THE CHOPPING BLOCK – CHEF PROFILES
Diana Hamann, Wine Director
Favorite class to teach:
Food & Wine Dynamics
Training/education:
B.A. Literature from UC Berkeley
Cooking since:
(Wine-ing since) 1999
What made you want to become a wine educator?
Our Puritanical ancestors had it all wrong. I think wine is truly a gift from above and should be utilized on a daily basis as such. I want everyone to get drinking. Really.
What are the 2 grapes you can't live without?
Riesling and Sangiovese
What do you love about wine?
I'm with Benjamin Franklin on this one: "Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance."
What advice would you give a new wine enthusiast?
Wine is confusing, so as you're learning, ask lots of questions. Humiliate yourself. Say "I don't get it" early and often. They say if you have a question in any given forum, 10% of the audience has the same question. With wine, up that to about 90%.
What are you doing when you're not cooking?
Tending to my flock of 1.5 children and one big black dog.
Describe your perfect evening.
My husband cooks for me. I pour wine for him. We hide out.
If you had friends in from out of town, where would you take them to eat?
My back deck.
Where are you from?
Western suburbs of Chicago.
What was your favorite vacation?
Thailand.
What are your hobbies?
Cleaning and tweaking my house—I'm OCD.
What is your favorite band?
Neil Young
If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?
My husband. I like dinners to be chill and purely pleasure driven; if I said Barack Obama or something I would be too freaked out to remember how to use a spoon.
What are your guilty pleasures?
HGTV
Who is your favorite celebrity chef?
Anthony Bourdain
Please supply any blogs, links, posts, or other social media that you wish to share.
www.winegoddess.com