Vblog - Protocol & Etiquette in Between China and the US

CSPA and the plastic cups . . .

Let’s face it, plastic cups don’t work in a formal business mixer. It just doesn’t look right or create anything like a formal feeling for a professional get-together. This all came up during a conversation I had with some friends recently.  We were discussing the recent annual conferences held by The AAMA(Asian American Multimedia  Association), The CSPA (Chinese Software Professional Association) and The CINA (China Information & Networking Association) respectively, and one of my friends said the following:

“I think they all did a good job on pulling the events together.  They all had some very impressive keynote speeches and panel sessions and each drew a big crowd. All three were held at the same hotel – The Marriot in

Santa Clara

.  But one thing made me downgrade the CSPA event:  plastic cups at their afternoon mixer.  What were they thinking?  At the AAMA event they used real wine glasses.  You really noticed the difference. ”

For some people, particularly those who love drinking wine, using a plastic cup to serve wine is a painful thought.  You may use plastic cups if you are out on a picnic or at the water cooler at work, but not for wine.  Cutting corners like this makes one think the people arranging things didn’t really care about the social atmosphere they were orchestrating.    Who ever was responsible for the AAMA mixer was obviously paying attention to detail.

Just to check, I called the Marriott to do a little investigative reporting.  Here’s what I was told: 

“There is no way we would have served wine with plastic cups at a professional mixer such as you described Madame.  The only exception is for events which involve the pool area, where our policy is to use plastic cups for safety.”

The CSPA mixer was taking place behind the lobby and to be honest, there is a pool outside.  Perhaps the person who was arranging the CSPA mixer was thinking that people may want to go outside and sit down to talk near the pool?  I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.  But seriously, next time, drop the plastic and shift the venue so you can create a more refined environment.  If I want plastic I’ll go to a picnic, or the neighborhood pool.

Since we are talking about what should be used to serve wine at a business mixer, I’d like to point out that many of my Chinese friends don’t use the real wine glasses to serve wine at home, either.  They use all kinds of different vessels: – mugs, water glasses and plastic cups, at some point, it’s kind of fun and creative to use anything you can find to drink wine, but this is definitely not something you would want to do when you have guests.  Don’t do it.  And for what its worth, that’s not how it would be done at most American households that enjoy wine. Often you’d find at least two sets of wine glasses, one for whites and one with a broader opening for reds, so they can breathe.

©Tasting wine and drinking Chinese liquor

Tasting wine and drinking Chinese liquor

By Vida Zhang Fargis

Let’s examine the different applications of the five senses between tasting wine and drinking Chinese liquor.

You often hear many Chinese people say “I can’t drink,” if you ask whether they like wine or not, or invite them to a wine tasting.   “I can’t drink” here means “I easily get drunk if I drink”.  Therefore “I am not going to any wine tasting.”  Whether liking wine, drinking wine and going to a wine tasting is purely an individual preference and life style.  What I like to point out is there is a deeply rooted cultural element reflected in a sentence of “I can’t drink”.

The emphasis on the relationship of drinking and getting drunk is actually an omission of the appreciation process, which is what wine tasting is all about.  Many people are familiar with “bottom up” drinking style in

China

.  This spirit of abundance doesn't always allow for the application of the five senses, which were given to us by nature and we should incorporate it into our drinks and food.  Often it does not appear that there is any paring connection between the Chinese liquor chosen and the food served to eat.   

• “Drink and get drunk, or don’t drink otherwise” – this norm is why people often say “I can’t drink”.

• Bottoms-up – emphasize on the action to an immediate result.  Perhaps this has something to do with why Chinese people are often stereotyped as a very practical ethic group.

• Food pairing art is not traditionally a part of Chinese drinking style.

• The five senses are not utilized when drinking Chinese liquor.

Let’s take a look at what people do and talk about with regards to wine tasting.  There is a five-step system to understanding wine:

Observe the color & body (sight) – swirl - sniff (smell) - taste (a touching connection is established between the tongue and wine).

These are exactly the steps that need to be followed if you are a host to order the wine at a restaurant.  In other word, you don’t have to be a wine connoisseur in order to perform all the steps.

One of reasons I think the wine is so enjoyable, is that it encompasses all of our five senses.  The sight, smell, taste and touch are well represented during the process of wine tasting as laid out above.  Although the sound seems not that critical in the tasting steps, I do enjoy hear the sound of pouring the wine and the clinking of the wine glasses during a toast (so be sure to always hold your glass by the stem when toasting, so it rings rather than gives a dull clank).

The beauty of having a glass of wine is far beyond just drinking some kind of alcohol.  Rather, I regard the wine tasting process with the five senses application as a way of cultivating our sense of subtlety, sense of appreciation of others and the environment and establishing our inner connection and interaction with the nature.

• Wine tasting and having a glass of wine is no so much associated with getting drunk

• The five-step appreciation process is the opposite of the bottoms-up approach

• Wine and food paring generally go together in American culture.

• The five senses are fully utilized in a wine tasting process. 

As someone puts it –

Wine tasting is actually a complex proposition involving much more than simply sipping some fermented grape juice. There are many variable factors that affect an individual's perception of flavor in wine. There are chemical, physical, mechanical, physiological, and psychological variables.

End.

©The $50 dinner with the “Two Buck Chuck”

This happened at a fairly well known Chinese restaurant in Cupertino, California on July 22nd, 2005. A Chinese delegation from mainland China had its dinner party there and the participants paid $50 per person to attend. The enjoyment of good wine with a meal can be an important aspect of a significant social function. In this case, the hosts chose to serve Charles Shaw Merlot, which is sold exclusively at Trader Joe's stores. Is Charles Shaw Merlot a bad wine? No, it’s considered as a nice and easy drinking wine for its’ rather humble price tag of $1.99; hence the term, “two buck chuck.” Many people buy it for their daily wine consumption. What’s the fuss then?

The real question is about the food and wine etiquette for a formal business dinner party. The food was quite good and very well prepared. But the wine seemed only adequate. It left many people wondering if the $50 price tag had been worth it. As someone dryly quipped: “they dumped Trader Joe’s on the table.” Hosts must carefully consider the impressions they create with their wine choice.

Another observation concerning East/West etiquette: is it proper to turn your glass upside down or put your hand over the glass as the server is about to pour the wine for you? This may be OK in China but it is not considered good form in the States. There were two people at my table who turned their glasses upside down as the waiter approached. The simple thing to do is to say “No, thank you” to the server. They’ll get the idea.

©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."