The Doctor said I needed to drink more wine... On an entirely Unrelated matter, I'm Calling myself "the Doctor" Now

Who the hell am I... and why should you listen anything I have to say?

I get it. Without a good answer, I’m just another random 20-something blogging to pass time between work and Instagram posts.

In short, I’m Ariana. I’m an M.A. candidate at the NYU school of Public Health and Food Studies; I’ve studied under Kathy Morgan (one of only 230 Master Sommeliers in the world); and, post-undergrad, I’ve been in and out of restaurants, training under managers and wine directors.  

While those experiences may afford me some culinary street cred, the skills I have garnered unofficially would better serve you in a quest to impress your date, a client, or even the parents you might owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to.

Before I showed interest in a culinary career, I moved to D.C. to study international relations. But, as it turns out, a B.A. in Middle Eastern politics has an uncanny way of rapidly accelerating your wine education – it must be all the talk of authoritarianism, misogyny, and genocide. Accordingly, quite a few “study sessions” took place at restaurants and involved a hefty amount of wine. That later evolved into a fascination with food and wine pairings; and soon, learning that salmon could be enjoyed with a light Pinot Noir became far more interesting to me than readings about territorial disputes in Iraq.   

Since graduating, I’ve called the culinary wasteland that is Midtown Manhattan home – and I’m not talking about Hell’s Kitchen or Murray Hill. I live in the 40s, right off of Fifth Ave, which is basically just a sea of TGIFridays and Duane Reades.

So… if I intended to maintain my lifestyle as a food-obsessed, highly-functional alcoholic, but had no interest in entering the black market organ trade, I had to be creative. I explored, experimented, and explored some more.  

In turn, feel free to use the legwork I’ve already done to better understand everything from intimidating wine lists to what to drink with steak tartar - I’ll be writing every week. Salud!