There comes a time in most wine drinker’s lives when we begin to push the boundaries of why we are drinking wine. Beyond simply being a hobby, a way to form bonds with friends, something to blog about or a delectable way to self-intoxicate - pairing wine with food could be the zenith in wine consumption.

I belong to a few wine clubs and one of the clubs includes a wine tasting every couple of months where all the wine club members congregate and taste various wines. Typically, all the wines come from a single distributor and the club organizer has some special pricing on the wines that are tasted throughout the evening that are available for purchase near the end of the night. It’s a great way for some of us novice wine drinkers to verbally expel informal wine reviews to each other almost as a test run of what we might say to our other friends when drinking these wines in the future.

Lately, however, it hasn’t been enough to just gather, drink and exchange thoughts. Thanks to the club organizer we have been not only entertained but truly enlightened by some recent tasting events that included top-name local chefs who paired fine wine with fine food. While we all can enjoy an expensive French wine from time to time it’s also a treat to have a $9 bottle of local Syrah taste out-of-this-world when paired with the correct food. That’s precisely what we’ve been encouraged to do.

Thanks to these chefs and our club organizer I’ve been subjected to a side of wine enjoyment that I might have otherwise ignored. It’s not a complicated process and reminds me a bit of a beginning painting class when you learn which colors go well together. We learn which foods, herbs and spices extract certain flavors and textures from selected wines. A cabernet sauvignon that may not be especially tasty when sampled solo can be amazing when paired with beef bourguignon or more specifically the combination of garlic and allspice.

If you haven’t already I recommend expanding your horizons to include wine pairing. It’s helped me to enjoy another facet of the wine world.