Sip, Savor, Create: Unlocking the Magic of Wine, Food Pairings, and Artistic Inspiration

Tricia [: 00:00:00

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Mealtime Magic and Mayhem podcast, where we love to talk about all things food, simplifying mealtime. But one of my very favorites is talking about all the things that are food and wine. And I'm super excited to welcome this creative soul onto the podcast today. Joanna barbola. She is the epitome of a creative from what I have learned so far, are and she's got an unsurpassed knowledge in the wine industry, teaching, tutoring, corporate admin, creative writing, art and design, and a recently self published author. We're going to talk a lot about her book today, but it's an entertainingly, sassy wine and art book and with suggestions on food pairings, flavors, grape varietals, all these things that get me all excited and lit up to talk about. So, Joanna, welcome to the podcast. We're so glad to have you here.

Joanna [: 00:00:53

Thank you so much for having me. It's wonderful to be here. Tricia so, I love to start every.

Tricia [: 00:00:58

Interview with a fun question that I think just lets you get to know people in a different way sometimes, rather than the mundane. How is it where you you know, I love to mix up the conversation, so I carry these little cards with me everywhere and people hear about them on all the podcasts. At some point, they're probably going to get tired of hearing about it, but these are my table talk as cards and they're just so much fun. So your question today is, if you had to compete in an eating contest, what food would you choose to consume?

Joanna [: 00:01:26

So, of course, my first love is wine, but my second love is chocolate. And the way wine and chocolate go together is just another whole out of this world feeling. But I would have to say chocolate. And there's just so many different kinds of chocolates that I love. Light chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate with nuts. Yeah. So I would absolutely have to say chocolate.

Tricia [: 00:01:53

Okay, that's a great choice. And you can always wash the chocolate down with wine. I'm just saying.

Joanna [: 00:01:58

Absolutely.

Tricia [: 00:02:00

Okay. So, random question, not really related to the questions that I wanted to ask you, but because your answer was chocolate, do you have a favorite brand of chocolate? Like a go to when you see it?

Joanna [: 00:02:13

Yeah, Ghirardelli.

Tricia [: 00:02:15

Ghirardelli.

Joanna [: 00:02:16

I love I love the chocolates. I used to make homemade fudge and I used to use Ghirardelli chocolates. So yeah, that's a good one.

Tricia [: 00:02:25

And easy to find, right?

Joanna [: 00:02:27

Very easy to find. Everybody stocks it.

Tricia [: 00:02:31

I always get excited when I'm traveling and I find those small chocolate tears that combine the art and the cooking and with all the flavors in the chocolate, where you see those that are infused with wine or scotch and they look like they've been hand painted on top. I'm a sucker for it. I come home with a box of, like, 24 truffles every time, and they're never inexpensive. But I don't care. I have to have them. And I'm always picking out the flavors that I feel like my husband's going to love and my son's going to love or my best friend's going to love. It brings back all of that connection that we talk about between food and wine. Right? So, like, wine does that and chocolate and food and it's just chocolate and so much fun to do all of those things.

Joanna [: 00:03:12

Yeah, there's so much you can do with it.

Tricia [: 00:03:15

All right, so you've had a diverse and exciting career journey ranging from corporate administration to creative art and art. How did your passion for wine and art come together to inspire this book? Divulge to vino?

Joanna [: 00:03:27

Yeah, so I've always, always been interested in art from a young age. I would always go to museums. I was always fascinated by abstract art. Koso was always one of my favorite artists, and I just really, really loved it. And I even went to Fit in New York City just to feel that creative vibe. Although I wasn't doing any kind of artistic courses at I took marketing, communications, but I just kind of wanted that whole creative vibe to be around me. And I really didn't start painting until a little later in life. I really started in my early, early 40s is when I started painting. And it was kind of like something I just stumbled upon. I mean, I spent so much time in museums and so much time gallery hopping and going down to Chelsea and Soho and doing all the gallery tours and everything, and I just got so inspired. I really did. And I started very first time I took a paint and sip class back in New York. I really, really enjoyed it, which led to another paint and sip class, which led to taking courses, taking our courses at an art league locally when I was on vacation from work. And then I got so involved in it because I was really enjoying it. I ended up setting up an easel in the side of my apartment in the back part of the living room by the window and made a little section for me with all my paints and all my books for inspiration. I just started painting at home and doing all kinds of abstract paintings, and it was very therapeutic for me, really therapeutic, and I really enjoyed it. And for me, because I learned so many stress reduction techniques and creative techniques, but just using it as an outlet that I designed an art therapy course that I actually taught to students here in Florida, USF. So not only was I able to turn the art into a business where I sell my paintings and also made home products and accessories featuring my designs, I also constructed and designed an art therapy course. So there's so many benefits, so many benefits from my painting career that started late in life in my 40s, well.

Tricia [: 00:05:50

It'S lovely, though, when you find that thing, right. That does light you up, those hobbies that are therapeutic. And what I love about a lot of hobbies like art and cooking is it's therapeutic for you, but it also, in a sense, gives back to the world too, right?

Joanna [: 00:06:08

Absolutely.

Tricia [: 00:06:11

I say I'm not a great painter. I love to play with watercolor when I have something else, a starting point that somebody gives me. I can't draw to save my life. But mixed media. But as you talk about abstract art and all those different mediums, I have found those in Art Journaling to be incredibly therapeutic. And I love that it's messy and there's no one way it's supposed to look, and nothing is symmetrical in anything that I do. When it comes to art, it's interesting because typically or historically, especially growing up in corporate America, I think a lot of us can become very perfectionist and type A. So to have that outlet, to just let it flow and be messy, really powerful.

Joanna [: 00:06:57

Absolutely. Because and that holds true for me as well, because I was so regimented for so many years. And so by the book, following the rules, following policy. And then when I started with this painting and this creative side tapping into my creative side, and I started with the abstract art, I love the fact there was absolutely no rules that I had to follow. It was just whatever I was feeling, I was painting. It was just coming transpiring onto the canvas. And I just loved it. It was just such a freeing of just being able to paint any way I want to paint any shapes, any brushstrokes, any colors, just no rules whatsoever. I start when I want to start, I finish when I want to finish. I change it if I want to change it. And I'm in the driver's seat and such a freeing spirit. It really is.

Tricia [: 00:07:57

It really is. And then all of a sudden, you realize, wait, I don't like rules anymore.

Joanna [: 00:08:03

That's so true, because since I've come to Florida, I have been really getting far, far away from that whole corporate environment that I'm so accustomed to. I started with the teaching, the substitute teaching, where I can command a classroom and follow a lesson plan, but follow it and teach it in my own words. So a lot of creativity there and yeah. So then designing the art therapy class, which was really fun. And I also work with the National Organization for Women, and I handle all their communications and media. So that's giving me another opportunity for me to express myself in my own way. So it's really been fantastic.

Tricia [: 00:08:49

Oh, yeah. You're getting to play in all these creative pies. Right?

Joanna [: 00:08:52

Exactly.

Tricia [: 00:08:54

So in Divulge Divino, I love that you've brought together wine, art and culinary experiences, really all the things that you love. But so often I feel and this kind of goes back to the rules thing. Right. I feel like even within those realms, so often what we're taught is still rule based and so even bringing those together. I'm really curious about your creative process behind the unique fusion and what readers can expect from this book.

Joanna [: 00:09:22

Yeah, so it's really done in a very witty, conversational tone. I want the readers to feel like we're together, whether it's together sharing a meal or together sitting on a beach or together in some kind of living room atmosphere. And we're just talking about wine. And I want them to feel comforted and relaxed and able to find something where you really don't need to be a sommelier or a wine connoisseur to follow the book. The book is really a great coffee table guide where it introduces different wines from all over the world. And the premise of the book is to find a nice valued bottle of wine for $25 and under. And again, you don't have to have all this kind of knowledge to be able to find all of that out. I did that for you with the research on my book and it just gives you a chance to kind of open up your mind a little bit and try a wine from South Africa or try a wine from Chile and kind of get a feel for where from the flavors of it. And all the wines can be found in local liquor stores. They're not wines that are shipped from Spain or France. Easy to get to, easy to purchase and affordable. And you can really learn from different tidbits of information that you'll get in this book.

Tricia [: 00:10:56

So it also sounds like you're really trying to make that love of wine approachable from something that can often be so incredibly pretentious, which then can make experiencing wines intimidating. Like, I hear so many people say, oh, I don't drink wine, I don't.

Joanna [: 00:11:13

Like wine, I don't know anything about wine, so I'm not even going to touch it. Exactly. And that's why I created this book. This book came from a wine blog that I started back in New York. I used to run a wine and art networking business, networking, and I had about 250 members and I used to plan different wine tastings, wine dinners, wine picnics, and I was always talking about wine to everybody. They would call me the wine diva. And I just got so excited about it that I just said, you know what? I think I'm going to start writing about it. I want to research more, I want to learn more. And because I had this networking group, I was invited to a lot of different trade events all throughout New York City. So while I was doing all these trade events, it was such a learning experience for me. And I had all this knowledge and I said, what am I going to do with all this knowledge? I need to share it. I need to give back and share it with the world. So that's when I started the wine blog, and I was getting a very good response from my members. So that's how the wine blog was turned into a paperback, and I did that here in Florida because I really didn't have the time to do it in New York with my corporate career.

Tricia [: 00:12:24

I personally can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book, and it's going to live on my coffee table.

Joanna [: 00:12:28

I'm so absolutely, absolutely. I will be sending you a complimentary copy.

Tricia [: 00:12:34

Thank you so much. So your book explores the world of specialty wines, and you've already mentioned different parts of the globe, but I want to hear more about the suggestions for food pairings and flavors. Could you share some memorable pairings from the book that our listeners might want to try?

Joanna [: 00:12:51

So in chapter twelve I have a: 2012

Tricia [: 00:13:59

I love that. I was thinking, as you were talking, that it sounds like it would be fabulous with a great charcuterie board.

Joanna [: 00:14:05

s is the last chapter. It's a: 2012

Tricia [: 00:15:31

That one sounds lovely. And I've had some Pinotage that's been absolutely lovely. I do like a good pinotage. But as you talk about those flavor profiles, I think of a steak. Or I think you could even do something like a pork tenderloin, but that's crusted with something like with some chili. Powder, maybe some coffee ground either like espresso, ground espresso or some cocoa in that rub and really out those flavors. Because pork tenderloin is a lighter cut of meat, but you can really richen it up with that seasoning. And it would be a fabulous pairing with that pinotage.

Joanna [: 00:16:07

Absolutely. Yeah.

Tricia [: 00:16:11

So for those who are passionate about wine and art, but maybe they don't have a lot of experience in either, what advice would you give to help them kind of appreciate and explore to start off with?

Joanna [: 00:16:23

So really what I would say, if you want to learn more about art, I would go to museums. I would go to lectures at different museums and find out when they're going to do a talk on a different artist or an artist talk. Or if you live in New York, one of the best places to go would be Chelsea and do a gallery tour or Soho and do a gallery tour. I'm in Florida. I hear St. Petersburg has a huge art scene that I am not all too familiar with, but I've heard that it has a huge art scene. Dunedin is another place that has a huge art scene. Just surround yourself with art, see as many different styles, as many different types of art, and kind of figure out what you like and what you don't like and just expand your mind and just let it flow and soak it all up like a sponge. What would be my suggestion?

Tricia [: 00:17:20

I'm in the northwest Arkansas area, so for any of you listening, we don't have a huge art scene, but we do have a pretty famous art museum called Crystal Bridges started by Alice Walton. And it's got a myriad of art, some really classic pieces up to some more modern art, as well as kind of a sculpture garden along the nature trails. We've got a new place called the Momentary that I would say is definitely more know. So if you're visiting the, you're definitely there's definitely some cool places to check out as well. So many places in New York, Chicago, Go, Florida. I still haven't been able to hit at the museums in New York City. That's kind of on my bucket list. You might have to save that for girls trips. My husband and I do not have the same eye. I'm not going to say you don't want to have an eye for art, but we share the same taste.

Joanna [: 00:18:10

Yeah, absolutely. Sounds like fun. Sounds like you need a girls trip to New York. You can do the museums. You could go for some wine tasting. There's just so much to do in New York. There is while you're there.

Tricia [: 00:18:26

So on the wine side of that, what are your tips for somebody really kind of just starting out with wine and exploring that world of it outside of the sommelier pretentious world of these or the wine rules, how do you recommend people get started with wine?

Joanna [: 00:18:41

So there's so many rules when it comes to wine, but for me, it's always been like, I know what I like, I know the flavors I like, I know the tastings I like, and I know what I think would go well with something else. So for me, like, for instance, I have a favorite Italian wine on Yannigo, which is a very earth driven, dry red wine that comes the Malfi coast area. Beautiful sense of leather, white pepper, black fruits, dried figs. And it's just such a lovely wine that I had the pleasure of having almost every night with dinner when I was touring the Malfea Coast years ago. So I know this is a favorite of mine, and I know that if I had a wine of choice to go to, this would be it. And because I like steaks, I'm a big meat eater. I would pair it with a steak. I would pair it with a strip steak. I would pair it with lamb. I would even go with some white cheeses. Really, anything. And of course, desserts. I mean, how could you not have wine with dessert? That's another whole story we could get into.

Tricia [: 00:19:52

Right.

Joanna [: 00:19:53

Start with what you like and then build from there. That's what I would suggest to people that don't know too much about wines. Find one wine that you like and then build from there and don't be.

Tricia [: 00:20:05

Afraid to try it. And on the other thing I would say is don't be afraid to ask if you can have a tasting before you order a glass. Sometimes they'll tell you no, but oftentimes wine bars and restaurants will pour you a small taste for you to try because they don't want to waste it either, quite honestly.

Joanna [: 00:20:20

Yeah, absolutely. They are always willing to let you try. Absolutely. You just have to ask the question, what's the worst they could say? Right.

Tricia [: 00:20:29

Right. So you've mentioned your preference for takeout and dining out, really emphasizing convenience and enjoyment. Do you seek out new restaurants when you're traveling and try to find the most interesting food you can? Or you kind of stick with your tried and true favorites for your regular?

Joanna [: 00:20:46

Well, funny you should ask me that, Tricia, because when I first moved to Florida a little over two years ago, one of the very first things I did was start my own meetup group called Dinner Guests. And I figured this would be a great way for me to meet new people because I'm new in town and try different restaurants. So I did that for probably a good year and a half, made a lot of friends, tried all different restaurants all around the Tampa area, got great suggestions, and was able to navigate my way around the Tampa Bay area. And it was great because it really helped on a lot of different channels. It helped me get familiar with the neighborhood, it helped me make new friends. And of course, I was able to be my foodie self and try different restaurants and really enjoyed it. So, yeah, absolutely. I love trying new restaurants.

Tricia [: 00:21:41

Me too. And when we travel, I want to go off the beaten path and not just I don't want to eat where all the tourists eat. I really want to get a flavor for the local food and the local people. And then my favorite thing to do is bring that back home. Nano said you don't love to cook, but I love to cook. And so when I come home, one of the ways I try to recreate those moments is trying to recreate those dishes or some version thereof, and maybe turn on some music that reminds me of being there. And it just has this magical way of transporting me back into that moment, even if it's only for a few minutes. And one way where I relive vacations over and over again. And anytime we travel, I love to do a food tour. Like, I want to know about all the local things. There's so many fun things you can do with food to enjoy food, expand your palate, even if you don't love to cook, right? There's so many ways to absolutely with it.

Joanna [: 00:22:35

Absolutely. And there is one thing that I do love to cook. I do make my own homemade sauce.

Tricia [: 00:22:41

Yes.

Joanna [: 00:22:42

Which is a recipe passed down from grandmother to mother to me. So being Italian American, I love my homemade sauce.

Tricia [: 00:22:51

Yeah, a homemade sauce. Like, there's just nothing like it. There's just nothing like it. So I'm curious, you said you enjoy cooking that particular sauce. Have you ever enjoyed cooking or has it just not ever been something that.

Joanna [: 00:23:05

n New York City, I would have: 1112

Tricia [: 00:23:54

Well, your story is kind of what inspired my business is helping career women and busy moms simplify mealtime and break down all those barriers that make it seem so overwhelming. So that's really what inspired me, but also to spread this love of experimentation and finding what you personally like and what personally works for you. And it may be that you're listening and you're like, but I don't like to cook and I'm not even interested. And that's okay as long as you have a process that works for you. But if it's something you want to change and you want to cook more, then let's have a chat. Right. That's what my whole business is about. It's really about making the conversation around food different than what's out there today. The other thing I'll say about New York is if you're going to be in a place where you can't cook, new York is the place to be because there's so much fabulous food, so much fabulous food, and it's so accessible everywhere you go.

Joanna [: 00:24:55

Absolutely. My last twelve years in New York, I worked in Times Square. So there is everything in Times Square. You see the shows, they have restaurant Row on 47th street, 46th Street, I think. And it's just so many different types of restaurants and cafes and wine bars. It's just an abundance of opportunity. Really is. And especially if you're a beauty speakeasies.

Tricia [: 00:25:21

In New York City to that word.

Joanna [: 00:25:23

Oh, yeah.

Tricia [: 00:25:24

I mean, I love a good wine bar, but to find a speakeasy, just have a different vibe that's just kind of cool and interesting and again, always sparks some inspiration for me because you got to get real creative to pull that off successfully.

Joanna [: 00:25:36

Absolutely. And there is a different vibe. You almost feel like you're kind of back in time and you're doing something secretive and you don't want to get caught. That element of surprise to it.

Tricia [: 00:25:51

Yeah. Okay, so you've mentioned your favorite meal, and I am not going to get the pronunciation of your favorite wine. Right. I've never had it.

Joanna [: 00:26:02

Anymore. Yes. Anyanico, your favorite meal is beef carpaccio.

Tricia [: 00:26:10

Cheese tortellini and tiramisu with espresso.

Joanna [: 00:26:15

Yes.

Tricia [: 00:26:16

I should not be surprised that all of those have an Italian flair.

Joanna [: 00:26:20

Absolutely. That's my favorite. And there were so many restaurants, not so much here in Florida, but there were so many good Italian restaurants on Long Island that I used to go to in New York City also. But most of the time I would go on Long Island because I was home on the weekends and I liked having my car with me rather than living my life by the train schedule. So it was so much more relaxing to go out to dinner when I was back on, you know? But yeah, there's so many good restaurants.

Tricia [: 00:26:53

In New York, so I love beef carpaccio, and we don't have amazing Italian restaurants here in northwest Arkansas either. But if anybody is turned off by raw beef beef carpaccio, is the way to start. It really is fabulous. It's thin, light, and doesn't give you that mouthfeel you think it's going to.

Joanna [: 00:27:23

Right? It's a wonderful appetizer. It's light. It's really good.

Tricia [: 00:27:30

I really like it when they serve it with arugula, too, because it adds just that bit of free spice to it.

Joanna [: 00:27:36

Yes.

Tricia [: 00:27:37

So good. So in your book Divulge Divino, you offer readers a taste of your artistic creations as well. Can you share more about where your listeners can find your one of a kind abstract art and maybe a story behind some of your favorite pieces?

Joanna [: 00:27:52

Yeah, well, there's always a story behind my art. No matter what I paint, there's always something going on in my mind while I'm painting it. But I do have an Etsy shop which you can find a special selection of my paintings under Art Reflections Design. I have a threadless shop where you can find my home products and accessories under Art Reflections Design. And then I have an Instagram account where you can find information on my book as well as my paintings, and that's under Art Reflections Design. If you want to find my book, you can get it under Amazon.com. You just do a search under Divulge Divino. I also have an author's page on Amazon.com, and then you'll find a little more about the book under my Twitter account and my TikTok account under Divulged Divino. So there are many places you can find me, and then if you wanted to connect professionally with me, you could always send me an invite on LinkedIn.

Tricia [: 00:28:59

Beautiful. We'll be sure to include all of those links in the show notes. But I have another question that just kind of popped into my mind. So as you created this art and you have this history of wine and food, this is more a question about your creative process, because I'm genuinely curious. Did you create art with this book in mind, or did you already have a collection of art that inspired the food? Do you see what I'm getting at?

Joanna [: 00:29:28

Yeah. So I would have to say all of my paintings were pretty much done by the time I finished this book. When I have them all around me here in my apartment, either hanging up on the wall or leaning against the wall, it really does look like a museum in my apartment. So while I was writing each chapter, I would look around and see which paintings I feel spoke to me, the way the wine spoke to me, and just the way that the flavors brought out the colors and the grape varietals and the finish, the smooth finish brought out the smooth in the different paintings. So that's kind of how I kind of all brought it all together.

Tricia [: 00:30:12

Oh, that's really cool. To hear about it again. Kind of brings back that whole we eat with all of our senses. Right? We absorb art with different senses, from texture to. Visuals to when I think of touring the Louvre, like, the noises around me, it was more than the art I was looking at. It was also the environment. And so I love that they all kind of inspired you together, and I was just really curious, where did the inspiration start? But it's really cool that it was really kind of you knew you wanted to write this book, but kind of an immersive and how they seem to speak to you and blend that together. I think that encourages the rest of us to really lean in and be present in those moments, whether it's regarding food or art or remember to tune into all those senses even at the table. Right. That's its own work of art, from the food to the connections that you're making to the feeling around that table.

Joanna [: 00:31:13

That'S another art, and you just soak up that whole experience.

Tricia [: 00:31:20

Beautiful. Thank you so much for being here today with us. Is there anything else you want our listeners to know before we sign off for the day?

Joanna [: 00:31:29

Absolutely. Well, I would welcome anyone to take a look at my book. It's also available on Kindle paperback and Kindle version on Amazon.com. And it's a great start. If you want to learn more about wine or if you want to learn more about food pairings or if you want to just hear a really fun, witty story that a woman is talking to you about and just have some fun. It's a great book to get started with.

Tricia [: 00:31:57

Wonderful. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Joanna. I hope you have enjoyed the rest of your day, and we'll talk again soon.

Joanna [: 00:32:03

Okay, wonderful. Thank you again.

Tricia [: 00:32:06

I'll talk to you all in the next episode. Thank you for listening to another episode of Mealtime, Magic and Mayhem.