[david jones]

What do you do with a friend, who is otherwise incredibly educated, successful, etc., but has no wine palate?

I've been to this friend's home MANY times, with gifts of good wine that anyone would find pleasing.

Two times ago, we all drank a Sicilian red that was out of balance, hot and just plain icky. He and his wife liked it. Am I the ingrate by trying to give some kind of education?

HELP Cape Chef!!!

[ September 03, 2001: Message edited by: David Jones ]

[ September 03, 2001: Message edited by: David Jones ]

 

[cape chef]

David,
By no means would you be an "Ingrate"

In trying to gently teach people about wine I use what is called the "Sandwich"approach.

The top piece of bread is always positive,another words you open the discussion on a good note and respectful.
The second layer "the meat" is where I try to educate the person or party on what exactly they are tasting,and how and why they enjoy/dislike the wine.
The bottom piece once again is positive. I always try to close a discussion upbeat.

I feel that I should respect once preference in wine,But...Why not try to enlighten ones education.I make suggestions based on my own expereance and what I have studied.Weather it be a freind or someone you just started talking to about wine,with a positive and educated approach there should be no hard feelings.
Also when a wine if OFF...It's the perfect oppurtunity to teach.

cc

 

[kuan]

1) You could arive bearing Boone's Farm.
2) Compliment her discerning palate by saying "Wow! I notice that with Schlitz Malt Liquor as well!"
3) Try and trade them a bottle of Corked 1999 Chateau D'Yquem for their Mercedes Benz.

 

[plum]

Hmmmm, difficult one. I have the same problem with friends and food.

OK, I have an idea, either buy him a wine course if there's an appropriate occasion to buy him a gift, (as in ''I know you love a good glass of wine so I thought you might like this"... or how about getting a wine expert (however junior) to come and do an 'introduction to wine tasting' evening at your home and invite some friends around?

Or would it be too painful to witness the moment when he declares undying love for plonk?

 

[fodigger]

Friends don't let Friends drink White Zin

 

[shroomgirl]

And then there is always the fact that they will be cheaply entertained.....but as I think further on this....they could spend alot of money for dreek

 

[ruth]

i used to think that not everyone had a nose for wine so i would leave them to it. i mean if you know what you like then fine drink on,BUT when your invited over and the wine served is not drinkable i think it is time for education. why not try to give then some basic books on wine,or how about a membership to a wine club where they will get wine in the mail and you could go over and cook and all of you could drink and discuss it ...... maybe that would start the process of enlightenment. remember that it is a long road but worth the trip.

 

[ruth]

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DANCE WITH UGLY GUYS

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DRINK BAD WINE

SAVE THE WHITE ZIN FOR COOKING

IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DRINK IT COOK WITH IT

IF YOU WOULDN'T DRINK IT DON'T COOK WITH IT

 

[kimmie]

"I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food!!"

"Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep, and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved." -Medieval German saying

"Wine ... the true old man's milk and restorative cordial." - Thomas Jefferson

 

[kimmie]

I think you will love this one:

"A hard drinker, being at table, was offered grapes at dessert. 'Thank you,' said he, pushing the dish away from him, 'but I am not in the habit of taking my wine in pills.'"
- "The Physiology of Taste" by Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

 

[david jones]

"A day without wine is like a day without sunshine...unless there's vodka."

David Jones '98

 

[cape chef]

Kettle one ofcourse

:lips: :beer: :roll:
cc

 

[glutz]

Phone them to query the menu
with suggestion that you wish
utilise one of your favourte wines to complement
her good cooking.

:look:

 

[peachcreek]

I would'nt take it too personally. My experience is that people with sensitive noses have more sensitive palates. It has nothing to do with education or sophistication. Peoples' ability to taste is individual. A friend of mine recently had mouth cancer which was treated with radiation and did that screw up his palate! Bananas now taste like pepper!
If you are one of the fortunate people out there with a "silver palate", you are blessed. If your buddy consistantly buys these out-of-whack wines, at least you know where his palate is. My advice? Bring your own and don't worry about educating the rest of the world. Save the yummy wines for us who appreciate them!
BTW, when I entertain, I ask WHAT THE GUESTS LIKE AND GET THAT. It takes a real talent to pick wines for other people without asking specifically what they like. Just because I don't care for Retsina it doesn't mean I would'nt serve it to you if you like it. You really want to educate your friend? Teach him to ask!

 

[rachel]

By 'Zin' do you mean 'ZInfindel" I tried that in the Bahamas , and they had some very strange things like Zinfindel with added peach flavourings. . .nNw that I would only give to a friend that i wanted to be an ex-friend!

 

[david jones]

Yeah, Peachcreek, I see your point. I guess I feel like I should be able to turn it around.

I wouldn't say that I was blessed with a silver palate. I have had the good fortune to taste 10,000+ wines in the course of my career; and many of those were alongside some of the top wine people in the Chicago area. You never know it by my postings here, but at tastings I try to be one of those guys who listens to what the experts are saying.

My own wine selection philosophy starts off like the Hippocratic (sp?) oath.... "First, don't pick the wrong wine." If one can avoid all of the objectively wrong wines, then one is left with the the varying shades of subjectively right wines. That's the fun part.

 

[lobster]

My inputs:
1. When at another person's home as a guest in a social context, I don't take that invitation as permission to 'correct' the hosts wine or food tastes. At most, if I'm good friends with the host, I offer my inputs another time, and/or in private. To me, there are definite differences between a 'dislikeable' wine and an 'undrinkable' one; however, these terms are subjective. They become less so (?) with shared experience and lots of wine sampling.
2. I agree with Peachtree, cape chef, and glutz's inputs. If I'm host, I cater to my guests preferences. If I'm a guest, I try to bring what my hosts enjoy, but only 'correct' the host if I must in private.

 

[peachcreek]

I have tasted a lot of wine, but I have sold a lot more. You know how hard it is to stand by and let someone spend a bunch of money on a wine you don't like, but they do? And you are their waiter, so you don't want them to think you think they are some kind of idiots? I really believe there is something to that saying "To each their own".

 

[fire]

I've always referred to wine as the nectar of the Gods.

 

[peachcreek]

I have been doing some waiting at a bistro-style dinner place with an ok wine list. Nothing too pricey- a bottle of Ken Wright pinot noir runs @ $80.00. So the owner gets this cabernet in and he had tasted at the distributor and said the stuff was fantastic and we should try to "push" that wine, which we sell for @$45.00 per bottle. A table of regular customers comes in and I wait their table. The owner who also hosts on busy nights starts pushing this new cab of his, and succeeds in selling them a bottle over their usual choices. These people usually get a better red off the list and have tried more of our list than I had at that time. They didn't like it. The table agreed that they liked other wines on the list and that the owner made a bad choice for them. It somewhat spoiled the mood of the table. The owner had hyped how great this wine was and then it wasn't that good, at least to them. I tasted it. It was good. Remarkable, no. But good. It seems that the expectation level was too high. They expressed their dissapointment in a lower than average tip. Now we sell that wine to a lot of tables and most of the time people love it. To them the owners hype probably makes the wine taste better. Who knows.
BTW- the wine they didn't like? "Five Star Cellars" Cabernet, Washington State.