While eating, don’t you just love it when someone asks you what you’re tasting?

In complete transparency, I didn’t pay any attention to the tastes of food while a young boy, a young man, and while a middle age person. Does that reveal me just a bit?

However, now comes my redemption — I now believe taste is the most important aspect of eating and drinking. Across the years, I’ve been in many venues serving a wide variety of foods. Some of these foods are memorable, and others, well I’ve forgotten them.

It’s not only tasting the taste, but it’s also about discussing what you are tasting with those around you. Again, in full disclosure, I am not a swanky culinary type person. There’s nothing wrong with a good old hot dog, a plate of mashed potatoes with beef gravy and some liver and onions. They are your basic foods — like a hunk of bologna.

Speaking of bologna, the other day I opened a bottle of Farmer of Wine — a red blended vino from the Puglia region in Italy. As you might recall, I enjoy an Italian wine and relish sipping one with some delicious pasta. Well, this very nice wine surprised the heck out of me. After the cork was removed, I smelled a rather strange aroma and took that first sip.

I tasted bologna! What? My first thought was the wine had gone bad. I checked the vintage. It was made in 2019 so that’s OK. The wine is made from vines that have grown in the Puglia region for over a century so one should expect some deep flavors. Taking the second sip, I began to smile.

Upon further sampling, I fell in love with this wine. It has deep intense flavors with hearty tastes of dark cherries, tart berries and it finished with a long oaky taste. Absolutely a favorite! So, what did that sampling tell me about tasting?

I learned to not be in a hurry. Let taste develop, mature and breathe its beauty into you — take your time. There are times when everyone and everything needs time to breathe. You see, one is never too old to learn.

On another subject, I was recently gifted a jar of Buckwheat Stout honey. It was made locally, and I like that. Since I’d never tasted such a honey, I was excited to do so. Honey is honey, right? Well, yes and no.

Upon the initial taste, I tasted, here it comes, rhubarb! Again, there must be something wrong with my sense of taste or…? I did some research into honey made from buckwheat, and here’s what I learned.

The buckwheat plant comes from the same family as the rhubarb plant — they are cousins. OK, back to tasting.

With that botanical knowledge, I delved into the hearty sweetness of the honey. It’s beyond delicious, and I’ve used it in a number of cooking adventures (it’s lovely with asparagus) with great pleasure. Thanks for the gift!

Then, I got to thinking that, since it’s called Buckwheat Stout honey, why not mate a Stout brew with it. Let’s just say I probably ate too much honey during that profound tasting venture, and we’ll move on to another tasting story.

One of the Minnesota grown grapes I really enjoy is Frontenac Blanc. It’s been my pleasure to taste this wine grown in vineyards found all over the state and it is always very delicious. With family members, I got to visit Saint Croix Vineyards near Stillwater, and I ended up with a bottle of their Frontenac Blanc.

With its crisp tastes of honey and citrus, I think you’ll like it, too. Give it a taste!

Now consider yourself forewarned — the next time we sit down to talk, sip and eat be prepared to tell me what you taste. It will be a delightfully tasty conversation.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!