Originally Posted by
bhrubin
Doesn't seem convoluted or complicated to me at all.
You're younger than I am. But still very much middle-aged (I'm past the middle now - unless I live to be 115 <LOL>). And - once one gets to our ages - most of us pretty much have our tipping rules in place. What we do - what we don't do. Makes it easy. Especially at home. When we go to countries we've never been to before - it can take a bit of learning to get up to speed. Good hotel concierge desks can come in handy there
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Thanks! We share our wine with friends and family (and often the servers at the restaurants where we bring it), and we like many aged wines, so cellaring is the only way to enjoy that short of buying older wines that cost prohibitively more money.
Not everyone likes wine. We love wine. We like demystifying it for our friends and family, and we like introducing people to wines they often end up loving that they'd never before heard of or thought possible. But most of all, we think it perfectly complements a great meal--and we are huge foodies that appreciate a great meal. So wine is the natural extension of that enjoyment for us.
I know and understand a lot about wine - but unfortunately haven't been able to drink it without ill effects for a couple of decades now as a result of some medical issues I won't bore you with. I will not suffer (in the morning in the bathroom) for any form of "my art" (including eating or drinking). I also have a couple of very minor food issues. Luckily I am not one of those people who has a super serious food issue (like celiac disease or shellfish allergies) - and I'm not a food hypochondriac either. I love to dine - and cook - and eat almost everything. Although my husband and I eliminated brains from our "offal list" after "mad cow disease" reared its ugly head (we have a neurologist friend in Kentucky who's associated eating diseased brains - in his part of the world - squirrel brains - with very severe dementia). In any event - striking brains off our list of things to eat wasn't a big hardship
.
When it comes to many of the better/best restaurants in the world - the most common complaints I read from people on the "restaurant" side of things in terms of wine are that people who "bring their own" tend to:
On the higher end of things - bring excellent/great bottles of wine that don't only not complement the food's that being served - but can easily overpower it. I can relate to this as a cook. The best cooking wines I've found for various dishes I make aren't excellent/great - or even very good on their own. Just "plonk" like Cavit Pinot Grigio. Or Fairbanks Ruby Port. I felt at peace with myself as a cook when I read this article (and have been at peace ever since
):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/di...anted=all&_r=0
On the lower end of things - people bring mediocre of worse wines - - basically to save money.
I assume you're sophisticated/intelligent/old enough to avoid this syalla/charybdis. But - apparently - many diners aren't/can't.
My husband still drinks wine. And his experience both with wine pairings and/or ordering by the glass/bottle at high end restaurants has been mixed. Especially when it comes to wine pairing menus. As as result of too many not so great wine pairing menus - these days he usually orders wines by the glass with a meal. And will taste a bit of whatever is recommended (there's usually never a problem with this) before ordering a full glass.
Anyway - I can still drink spirits these days. And am glad to see the renewed interest in cocktails and the art of bartending at high end restaurants. Robyn