Is your wine consumption directly related to how you cook?

I have noticed what is probably obvious to most people but that my wine consumption is directly tied to what I cook. In the summer when produce is fresh and meals are lighter I drink less wine. When cooking foods with a lot of spice (Mexican, Indian, moroccan, etc.) I don't drink wine at all or rarely. But when I go through phases where its a lot of Italian based menus and roasts, the wine consumption really kicks into high gear. There are just a lot of meals that I can't even consider eating without a glass of wine.

Not in my case - I prefer wine with everything except for Mexican, and even then I consider wine the best match to mole. I drink at the same rate year-round, but the kinds of wines I drink shift: for example I drink very little white during the winter months, and actually prefer rose during the fall. Now, I don't drink wine everyday of the week, and most of the meals we have during the week aren't really deserving of or appropriate for wine. But if a nice one comes along, I will at least consider if I have an appropriate wine match on hand. Grilled food can go either way - though I have had Chateauneuf with brats before (and it was delicious).

Yes, and vice versa - there are some days when I'll grab a bottle of Riesling Spatlese and want to prep an Indian or Thai meal, other times may do something more delicate with mushrooms just to go with a Burgundy or older red.

The overwhelming number of bottles we consume is with dinner. Once in a great while we party with wine lovers where we drink wine with nothing more than nibbles.

Not in my case

You say "no" but when I read the entire paragraph it kinda sounds like "yes".

I generally have two glasses of wine with dinner. I try to match cuisine with wine but sometimes have mismatches when I am finishing off an open bottle. I tend to drink more whites and rose's in the hotter months but drink wine throughout the year.

Yes, and vice versa - there are some days when I'll grab a bottle of Riesling Spatlese and want to prep an Indian or Thai meal, other times may do something more delicate with mushrooms just to go with a Burgundy or older red.

I can't recall the last time I picked a wine first and cooked to match it. Probably something with guests where I wanted to open some special bottles and give them the best chance to show well. Otherwise, its figure out what to cook and then that seems to dictate if I open anything and what.

I like to grill and I like things a bit spicy so I drink a lot of Zinfandel. If the meal is too much for Zin I'll have a beer. lol

I drink a ton of white year round, yup even Musky!!
White meats are my fave so most drier whites will suffice. Now when I am camping/bird surveys etc, well whole different story. Usually take 2 cases of mixed wines, needless to say just to hold tent down if it blows a storm, LOL. It did happen once, my tent was the only one left standing and not in tatters.

I can't recall the last time I picked a wine first and cooked to match it... Otherwise, its figure out what to cook and then that seems to dictate if I open anything and what.

Is that a function of having a large cellar/many options of wine to choose from?

I have a pretty limited selection at home so I'll often make little tweaks to the meals so they better suit the wines that are next up in the queue.

I suppose I also select wines to match food at times.

But really, the range of wines and food that I eat is fairly focused, so it's all working together at this point.

Yes, and vice versa - there are some days when I'll grab a bottle of Riesling Spatlese and want to prep an Indian or Thai meal, other times may do something more delicate with mushrooms just to go with a Burgundy or older red.

I can't recall the last time I picked a wine first and cooked to match it. Probably something with guests where I wanted to open some special bottles and give them the best chance to show well. Otherwise, its figure out what to cook and then that seems to dictate if I open anything and what.

I'm with Salil - sometimes my wine and meal choices are made jointly, and not infrequently I will even make something to match the wine I feel like drinking, if I have the freedom to do so.

As to original question, my wine consumption is the same. With fresher lighter foods in summer I might drink lighter wines, but not less.
So WHAT I drink varies, how much not really.
97.2% of the time food drives wine choice, reverse is generally only the case if I am having a fellow geek over and want to showcase a particular wine.

I can't recall the last time I picked a wine first and cooked to match it... Otherwise, its figure out what to cook and then that seems to dictate if I open anything and what.

Is that a function of having a large cellar/many options of wine to choose from?

I have a pretty limited selection at home so I'll often make little tweaks to the meals so they better suit the wines that are next up in the queue.

I suppose I also select wines to match food at times.

But really, the range of wines and food that I eat is fairly focused, so it's all working together at this point.

Could be but I don't think so. While the cellar has grown over time, most of the growth is having depth in wines that best work with how we normally cook. But really what I am trying to say is that I have noticed that I could open 7 bottles a week or none depending upon what I cooked that week. Its how many bottles and which ones that seem to be directly tied to the meals. Some meals seem incomplete without the proper wine and others to me just don't call for wine. I don't pick the wine first and then cook to it and I don't usualy take the approach of drinking what I feel like if its not a match for the meal. I may open a bottle while cooking or linger over what remains of a glass after I am finished eating but for the most part, I don't drink wine except with a meal. So for me, what I am cooking seems to drive what I drink. Over time, what I cook has shaped the cellar.