welcome to the wine for all time blog!

allow me to introduce myself

My name is Asia Kessler, a wine-lover living in San Antonio, Texas, and author of Wine For All Time. I’m a military spouse and dog-mom to three lovable pooches, Willi, Sofia, and Molly. By day I work in the pharmaceutical industry; by night I learn about wine. I have been enjoying wine for almost twenty years and have finally decided to share that passion with others! I love everything about wine, learning about the entire grape-to-glass production cycle, experimenting with food pairings, traveling to wine-producing regions around the world to learn directly from producers… and of course drinking wine!

where the wine passion started

As I grew up, my parents taught me to be cautious with alcohol, but never made it taboo. They even let me occasionally sip from their glasses. So, while my friends were putting back Keystone Light, I was already dabbling with some cheap red wine… or wine coolers (I’m all about keeping it classy!). When finishing my undergraduate studies at the University of Denver, I took my first course on wine and spirits and I was hooked! Of course, spirits are interesting and full of their own complexities. I am a first-generation Polish immigrant, so I’m genetically predisposed to appreciate vodka. However, wine was where my true interest lies. I dove right in and claimed Cabernet Sauvignon as my grape of choice, the more tannic the better. I stayed loyal to cab and my academic pursuits, ultimately earning my PhD from Cornell University.

It was at Cornell that I had my next wine epiphany. I enrolled in the Introduction to Wines course offered through the School of Hotel Administration with a couple of friends. This was a highly sought-after elective for non-Hotelies, and a waitlist-only invite for grad students like my friends and I. It was this course that really cemented my love for wine. It was rigorous, intense, and full of fascinating people from around the world and the wine-industry, who brought their knowledge into the 300+ student auditorium every week. They fed us knowledge and guided us through tastings.

After the first few weeks, we were taking weekend field trips to all the wine stores around Ithaca and seeking out affordable gems to expand our palettes. It was this course that taught me to appreciate white wines, geek out over the various methods of producing sparkling wines, and introduced me to my one-true-(wine)-love – the GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre) blend … I’m salivating just writing about it! 

how my love of wine continued to expand

Then, with my newly minted PhD and my love for wine, I went into academia and later corporate consulting where I spent a decade teaching and conducting research across various disease areas (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy-body disease, hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis) and health outcomes (e.g., obesity, smoking). During that time, I pursued wine recreationally, first independently and later with my husband. I created elaborate dinner menus with wine pairings for family and close friends. I indoctrinated my unsuspecting husband to my passion for all-things grape (he was/is a willing participant!). When we lived in Rhode Island, I organized a monthly wine enthusiast group in my community to enjoy wines and dishes across various themes. We traveled around the US and Europe exploring picturesque wine-making regions. We even joined an obscene number of wine clubs! Recently, we talked about how, in our next lives, we’d love to work with wine.

How Wine For All Time Began – 2021

Like many in this COVID-19 tumult, I unexpectedly found myself with a lot of time on my hands at the beginning for 2021. This gave me the privilege of determining which fork in the road to travel down next… and I choosing to go down the one less traveled.  

In mid-February, Texas experienced what has been dubbed ‘Snowmagedon’. Without power, intermittent water, and the faintest cell signal, my husband and I (both not strangers to cold climates) decided to treat ourselves to our favorite comfort foods and paired them with yummy wines from our wine library. Since I had nothing but time, I decided that I would unearth another hobby from the recesses of my brain – photography – and set about staging our grilled pizza and the 2017 Lost Draw Mourvèdre from William Chris Vineyards vinted in nearby Hye, Texas. I posted the photo to my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts to let friends know we were safe and doing well. We continued this for two more nights until the power came back on. Meanwhile, my friends were not only happy to see we were doing well, but there were also very encouraging that I post more.

It was that moment that my supportive husband told me I should start an Instagram account where I could share my food and wine pairings and see what happens… and so Wine For All Time was born!

But pictures of wine weren’t enough, I started this blog. In addition, I’m pursuing my wine studies through courses from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust and The Texas Wine School.

Welcome!

I want to share my joy in trying and learning about wine with others; those who may be new to wine or just looking for a different perspective. Most of all, I want to share my excitement for what is happening in the rapidly evolving Texas wine scene. I hope you enjoy the Wine For All Time Blog!!