©A Chinese Wife Buying Wine

This is a true story I overheard recently from a couple that lives in the SF Bay Area. The wife is Chinese and has lived in the US for almost a decade. She's thought of as a sophisticated individual and one who is well acclimated to life in America. The husband is an American of Irish descent. They both love to have a glass of wine together with dinner. Every weekend they do the grocery shopping. Sometimes she does it, sometimes he does it and sometimes they both shop together. One Saturday the wife went out and did the shopping and returned to the house with tons of food and two bottles of wine. One was white - a Sauvignon Blanc, the other was red - a Merlot. As the wife was signing a song and putting all the food away, the husband suddenly groaned aloud in frustration: "Honey, what are you doing? You know better than that."
"What? What's the problem?" The wife stopped singing and yelled back. "The wine. The wine you bought. Come on!" He said, shaking his head and holding up the bottle of Merlot. "What do you mean the wine? What's wrong with it?" She asked. "Gallo? Gallo Merlot? You don't want to have this in your house. It's embarrassing! It's really a low class drink" he moaned, emphatically. "I don't care. I'll drink it." She was angry too. Why was he blaming her for no reason? How was she supposed to know that Gallo was such a low class drink? What's so bad about it? "How do you know it's such a low class drink?" She said after a while. "How do you know Gallo is so bad?" The husband thought for a minute. "Well, it has a bad reputation. It's been around for years and it's only a step above Thunderbird." "What's Thunderbird?" "Thunderbird is Wino Wine." "What's a wino?" "A bum." "Oh. "Yeah." They continued to put the groceries away. "I didn't mean to yell. I don't know. Maybe they've gotten better over the years. It's just that whenever I hear Gallo, I think of an old Lenny Bruce skit." "Who's Lenny Bruce?" "He was a comedian in the 50s and 60s and he had a bit about "white collar drunks." He made fun of rich people who used to get drunk, or "juiced out of their nut" as he would say. And he has a bit that takes place at the bar where the white collar drunk gets in an argument with the blue collar drunk. They have a crazy argument and it's funny. "And?" What do you think he called the blue collar drunk? "I have no idea." "A real Gallo wine man . . ." Later when the husband had stopped all his whining and actually tried the wine he confessed that it wasn't that bad. "But please honey," he reminded, "let's not have this when guests are around."

Comments

[cmtg]

Vida, I saw the article in the Mercury News and applaud your efforts to restore etiquette in the business place. You are so right, there has been a decline in civility and manners and this does tend to show up especially at the meal table.

I could not help but notice your postings on wine etiquette and I also noticed the photo in the article of Bing Wei-Edwards proposing a toast.

Perhaps you should know that the proper way to hold a wine glass is by the stem or, especially if you are tasting the wine, by the rim of the base. Holding it by the bowl is a very common mistake seen often in popular culture and media. However, wine etiquette is pretty consistent and clear on this point -- hold it by the stem.

There are many wonderful wineries and wine institutes in the Bay Area that I feel certain would welcome the opportunity to offer a class to your group so that they may learn more about wine and how to properly taste, serve and enjoy it.

On another note, I read the blog on wine in plastic cups and other containers. Simple, everyday table wines are often served in glasses without stems -- this is pervasive throughout many parts of Europe, particularly in rustic settings.

Best of luck to you in your efforts.