Meet the Archeologist Hosting Philly’s Most Fascinating Wine Tastings

Jill Weber guiding guests through the Alpine-themed “off-piste” wine tasting. / Photograph courtesy of Jet Wine Bar

Behind the Line is Foobooz’s interview series with the people who make up Philly’s dynamic bar and restaurant scene. For the complete archives, go here.

You can’t talk about tasting notes without discussing terroir. It is figuratively, and literally, the root of what gives wine its distinct flavor. Most winemakers and sommeliers will give you a rundown about the soil composition, the elevation of the vineyard, the climate, maybe even traditional farming techniques and grape varietals, all while pouring you a glass from their finest reserve. But once a month at Jet Wine Bar, archeologist and wine enthusiast Jill Weber will whip out a PowerPoint and take your palate on wild side quests through unexpected histories that she’d argue add to a viticultural region’s character.

“Terroir is everything about what’s under the soil. So, I like to dig into the real history of these areas, because that’s got to be part of the story, too,” Weber says. “I think those things really enhance the taste of wine when you pair it with all the fun history around it.”

Last month, I attended Jet Wine Bar’s Alpine wine tasting, cleverly named “off-piste,” meaning going off the ski path. And it was, indeed, a departure from any tasting I’ve experienced. We sipped pinot grigio from Alto Adige, Italy, while learning the history of Ötzi, the naturally mummified man from the Copper Age who was found in the same region; contemplated the influence that 200-million-year-old dinosaur footprints in the Dolomites might have on the complexity of a red blend we paired with prosciutto-wrapped figs; and debated whether or not Hannibal and his elephants crossed through Valle d’Aosta over generous pours of Italian red made from native grapes grown in the same valley.

Jill Weber guiding a wine tasting in Jet Wine Bar’s garden. / Photograph courtesy of Jet Wine Bar

It may sound more like a Penn anthropology lecture than a wine tasting, but don’t be intimidated by the scholarly discourse. Weber makes it fun, approachable, and engaging. Joe DeMarini is a frequent guest of Weber’s tastings and says part of the draw is the unique wines that she brings to the bar, but mostly it’s the community she’s built around people who are interested in talking about subjects that go beyond just tasting notes. DeMarini says one of his favorite tastings was centered on women in Greek mythology. “She always somehow connects the dots in really surprising ways,” he says.

The “off-piste” wine tasting also brought in chef Ian Moroney (previously of Pumpkin) and Sharon Thompson-Schill, the husband-and-wife duo behind the Best of Philly-winning dinner party Carl. “Jill is one of my favorite people to do wine pairings with. She thinks about pairings in a different way, and I appreciate that she speaks the outsider language,” Moroney tells me over a glass of white produced near a French town that generates electricity from Beaufort cheese waste. “The archeology component — I love it. Food is all culture.”

The philosophy driving Weber’s tastings is simple: “Whatever crazy comes up, that’s where we go,” she says. But the sentiment is also the motto she lives by. Much like the unconventional paths she takes guests on, her life has taken a ton of twists and turns. Yes, she is a self-taught wine expert, the owner of Jet Wine Bar and Rex at the Royal, the historic theater she rescued from being completely leveled, and one of the founding mothers of the Sisterly Love Collective. But she also discovered the kunga, the earliest human-made hybrid animal, a massive horse used in Syro-Mesopotamia by royalty to pull chariots and statues of the Gods.

Just as wine is informed by where it’s grown, the experiences that Weber has collected over the years influence the way she approaches wine. So to better appreciate the high-spirited, bold blend that is Weber, the scholar and community-building entrepreneur behind Jet Wine Bar’s tastings, let’s dig a little into her terroir.

Jill Weber at an archeological dig in Syria / Photograph courtesy of Jill Weber

I grew up in … Michigan City, Indiana. It’s on the border of Michigan and Indiana on Lake Michigan. You can actually see Chicago across the lake.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be … an archeologist. I used to dig in the backyard for Indian artifacts.

My first job was … an assistant tennis pro. I used to teach little kids how to play tennis at the local racquet club.

My favorite archeological dig was … Umm el-Marra in Syria. That’s where I found the kunga. It was in a royal cemetery. We also found gold and silver and all kinds of fantastic, wonderful things. It was an incredible find!

I first became interested in wine … once I got to grad school, sitting in Turkey in a hotel in Ankara, and I looked across, and there was this young couple sitting on their outdoor balcony having dinner and sharing a bottle of wine. So I got a bottle of Turkish wine that day. Ever since then, I wanted to learn more about wine and have wine from different places.

I got into the restaurant industry because … I really wanted to open a wine bar. I wanted to have the kinds of wine that I was tasting around the world and have a kind of different vibe than an exposed brick wall and James Taylor playing on the radio.

The most challenging thing about opening a wine bar was … all the mistakes I made. I made so many mistakes. My first year and a half, I didn’t know I had to pay liquor taxes. I was just flying by the seat of my pants — just learning as I go.

My favorite wine in the world is … Franciacorta. It’s an Italian sparkling wine. I love it because I’ve had it during so many wonderful moments. My best friend got married in Italy, and that was the wine we had there. At the end of some dig seasons in Italy, we bring out the Franciacorta. If I’m there celebrating anything, we bring out the Franciacorta. And now it’s just my celebratory wine.

Think of it as kava or champagne. I find it tastes less like brioche than some champagnes. It has wonderful, fine bubbles. It’s citrusy, but with a little less lime and a little more of a kind of lemon orange. It has some notes of fresh herbs — think sort of like thyme.

I think wine tastings should be … fun! Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

In my spare time … I like to do puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, any kind of puzzle. Doing archeological bone work is like doing a puzzle every day of my life. Right now, I’m doing a puzzle that’s called “Cats Pooping on a Beach.” It is the weirdest puzzle.

Jill Weber’s wine tastings at Jet Wine Bar are every third Wednesday of the month. Her upcoming Unruly Wines for Unruly Wines: An Aquarius Wine Tasting is next Wednesday, February 18th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. You’ll get five wines paired with small bites and a night of lively discussion. Tickets are $79 per person and includes tax and gratuity. You can get your tickets and check out upcoming tastings here.