I'd like to drink alone.
Really, I would. Not the whole bottle, no, there are step programs for that. But a single glass with a solitary meal, yes, I'd like that.
Except that I wouldn't.
I tried several years ago to like it, shortly after I'd moved to this unfamiliar city. I knew not a soul. On nights off from work, I'd make a ritual of cooking for myself, indulgent food you might feel guilty preparing for just one person. And because I loved wine and what it did to food and what food did to it, I learned to pair. It was rewarding, very rewarding, and a wonderful chance to sit and see and smell and taste. But it wasn't enjoyable. It wasn't fun.
And wine is fun. It makes me giddy, just a glass, because I'm small. Where I'm usually reticent, it makes me chatty, and where I might be a bit sour-faced, I smile more easily. But I don't like to drink alone.
I was thinking today, with the Chef at work and me at home making dinner for myself, that a glass of wine might be nice. I was making pesto, with basil from our garden (a large clay pot, really) and some wonderful Parmesan. A simple meal. Thoughtless. It was a bowl of pasta that needed a glass of wine. If I'd thought ahead, I would have chosen a verdicchio, something crisp and green, but with a soft aroma to pick up the fruit in the olive oil. Even if I'd bought in advance, though, I couldn't have brought myself to drink it.
It's different with food. I've learned to be selfish with that, really relishing the chance to labor over something (or not) and devour it. But wine somehow seems too communal. It feels wrong to open wine without the pleasure of sharing, of musing, of toasting, of gesturing, of joking. And of just shutting up and drinking.
PESTO FOR ONE
1 large clove of garlic
1/8 cup pine nuts
three or four oil-cured black olives
3/4 cup basil leaves, lightly chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
In a mini food processor (or mortar with pestle, if you're hard core), pulse the garlic and pine nuts and olives. Add the basil and parsley gradually, with oil as needed. Add the cheese and season. Toss with linguine and pair with wine if you can bear it.
**Adapted from Alice Waters' "Chez Panisse Vegetables."
***This is my 100th post on Vin Vini Vino, and I'd like to say, my wine journey's become richer and an even greater part of my life with all of you to share it with. Cheers.
Categories: wine, wine pairings, recipes
Really, I would. Not the whole bottle, no, there are step programs for that. But a single glass with a solitary meal, yes, I'd like that.
Except that I wouldn't.
I tried several years ago to like it, shortly after I'd moved to this unfamiliar city. I knew not a soul. On nights off from work, I'd make a ritual of cooking for myself, indulgent food you might feel guilty preparing for just one person. And because I loved wine and what it did to food and what food did to it, I learned to pair. It was rewarding, very rewarding, and a wonderful chance to sit and see and smell and taste. But it wasn't enjoyable. It wasn't fun.
And wine is fun. It makes me giddy, just a glass, because I'm small. Where I'm usually reticent, it makes me chatty, and where I might be a bit sour-faced, I smile more easily. But I don't like to drink alone.
I was thinking today, with the Chef at work and me at home making dinner for myself, that a glass of wine might be nice. I was making pesto, with basil from our garden (a large clay pot, really) and some wonderful Parmesan. A simple meal. Thoughtless. It was a bowl of pasta that needed a glass of wine. If I'd thought ahead, I would have chosen a verdicchio, something crisp and green, but with a soft aroma to pick up the fruit in the olive oil. Even if I'd bought in advance, though, I couldn't have brought myself to drink it.
It's different with food. I've learned to be selfish with that, really relishing the chance to labor over something (or not) and devour it. But wine somehow seems too communal. It feels wrong to open wine without the pleasure of sharing, of musing, of toasting, of gesturing, of joking. And of just shutting up and drinking.
PESTO FOR ONE1 large clove of garlic
1/8 cup pine nuts
three or four oil-cured black olives
3/4 cup basil leaves, lightly chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
In a mini food processor (or mortar with pestle, if you're hard core), pulse the garlic and pine nuts and olives. Add the basil and parsley gradually, with oil as needed. Add the cheese and season. Toss with linguine and pair with wine if you can bear it.
**Adapted from Alice Waters' "Chez Panisse Vegetables."
***This is my 100th post on Vin Vini Vino, and I'd like to say, my wine journey's become richer and an even greater part of my life with all of you to share it with. Cheers.
Categories: wine, wine pairings, recipes
Trish,
congrats on the 100th post!
Vin. Vini. Vino has been one of my must reads since the start.
As to drinking alone - you've got a blog - so you have an excuse. . .
Edward, you're too nice. Thanks. :)
Share, schmare!
I think recipes like your pesto for one should require the opening of a Soave or at the very least a pinot blanc or vermentino.
You act like it's a Alois Lageder Chardonnay you're opening. And even if it were, better you open it than some status-conscious socialite who won't appreciate it!
Happy 100. Now celebrate!
in general, i don't like to drink alone, i agree, wine is communal... but sometimes, i do enjoy it. the boyfriend and i have different tastes in vino, so sometimes when he's away or playing poker, i'll sneak off to the store and pick up something i know i'll love but he wouldn't appreciate. then i'll cook something decadent to pair it with and sit back in my big armchair and savor.
it's kinda nice, a little bittersweet, but on the whole, enjoyable!
happy 100!!!
Trish, congrats on the 100th post.
As much as I agree with you on the communality of wine...I do enjoy a glass or two myself.
Especially when you consider the fact that my wife is pregnant and can't joing me ;)
Trish: Congratulations on the 100th posting. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insights on wine and life.
Congrats, love. You rock out.
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. And thanks again for reading. You make it all much more fun.
Oh, and I'll do my best to get over that drinking-alone melancholy. Sigh. It's a tough job... :)
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