE ANY ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO A WOMAN IN THIS BUSINESS?

Yes, the gastronomy industry is very, very dominated by men. I consider myself a strong woman, I always was, and my family was very supportive of me. I was seen as an equal to my father and my brother, and my work, same as my political views or my opinions, aways counted, like my mother’s. So I was raised up like that, where I didn’t feel the difference being a woman, but yes, in the front, sometimes if a person comes in and I am there, they tend to speak to my husband first, even though I am the wine person here! But that is probably the only thing that annoys me. If I had to give any advice, I would just say keep yourself strong and believe in yourself.

4. WHO ARE THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LOVE TO HOST AT PAIN ET VIN (LIVING OR DEAD!)?

I would love to host Madame Lalou, from Romanée-conti, she was a great pioneer when it comes to biodynamic wines, and she was very strong. There are a lot of very strong women in the history of wine, especially champagne, because they were widows! But when it comes to wine, Madame Lalou, she is the best, she is very clear, very powerful. And then, well, Sebastian Zuccardi, from the Zuccardi family in Argentina, I think he is a revolutionary guy in the industry. And the third, well, I’d have to think about that! Probably a writer… Borges, maybe, but if he is not drinking wine, then I am not interested!

5. WHAT IS A SUBJECT THAT FASCINATES YOU? WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT?

Well, speaking about wine, what fascinates me is that it’s changing constantly, and every year is a challenge because you have to study a lot all the time! What I do is research and read a lot, get into contact with producers and colleagues. I am constantly thinking about how to surprise people. We have our people here, many from other countries, expats, but we know we have something special here. It’s like a mini-goldmine that we are tapped into. That’s what fascinates me; the wine industry is so big that if you want to have something special you have to investigate a lot. I also have to mention that I love the interaction with people the best. I love to see the progress in those people who come in knowing nothing about wines, really shy to ask, but maybe they come back and start to see what they like and what their preferences are. We like to call Pain et Vin a hostel of wine, somewhere you go and meet new people and discover new things in a comfortable place. That’s what I love.

6. WHERE IS A DESTINATION YOU WOULD LOVE TO TRAVEL TO?

I love traveling, and if it comes to wine, on my bucket list it’s California, it’s Napa. Not because I think that's the Mecca for winemaking, but because I know they are doing lots of stuff for tourism, so I would love to go there for me! But if I have to choose to travel as a guest, Italy. I would go to Italy very year to a different village, stay there and talk to producers and learn from them.