In the last year I have struggled with the notion of jumping into Blogging. I had a vague idea of my point of view, I have always been a writer and frankly my friends and family are tired of me talking about wine, so I really need a new audience. More than all of that, in terms of Food and Wine knowledge, I was where many others are now just a short time ago. I’d like to take the anxiety out of wine and perhaps challenge you to get beyond “I only like Red” or “I don’t like Cab”. Good Wine might indeed be Wine that you like, but there is plenty of really good wine that you don’t even know you like….yet.
Being in business most of my adult life, I found the arrogance in the Food and Wine industry appalling. Why would you want to tell your potential customers that your product is far too sophisticated for them? As much of a novice as I am now, I already get “You’re FANCY Jim, Fancy!” Others who know me think that I can’t enjoy Mac and Cheese, a simple and quick dinner or a cold beer. A friends kid the other day said “Jim won’t like this because it’s not Top-Notch food”. So that’s the appearance of arrogance I am fighting to avoid portraying as my knowledge and palate expand.
My POV is to journal a layman’s education in Food and Wine in a fun and educational way. I’ll read the 800 pages of ‘Windows of the World’ and try to bring you some bits and pieces that I think might prove useful and interesting to you. I’ll visit the wineries; (I know – tough job) and bring you back my notes. I’ll scour the Blogs and relay to you the cliff notes on what is going on in the Food and Wine Biz. I’ll visit the new openings and new Chefs and let you know what I recommend. I’ll share some recipes that worked for me.
Foremost, I want you to feel like you are reading a letter from a friend, taking advice from an equal, or getting a tip from someone you trust. I want to do it all in a fun way and hope that it steers you to confident purchases for amazing evenings of great Food and Wine.
Oh, and If the arrogance creeps in, please DO let me know!
I’d love to hear your comments below or please email: Jim@Food-Wine-Guy.com