Monday, March 2, 2009

Liza Zimmerman Named Chief Editor of Cheers Magazine

SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beverage Information Group announced today that Liza Zimmerman, former managing editor of Market Watch -- the trade arm of the company that publishes Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado -- has been named chief editor of Cheers magazine. In her new post, Zimmerman will be overseeing Cheers' editorial content and conference planning as well as developing new online, print, and face-to-face products for the Beverage Information Group and www.CheersOnline.com.

Zimmerman has been writing, educating and consulting about cocktails, wine and food for more than 15 years. Seven of her career years were spent at New York-based M. Shanken Communications, revitalizing Market Watch magazine. She has also published hundreds of stories in the United States and abroad in publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits, Time Out New York, Fodor's and La Cucina Italiana. Her cocktail column, In Good Spirits, appeared in the Seattle Weekly for a year. Her wine and spirits blog by the same name, found on her website, www.LizaTheWineChick.com, covers the drink world's latest news, personalities and brands. She is the exclusive wine and spirits columnist for the San Francisco edition of www.Examiner.com and her wine and cocktail columns are currently featured in Wine Business Monthly, Caviar Affair and In the Mix.

"In a relatively short period of time, Liza has had an exceptional career as a journalist covering the drinks business and the hospitality industry for both consumer and business publications," says Charles Forman, senior vice president and group publisher of the Beverage Information Group, a division of M2MEDIA360. "We expect her expertise and love of the business to have both an immediate and lasting impact on both Cheers and the Cheers Beverage Conference, in which she will play a major role."

Zimmerman is also one of approximately 100 people in the United States to hold the Diploma of Wine & Spirits, a precursor to Master of Wine recognition. She has taught at both Copia, The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa, Calif., and at The Culinary Institute of America's Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies in St. Helena, Calif.Liza Zimmerman can be contacted at (415) 839-5062 or lzimmerman@m2media360.com.

For questions about the Beverage Information Group and its parent company M2MEDIA360 or for interview information, contact Sue Gillerlain at (630) 326-9012 or sgillerlain@m2media360.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]