Exerpted from Wednesday Journal articles by Mark Podolner and Paul Reis.

Have you ever had that really uncomfortable feeling at a fine restaurant that you actually had absolutely no idea what wine was supposed to go with whatever food you were ordering? Or to cover up such admissions of ignorance, do you find yourself denying that it makes any difference in the scheme of things? Have you suspected that this wine and food thing was the conspiracy of a rarefied group of intellectual snobs who just wanted to prove their superiority to the rest of us beer guzzling peasants?

If you have ever had any of these feelings you probably have never met Jim Matthews and Woody Mosgers or attended one of their classes or wine dinners. These two refined, articulate, knowledgeable and charming men are the dynamic duo of wine and food in the Oak Park and River Forest area and they will change your perception of what a good meal means if you open your minds to the delicious ideas that they have to offer.

Matthews points out that there is considerable information about wine and food as separate entities but very little about the art of combining food and wine in the complementary fashion that will bring out the best in each.

To correct that knowledge gap they have organized a successful course cosponsored by the Wine Discount Center (7714 W. Madison, Forest Park) called What Goes with what Monday evenings three times a year at the Dominican Conference Center, 7200 W. Division St., River Forest, in a fully equipped kitchen/classroom.

Participants will taste premium wines from throughout the world and sample tasting portions of entrees and cheeses.

The "Gourmand"

Mosgers is the food expert of the two. He refers to himself as a gourmand (one who is exclusively fond of eating food and drinking) rather than a gourmet (a connoisseur of food and drink), but he has much knowledge in this passionate avocation of his.

Communicating their love for food and drink, or anything for that matter, isn’t a struggle for either Matthews or Mosgers. Both are media veterans, with Matthews operating his own Matthews Communications out of his Oak Park home, writing for business applications; Mosgers, a Galewood resident, is the director of marketing and special projects administrator for the Regional Transportation Authority, and was a longtime press aide to former state of Illinois Governor Jim Thompson.

Both men also bring a lifetime of "research", (a term each uses with tongue stationed firmly in cheek) to their side jobs. Mosgers is a self-taught culinarian, having used his childhood trips to his mother’s and grandmother’s kitchen as a springboard to explore food preparation more fully. he’s read, he’s experimented, and he’s learned from his mistakes and successes. He’s learned from comments of those he’s served. And he’s enjoyed his work, in more ways than one.

"People just need to take one look at us to figure out who’s the wine guy and who’s the food guy", Mosgers said, laughing. "We’ve got kind of a Laurel and Hardy thing going."

A Passion for Wine

Yet he refers to his partner, Matthews, as the more studious of the two. Mosgers says Matthews knows every wine-making town in Italy. Matthews is also in the communications business, running his own firm. Matthews also works part time at the Wine Discount Center (a.k.a. Famous Liquors) in Forest Park on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s here that you can go in and taste a variety of wines, and vintages of the same wine, and avail yourself of Matthew’s extensive knowledge and passionate feelings about wine. He has also organized cooperative wine tasting groups and participated in seminars on wine at the University of Chicago.

One of the points Mosgers and Matthews drive home in any presentation is their belief that matching wines and foods is an inexact science, and one that leaves much more to personal taste than some might think.

learn more about the process which has brought people together since the beginning of recorded time. . .

"There is no right answer", Matthews said. "If wine tastes right to you, then its right. We encourage people to go against the flow. it’d be quite a dull world if everybody liked the same thing."

"Food is chemistry, and when you change the chemistry, you change the result", Mosgers said. "Depending on what the final result is (of the cooking), your decision on the wine to serve may change."

What is the ultimate purpose of all this? Perhaps just to learn how to enjoy some of the finer things that life has to offer, but also, perhaps to learn more about the process which has brought people together since the beginning of recorded time enjoying a meal together and creating an atmosphere that truly facilitates communication. Perhaps its no accident that Mosgers and Matthews are specialists in communication as well as food and wine. For further information call Matthews at (708) 386-2535.

http://www.wgwwguys.com