Why Do I Blog?

I  started blogging almost five years ago.  I wanted to share my passion for cooking, food and WINE.  I am a curious person, ALWAYS on the search for something new to cook up.  Cooking for me is so much more than getting accolades for a tasty dinner.  It is my creative outlet, my zen time, it balances me and connects me to my garden, a farmers market, nature, art, culture - yes, food and wine is all that and more for me! Over the years ALWAYS RAVENOUS has become a collection, a hub where even I can locate my favorite recipes.  ALWAYS RAVENOUS is shaped by what I read, trends, whether culinary or health driven, travel, memories - again the list goes on.
So why do I blog?  Because food and wine are ALWAYS on my mind.  Because I want to try that new recipe or taste that bottle of wine.  Blogging keeps me on a quest to learn and discover more and then, share that excitement and joy.
Right now my focus is WINE.  When I started my Pinot Noir project, which I really started as a food and wine pairing "focus", I stumbled across the book I am currently reading "The New California Wine" by Jon Bonne.  Reading this book is taking me down another path for a desire to learn more about wine.  The "new" California winemakers are all about terroir and what a grape varietal can, and should taste like.

I recently tasted 2 (actually 3) Russian River Pinot Noirs that were to be my "crown jewels" from that region.  Paul Hobbs 2010 & 2011 and Merry Edwards 2008. Paul Hobbs Winery  Merry Edwards Winery  All these Pinot Noirs I enjoyed, even though I struggled to find "the perfect" food pairing to complete the experience.  The Paul Hobbs Pinot Noirs I had with my Thanksgiving dinner and the Merry Edwards with a birthday celebration of garlicky chicken, Moroccan couscous and a goat cheese salad.

 

The flavors and wine notes adhere to the typical Pinot Noir flavor profiles, The Wine Aroma Wheel. The wines from my perspective were well made, nicely balanced with that alluring finish that makes you smile. But the more Pinot Noirs I taste I realize, I want to go to the next level of interpreting what I am tasting.  So to get to the next level I am becoming a student again.  First adding to my reading list and joining a local chapter of the American Wine Society to taste more, learn more and come back here to share what I discover. Cheers to good wine and food and ALWAYS with good company!