Ayesha Curry's wine tips, kitchen essentials and 'ridiculous' go-to luxury

In USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives, whether it's at home, on the set or on the road.

Ayesha Curry is all about a good pairing.

The actress and lifestyle mogul, mom of four and wife to NBA star Stephen Curry has joined wine and food, family and fame, and high and low items for her various brands.

Curry, whose Domaine Curry wine company with co-founder (and sister-in-law) Sydel Curry-Lee was recently acquired by the Prisoner Wine Company, finds that her "big family moments and deepest conversations have always revolved around a really good glass of wine or a really good bottle of wine."

Curry shares her tips for "students of the vine," her go-to comfort meal and her kitchen essentials.

Ayesha Curry wine tips

The world of wine can be overwhelming, but Curry suggests focusing on taste.

"People always go and they look at the year, and that can be really daunting and overwhelming, unless you're an expert. So stay away from the year, unless you're up for a quick Google search," she says.

"I'd say always play into what flavor profiles you're wanting to experience. So do you want your wine to be full bodied? Medium bodied? Do you want a light wine? Do you want to taste ripe fruit skins (or) stone fruit skins? Do you want your wine to be more berry forward? Do you want citrus notes? Do you want it to be buttery? Oaky? Do you want your wine aged in a steel barrel so it's sharper or a wooden barrel so you taste that age in that oak?

"If you're eating out, there's almost always somebody who's going to know (about wine), whether it's a sommelier or a wine expert within the restaurant that can help you speak to (what you like). Use your resources. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions, because there's almost always somebody there who will know what the heck is going on."

But if all else fails, keep drinking what you know you like, Curry says.

"When you try something and you like it, stick with it. I think it doesn't have to be that serious. Whether it's like a $5 bottle of wine or $100 bottle of wine, if you taste it and you enjoy it and it's pairing well with your spirit, then just stick with that until you you you learn a little bit more."

What is the healthiest wine to drink? Try a glass of this low-sugar alcohol.

Her go-to wine is a red

"I love French wines. I love French-style wines," Curry says. "And so with our with our Bordeaux blend, our (Domaine Curry) founders blend, we really tried to do it in that style of like a French wine as best as we could with our vines being from Napa and so young," she says. "I think I'll always gravitate towards our founders blend."

Ayesha Curry's favorite meal to cook

Though she's based in the Bay Area, the celebrity chef's Jamaican roots are always near her heart – and her stove.

"I'm Jamaican, so I'm always going to go (with) oxtail. That's just comforting to me. So oxtail, rice and peas, fried plantain," she says. "I feel like it's going to hit every time. It's going to comfort you. It's going to be satisfying."

"If I was going more California" in her menu selections, "I'd still go red meat. So I'd do a nice Tomahawk seared on an open flame, maybe some scalloped potatoes with some leeks in there (and) a nice warm Brussels salad."

Kitchen must-haves

Curry knows how to mix the high-end with the budget-friendly.

"My go to kitchen luxury would be my Coravin," Curry says. "It's this wine opener that allows you to pour one glass at a time, but it keeps the integrity of the bottle for weeks. I like using that when we're opening older vintages, (or) nicer, fancier wines. You can pour a little taste or a glass and not have to worry about opening the whole bottle and wasting wine – although wine is never wasted."

For the less high-brow kitchen must-have in her home, Curry turns to her own brand for inspiration.

"Sweet July makes these beautiful Edgewater mugs, and we were recently actually on Oprah's Favorite Things list this year. We're very excited about it. But I feel like a good mug – a nice, weighty, solid, handmade mug – to have your tea or coffee, whatever you're drinking, out of" is an affordable necessity. "I love like when something has a little bit of of weightiness to it. I like the hand feel, and it just like makes my morning cup of coffee that much better."

For her coffee order to go in that mug, she uses her Sweet July brand coffee beans with a little barista oat milk frothed up. "And recently, because it's the fall, winter months, I've been making this spiced simple syrup. So I'll put cardamom, star anise, cloves and a cinnamon stick, and I'll simmer it with equal parts water and brown sugar on the stove until it kind of comes together. And I'll make my coffee with that."

Luxury for Curry? Wine and chocolate

The Curry household is at capacity.

"We have hella kids," she jokes, as a mom to four. "Mornings are pretty chaotic, but in a beautiful way, they're not exhausting.

"I'm not a morning person at all. But right now we have a 7-month-old, and he literally wakes up smiling," which makes it "hard to have a groggy morning."

In finding a moment to herself with a busy schedule and a house full of kids, Curry says she meditates and prays.

She also loves "to hike by myself when I can. I know that's, like, dangerous, but I have a safe place that I go. It's fine, bring some bear spray. … It's just like a good time of reflection.

"I love a good bubble bath with a half glass of wine, watching a show in there, when I can putt on a face mask, just doing the whole thing up big," she says. "That doesn't happen often, but when it does, I bask in that."

But Curry's ultimate solo luxury?

"This is going to sound so ridiculous," she prefaces, "But I love after I put the kids to bed, and Stephen is on road so I'm by myself, I love pouring a little bit of a really fine wine" and "eating one Ferrero Rocher, but savoring every bite. When I was growing up, those Ferrero Rochers were the sign to me that things were happening, that was luxury to me.

"So now I like to keep a stash and enjoy one in solitude whenever I can."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ayesha Curry, Sweet July founder and actress, on wine, food and kids