The Wine Table

Food before Wine? Chicken or Egg?

It's the classic question. What came first-the chicken or the egg? Food or wine?

Well, not really. Obviously food came first, but early references to wine can be found in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. So, let's just say it's been quite some time since man discovered that grapes left too long in an enclosed container fermented into wine.

As for myself, growing up in a rather abstemious military family with a professional cook for a grandmother and a mother, aunts, and a paternal grandfather who were all great cooks, it's little wonder that I'm obsessed with food. I remember rolling lumpia with our Filipina neighbors in Angeles City, Philippines, when I was seven; learning to make refried beans from scratch as an eighth grader with the cooks at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Del Rio, Texas; and making homemade cottage cheese with my grandmother on summer vacations to Kansas.

My grandmother Grace was an inspiration to me. At a time when few women worked outside of the home, my grandmother drove thirteen miles from the family farm to the nearest town of Concordia, Kansas, to work as a restaurant cook, and that was after
she cooked for her family of eight plus the farmhands, raised her own chickens, tended her acre-large farm garden, and canned the results. Her cooking was so well respected that clients called to make sure she was in the kitchen before coming to the restaurant
and patrons sent tips back to her-unheard of in Kansas at the time. I like to think I inherited my cooking genes from her, although the thought of what her schedule must have been like exhausts me.

And then I discovered wine. Now, I'm confident I was not the first to fall in love with French wine on a college exchange trip to France, and I guarantee you that I will not be the last. I know you can picture it: young girl from Kansas travels to France, sips wine at sidewalk cafés, nibbles cheese and other delicacies, practices her French accent

Vickie Reh is a chef and certified sommelier who has spent her life researching food and wine traditions. Her forays have taken her to family kitchens in obscure wine regions, elegant palazzos, modern showcase wineries and respected restaurant kitchens—from France to California, from Sicily to the Italian Alps, from Portugal to Virginia. When not traveling, Vickie has spent years on both sides of the kitchen door alternating between roles as Chef, Wine Director, Wine Consultant, and Tour Guide with stints in Washington DC at Buck's Fishing & Camping, Comet Ping Pong, and Arrowine and Cheese. Currently combining her two loves, cooking and wine, Vickie is Chef and Wine Director at Via Umbria in Georgetown.

"This is an ambitious effort to gather inside intel and connect the dots between Eurocentric regional cuisines and wines-something even casual lovers of the grape could benefit from."
- The Washington Post

"Wow! What a beautifully written book-the tone, the passion, and the authenticity of pairing wine and food shines through. Vickie brings history and geography alive while putting us in the shoes of the wine maker and their harvest table."
-Carla Hall, co-host of The Chew , restaurateur, and author

" The Wine Table is an insightful collection of recipes, tips, and memories that follow one simple rule: wine is better with food, and food is better with wine. A delicious read!"
-Eric Ripert, chef & co-owner, Le Bernardin

"We seem to be living in a golden age with new wine books and blogs happening almost every day, yet so many of them seem to miss the mark and forget what makes wine so special-the people behind the labels and the human connections we all share. I am happy to say that Vickie has not made that mistake. Her book is overflowing with joy, love, and respect for the culture of celebrating wine with food with people. I am often asked what my favorite wine is, and all of my favorites (yes, it is more than one favorite) are tied to memories of whom and what we were doing when we had the wine; this book nails that premise and provides the template to recreate the meals in your own kitchen. The book is like a mix-tape of nothing but great French and Italian memories/experiences of wine, food, and people; an awesome way to travel without leaving home."
-Keith Goldston, Master Sommelier, Court of Master Sommeliers

"Winemakers, living in beautiful places, celebrating heritage and tradition, drinking fabulously, and eating equally so, Vickie brings all of the romance of winemaking and the legacy of its culture into the home kitchen through her intimate portraits of friends."
-Barton Seaver, chef and author of American Seafood

" The Wine Table