About Me!

Ok, so this is my first attempt at a blog, and yes, I am pretty much like one of those old people that don't know much about technology etc. but at least I'm giving this a try as a way for me to express myself and share my love of food and wine with others while not continuing to annoy all my Facebook friends with my food and wine posts!  I will be learning as I go along, as I'd like add some things over time, but it will just take time to figure out how to do this!  So now, on to the good stuff!

About this blog, it's all about wine, food and fun, and sharing these things with people you care about.  I am the Lumpy one, you see Lumpy was my nickname from college and it sort of stuck with me all this time, so why not?  Besides, seeing that a wine and food blog is written by some guy named Lumpy is sure to set the reader's mind at ease that this won't be some fancy foodie blog that looks down on people who choose to eat fast food every now and again! 

What do I like?  Well, I like a lot of things, but when it comes to wine I drink almost exclusively red wine, which I discovered I liked in 1995.  You see, in the spring of 1995 I was working in New York for Smith Barney, and they purchased an office in Paris from another firm, so they sent a team of us auditors out to review the office for 3 weeks (Paris in the spring time is lovely, and I highly recommend it if you were wondering!).  I never really was much of a wine person before that trip, but visiting France, like almost any southern European country, you learn to drink wine with about every meal (except breakfast of course).  The French introduced me to their exceptionally dry red wines, mostly bordeaux and I fell in love.  I still have a bottle of 1986 Margaux that I brought back from that trip, which I think I'll probably never open as a momento of that trip.  I then went to Italy and discoved the joy of Tuscan wines (and I have a 1988 Brunello as a souvenir from that trip), but now with the joys of the TSA, I may never again have another nice souvenir like those bottles. 

I then moved to the northwest, and learned to love the Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley, and then ventured to Walla Walla and discovered the great cabernets of the Columbia Valley in Washington.  I had friends from California, who showed me a thing or two about the wines from Napa Valley and Sonoma, to the great Zinfandels or Lodi.  Since then I've explored the world through the bottom of a glass, experiencing the wines of Australia, Spain, the south of France, Spain, and so many others that I can't recount them all! 

What can you expect from my blog?  Heck I don't know, I'm not even sure what my goals are and it's my blog!  But I do hope to share some things with you about wine and food, maybe review some wines that you might want to try, give you some cooking hints or ideas for entertaining friends and family and just enjoying the bounty that the good Lord has given us on this little blue planet!  So feel free to read, comment and enjoy the ride!

Oh, and you can also follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/jtryka