The Official Wine Thread

[Piobaire]

...

At 44 years old, there's going to be a ton of bottle variation. [/quote

Sort of like people by that age.

 

[audiophilia]

Planning the evening.

Well, mainly wine pairings for our guests

Cocktail: Ginger Margarita
Cheese: Cristom Pinot Noir
Coquille St. Jacques: Gunderloch Kabinett Riesling
Prime Rib: Duckhorn Cabernet
Tarte au Chocolat: Moët & Chandon Imperial Nectar Champagne

Happy New Year, gang. Hope it's a great one for all of you.

Cheers.

 

[coolpapa]

The 2006 Rochioli estate smells wonderful right out of the gate, looking forward to its evolution over the course of the evening.

 

[Piobaire]

Bringing with me to dinner tonight: N.V. Pierre Péters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve. For the toast after the midnight toast? The rest of my bottle of 1965 Louis XIII. Just enough left for Mrs. Piob, the sommelier, the couple we're with, and me to have a wee dram.

 

[CBrown85]

I still think sommelier would be a ******* sweet side job.

 

[Manton]



wee dram.

 

[zhouyu]

Dugged it out of storage for dinner tonight

 

[erictheobscure]

I'm a wine novice in general, but I really know absolutely nothing about Greek wine (aside from the fact that retsina is the vilest stuff on earth). Bought this in the spirit of trying new things in the new year. $20 at the local market. Surprisingly good--really well balanced and pretty tasty.

 

[Piobaire]



I still think sommelier would be a ******* sweet side job.

To be what I'd call "a real sommelier" is about a 60-70 hour a week job. Not being snarky or anything just saying it's a job that's much tougher than it would seem to be. Also, plan to work every single holiday and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

 

[aravenel]



Also, plan to work every single holiday and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

This to me would be the worst. Every time someone says to me "You should work in food/wine/whatever", this is the first thought through my head.

Serious props to those who dedicate themselves to it. While yes, it would be sweet to be paid to spend all day working with wine, I'm sure the reality is much less glamorous.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I could be wrong, but it seems like the majority of it is much like a sales/retail job combined with lifting a lot of cases of wine up and down stairs.

 

[idfnl]

I did this for a period of time in my early 20's.

You're a waiter that doesn't carry food and is responsible for the wine list, vendor management and stocking/inventory.

You're responsible for pouring the wine and selection table-side. Its a bit thankless, frankly, the waitstaff views you as a barnacle and doesn't want to tip you out, the customer often views you as uninvited when they don't want to spend $ on wine. And then when you get the selection wrong you suck.

I always kept wine off the list to present something special to a table that needed stroking, or really wanted to $ is out, magnums especially. Always worked to come back to a table with a more seasoned version of the wine they ordered in a magnum.

What I hated was the foo foo ****, cherries and berries, bark and grass, bla bla bla. I didnt do it, and people thought they needed to sound smart and spin the glass and say that ****. Roll eyes. If its good, its good.

The only fun part was the selection process, sampling, etc. The rest is begging for dimes, same as any waiter.

By the way, just tell the waiter to pour. No need to go thru the tasting ritual, its pompous. If the wine is bad you'll know.

Happened the day after tgiving actually (not at a restaurant). Everyone at the table even made an effort to taste corking because they never have. Anyway, the whole tasting ceremony is pompous.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

One of my bottle of Champagne was corked this NYE. Good thing I bought several bottles.

 

[Piobaire]



Douchery.

I probably would not finish my meal and walk out if this ******* idiot showed up at my table.

One of my bottle of Champagne was corked this NYE. Good thing I bought several bottles.

My somm buddy showed up at our table with a 10 year old Mosel Beerenauslese another table said was corked. The cork was funky looking but the wine clearly was not corked. He kept the cork though, will report to vendor customer sent it back as such, and bottle was on the house. Had it for our foie course.

That's how a real somm rolls.

 

[aravenel]



My somm buddy showed up at our table with a 10 year old Mosel Beerenauslese another table said was corked. The cork was funky looking but the wine clearly was not corked. He kept the cork though, will report to vendor customer sent it back as such, and bottle was on the house. Had it for our foie course.
That's how a real somm rolls.

Awesome! Who was the producer?