Adventure in a Bottle: Why I Love Wine and Cooking

Why I Love Cooking

My college boyfriend once threatened to send me to “Granny’s for some women training.” At the time this did not motivate me to improve my kitchen skills. Perhaps it did inspire me to find a new boyfriend, and it must have struck a cord subconsciously. Once that relationship was over, I found myself wanting to learn to cook. A friend once told me if you can read, you can cook. So I bought a copy of Cooking for Dummies and began reading and cooking. When I met my husband, he was the head chef at our house and could just pull items out of the pantry and create a new concoction. He did not seem to understand that I was not born with a natural ability to know what and in what quantity things would taste well together. However, he was patient, supportive and complimentary as served simple dished from recipes I found on the Internet. During this time, I actually began to enjoy cooking. I have never been able to draw or paint, but I realized I can create dishes that make people happy. Through cooking and baking I can show my appreciation for my friends and family. I now browse recipes in my spare time. And more often than not I combine multiple recipes and use my “developed intuition” to add to or edit the ingredients. And maybe, just maybe, my ex would be impressed with the meals I serve as the newly appointed head chef of my house.

Why I Love Wine

Friends who have known me a long time are often surprised at my passion for wine. I rarely drank alcohol until my late twenties when I discovered wine. Early in our relationship, my husband introduced the joy of wine and wine-tasting to me. In our mass-produced, over-standardized culture, I became enamored by the unique characteristics provided by every bottle of wine (particularly boutique wines). There are thousands of grapes that can be used for wine. Better yet, even when comparing single varietals, each will taste unique based on geography, vintage, and winemaker. In addition, the wine evolves with age so the same bottle will taste different in a year. I began to realize that every bottle of wine was an adventure. A way to bring the joy of discovering something new home to the dinner table. And when you look at it that way, higher price tags are easier to wrap your mind around.

Now that I am living in Northern California, I am blessed with the opportunity to try almost all wine before buying. Not only do I always take home things I love, but I can plan the perfect recipe for each bottle. I share these here and hope others will enjoy the recipes and be inspired to find these bottles of wine or others with similar characteristics.