CellarTracker Main Site
Register for Forum | Login | My Profile | Member List | Search

Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine?

 
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
Users viewing this topic: none
  Printable Version
All Forums >> [Cellar Talk] >> General Discussion >> Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? Page: [1] 2   next >   >>
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:43:36 AM   
John 14:21

 

Posts: 54
Joined: 1/28/2013
Status: offline 		Yesterday, my neighbor across the street came over and wanted to thank us for the help we had given and to wish us Happy New Year with a bottle of wine. Wine is about my favorite thing to receive as a gift. Could there be anything better? So I looked at the label and saw that it was a California Beaujolaise. No problem there, I really like Beaujolaise. As I was profusely thanking him for the gesture I was trying to locate the vintage on the bottle and that's when my heart sank. "1998." Not that Beaujolaise can never be cellar-ed for a bit, but knowing that my neighbor isn't a wine guy tipped me off to the ensuing dry as a rock crumbling cork and rancid wine that followed.

Why do they do it? :) It just gets our hopes up only to be dashed! I want to clarify that I his gesture was very kind and thoughtful. As the old saying goes... "it's the thought that counts." And it really was nice. I just chuckle and think it's worth a laugh or two.

Do you have a Non Wino Trying To Give You Wine story? Share the fun.

Curt

Post #: 1
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:49:22 AM   
sukeiasa

 

Posts: 26
Joined: 3/11/2013
From: DC / CA
Status: offline 		so did you try the bottle?? how was it??

i think a lot of 'winos' talk about wine so much around 'non-winos' that the 'non-winos' feel like this is the only gift 'winos' would appreciate....
like you said, it's the thought that counts, and you never know...... i never thought those xmas sweaters would come in handy for ugly sweater parties....

(in reply to John 14:21)
Post #: 2
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:50:53 AM   
markandsusanw

 

Posts: 882
Joined: 5/10/2010
Status: offline 		Plonk. So much plonk.

The worst is when they ask you later what you thought, and then you're torn between politeness for the kindness of their gesture, with the caveat that they then may gift not only the same swill to you again (and again, and again), but also do so to other people, telling them that you, their "wine friend," loved it. Or, you can be honest--e.g. "It was a lovely gesture, but honestly that's not my favorite varietal/label/vintage/whatever"--then people think you're an ungrateful wine snob so far up their own, well, you know, that you can't even appreciate a kind gesture.

It's a quandary.

(in reply to John 14:21)
Post #: 3
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:57:00 AM   
sukeiasa

 

Posts: 26
Joined: 3/11/2013
From: DC / CA
Status: offline 		i think if they give you a bottle of wine, then it is a perfect reason for you to share a different bottle of wine, something you like, with them for the next occassion and kinda educate them on what you actually like....

besides... most unspoiled bottles can be used as cooking wine/ base for sangria....

(in reply to markandsusanw)
Post #: 4
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:58:31 AM   
Old Doug

 

Posts: 8279
Joined: 5/12/2011
From: Atlanta, Georgia, US
Status: offline 		"Doug likes wine," so my co-worker's wife said, as she handed a bottle over to be passed on to me. She and a friend were in the Amish country of Ohio, and lo and behold, there was wine for sale in one store. Wow was it sweet, and this was the plonk of the plonk. I was later asked how it was, and I said it was a little sweet for me.

(in reply to markandsusanw)
Post #: 5
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 9:00:09 AM   
wadcorp

 

Posts: 9335
Joined: 10/29/2008
From: Kansas City, MO
Status: offline 		Cousins of my wife who live in Iowa are always showing up with a couple bottles of their nearby producer.

Sweet doesn't even begin to describe it. I've had plum wines more palatable.

.

_____________________________

"Wine is light held together by moisture."
— Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

(in reply to Old Doug)
Post #: 6
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 9:08:13 AM   
Old Doug

 

Posts: 8279
Joined: 5/12/2011
From: Atlanta, Georgia, US
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: wadcorp

Sweet doesn't even begin to describe it. I've had plum wines more palatable.



A lot of places do the minimum to come up with alcoholic sugar water, even when a skilled, motivated, and patient winemaker could probably do something decent with the grape juice.

It must be selling....

(in reply to wadcorp)
Post #: 7
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 9:27:10 AM   
John 14:21

 

Posts: 54
Joined: 1/28/2013
Status: offline 		The cork crumbled and the wine was too rancid to try or use for anything other than pouring down the sink. Sad.

The quandary is pretty funny. I never thought about having to receive the same wine again!

Educating them is actually a very good idea.

Good stories everybody! Keep em coming...


(in reply to Old Doug)
Post #: 8
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 9:31:44 AM   
Eddie

 

Posts: 6242
Joined: 12/17/2012
From: central Kentucky
Status: offline 		I invited some friends of mine to come over from Louisville for some hiking a couple of years ago. One of them, knowing that I like wine, brought me a Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir of recent vintage. It tasted like furniture polish (i.e like linseed oil). Ugh.

_____________________________

V horam in quodam loco est.

(in reply to John 14:21)
Post #: 9
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 9:38:16 AM   
RockinCabs

 

Posts: 284
Joined: 8/5/2013
From: Boston, MA
Status: offline 		I hear you on the furniture polish. I received a Blueberry wine produced in Maine from a neighbor. Talk about turpentine.

The "wine" tasted like blueberry syrup with vodka.

(in reply to Eddie)
Post #: 10
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 9:48:01 AM   
Robert Pavlovich

 

Posts: 1955
Joined: 2/10/2012
From: West Los Angeles
Status: offline 		One of my favorite thread titles in a while....people love a challenge!

_____________________________

"Blending muddles the message"

-The Burgundian Monks

(in reply to RockinCabs)
Post #: 11
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 10:24:39 AM   
ROEL

 

Posts: 970
Joined: 4/18/2007
From: Linsmeau, Belgium
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Old Doug

It must be selling....


This!

_____________________________

Beauty lies in simple things

(in reply to Old Doug)
Post #: 12
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 10:45:50 AM   
f22nickell

 

Posts: 1997
Joined: 7/13/2011
From: From CA, living in Maple Valley, WA.
Status: offline 		We have monthly dinner parties. When its our turn to host, we always mention that we will have wine available. Inevitably though, someone still shows up with a ubiquitous bottle of Barefoot Cab-Merlot ...

I have a collection growing of undrinkable wines ...

_____________________________

“ Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. ”
— Ecclesiastes 9:7



F22nickell on CT ...
S_Nickell on WB ...

(in reply to ROEL)
Post #: 13
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 11:22:17 AM   
grayfont

 

Posts: 592
Joined: 3/1/2010
From: New Orleans (but live in Falls Church, VA)
Status: offline 		I have implemented what I think has been a very successful strategy: when casual friends ask about my interest in wine, I'm quick to sing the praises of my favorite local wine shop. I mention that I frequent the tastings there and that the staff are great at recommending bottles in any price range. Armed with that knowledge, the people who give me wine often go to that shop (it's conveniently located within a few miles of my home) and ask the staff for recommendations. Sometimes they even mention the wine is for me, in which case the staff can zero in on what they know I like. Thus, we receive significantly fewer doorstop bottles than we used to.

(in reply to f22nickell)
Post #: 14
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 11:35:30 AM   
markandsusanw

 

Posts: 882
Joined: 5/10/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: grayfont

I have implemented what I think has been a very successful strategy: when casual friends ask about my interest in wine, I'm quick to sing the praises of my favorite local wine shop. I mention that I frequent the tastings there and that the staff are great at recommending bottles in any price range. Armed with that knowledge, the people who give me wine often go to that shop (it's conveniently located within a few miles of my home) and ask the staff for recommendations. Sometimes they even mention the wine is for me, in which case the staff can zero in on what they know I like. Thus, we receive significantly fewer doorstop bottles than we used to.



You have people give you wine that visit an actual wine shop and not just the local megamart's "wine" aisle? Clearly, you have a better class of friends than we do.

Whenever I suggest going to a wine-specific shop, even for themselves, to people, in order to get educated wine selection suggestions, since me recommending from afar is usually impossible given how few good, well-priced wines are distributed nationally, it's always dismissed as "too much trouble," or "too embarrassing to ask." Heck, I've been told by people that they're "uncomfortable" when I ask a sommelier at a restaurant for a wine recommend, even though THAT'S THEIR JOB.


(in reply to grayfont)
Post #: 15
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 11:47:37 AM   
Blue Shorts

 

Posts: 2779
Joined: 2/5/2008
From: Santa Cruz
Status: offline 		Friends gave us a bottle of plon, errrrrrr, "wine" for Christmas. It was a Sauv Blanc. Here's a Cellartracker tasting note that aptly describes the "wine":


"OMG, this might be the worst wine I've tasted. It's nothing like an SB. Petrol and lighter fluid thoughout. This might be toxic to humans.

This was being served in the tasting room and I had to change glasses after this because it stunk so bad. Brutal."



After tasting the wine, I realized that the tasting note, above, was being far too kind.

(in reply to John 14:21)
Post #: 16
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 11:53:50 AM   
fingers

 

Posts: 8248
Joined: 8/26/2006
From: Santa Ana, CA
Status: offline 		These are all reasons why I've told all my Non Wino family and acquaintances that I'm no longer into wine. "Only Single Malt Scotch. That's all I drink now"

(in reply to markandsusanw)
Post #: 17
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 12:03:44 PM   
J2K

 

Posts: 4041
Joined: 5/5/2008
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: fingers

These are all reasons why I've told all my Non Wino family and acquaintances that I'm no longer into wine. "Only Single Malt Scotch. That's all I drink now"



Great strategy. How can I use that to only receive good Vodka? On the other hand, I'd rather receive cheap vodka than cheap wine. At least you can mix it.

(in reply to fingers)
Post #: 18
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 1:17:23 PM   
HTGJONES

 

Posts: 76
Joined: 10/21/2013
From: Stirling, Scotland
Status: offline 		I actually had the opposite issue recently. Having previously shown little interest in wine it was a surprise to my mother when I showed up at xmas with a magnum of Moet for the family to share rather than the Cava/Prosecco she usually uses. Going on my past history she seemed very reluctant to actually give me any of it!!! Only pouring me a half glass at first, had to be encouraged to top it up and then kept leaving me off the refills leaving me sneaking off to the kitchen to pour it myself.

(in reply to J2K)
Post #: 19
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 1:45:53 PM   
Slye

 

Posts: 1923
Joined: 8/3/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: grayfont

I have implemented what I think has been a very successful strategy: when casual friends ask about my interest in wine, I'm quick to sing the praises of my favorite local wine shop. I mention that I frequent the tastings there and that the staff are great at recommending bottles in any price range. Armed with that knowledge, the people who give me wine often go to that shop (it's conveniently located within a few miles of my home) and ask the staff for recommendations. Sometimes they even mention the wine is for me, in which case the staff can zero in on what they know I like. Thus, we receive significantly fewer doorstop bottles than we used to.



I like this idea a lot. We actually have friends who know I am into wine. I think they like wine, but not sure how into it they are. They have succeeded, in the past two years, in giving us interesting bottles of wine from local WA producers of which I was until then unfamiliar. They are in the 30-50 dollar range. They have been good, and provided some education for me about local wines I would not otherwise try.

We also have people who bring wine to dinner etc. I do think it is the thought that counts. I try to tell people not to bring wine, but then need to come up with alternatives (flowers, bread, dessert, etc.) I do like the occasional wine brought to dinner. I save those for when we have to go to a dinner party and I know the people are not that into wine.

(in reply to grayfont)
Post #: 20
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 2:42:38 PM   
S1

 

Posts: 14826
Joined: 11/12/2011
From: Wandering between Coastal SC and South FL
Status: offline

drink your antioxidants

I've received this one before.

My church choir gives me a gift card to a good LWS every Christmas

_____________________________

Tous les chemins mènent à la Bourgogne!
"One not only drinks wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it, sips it and -- one talks about it!" (in memory of drycab)

(in reply to Slye)
Post #: 21
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 2:48:09 PM   
champagneinhand

 

Posts: 10282
Joined: 5/30/2011
From: Upstate New York, California born.
Status: offline 		Gift cards, to the wine store, is what I have said. They sell both wine and liquor. I don't mind food related items, but most people know I am picky about the wine. Since I am the one tasked to provide said wines to family dinners, they know. However on NY's eve, as I was recovering from being very sick. I finished off the champagne, and the only thing to drink was a mag of Yellowtail Cab/Shiraz. I thought…how bad could it be. I was oxygen deprived, but I took in a mouthful and really had a hard time swallowing it. Aqua Net hair spray, meets High-C grape drink. It was awful. I guess I had brought over a 2000 Haut Bergey and everybody really liked that. There is a reason you can buy Yellowtail in magnums for $2.99.

Like Karl said, I can run bad vodka through a carbon filter then mix it with juice. I can enjoy the heck out of a spiced rum with cola. I have a hard time with really bad wine. If the wine was $20 and a terrible wine, which we had a cousin buy for us in Vermont and want reimbursement on…Honeyed wine. 2 bottles. I coughed up $40, and said please, check with us in the future before helping us explore the stateside wine world. I didn't mean to be a jerk, but if its a gift its one thing, for him to think he was doing me a favor and wanting reimbursement, then that's another.

_____________________________

As I age my finger tips seem to be bigger, my iOS keyboard seems to be less kind, and my need for wearing reading glasses has never been greater. I hope you are forgiving and can read between my lines.

(in reply to Slye)
Post #: 22
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 3:15:09 PM   
Slye

 

Posts: 1923
Joined: 8/3/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: champagneinhand

Gift cards, to the wine store, is what I have said. They sell both wine and liquor. I don't mind food related items, but most people know I am picky about the wine. Since I am the one tasked to provide said wines to family dinners, they know. However on NY's eve, as I was recovering from being very sick. I finished off the champagne, and the only thing to drink was a mag of Yellowtail Cab/Shiraz. I thought…how bad could it be. I was oxygen deprived, but I took in a mouthful and really had a hard time swallowing it. Aqua Net hair spray, meets High-C grape drink. It was awful. I guess I had brought over a 2000 Haut Bergey and everybody really liked that. There is a reason you can buy Yellowtail in magnums for $2.99.

Like Karl said, I can run bad vodka through a carbon filter then mix it with juice. I can enjoy the heck out of a spiced rum with cola. I have a hard time with really bad wine. If the wine was $20 and a terrible wine, which we had a cousin buy for us in Vermont and want reimbursement on…Honeyed wine. 2 bottles. I coughed up $40, and said please, check with us in the future before helping us explore the stateside wine world. I didn't mean to be a jerk, but if its a gift its one thing, for him to think he was doing me a favor and wanting reimbursement, then that's another.

quote:

"OMG, this might be the worst wine I've tasted. It's nothing like an SB. Petrol and lighter fluid thoughout. This might be toxic to humans.

This was being served in the tasting room and I had to change glasses after this because it stunk so bad. Brutal."


Oh I think you wine the prize so far. Receiving bad wine, AND having to pay for it. AND at a price where you could have bought relatively decent wine. I don't think any response by you (including the one you provided) could be considered rude in that circumstance.

(in reply to champagneinhand)
Post #: 23
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 4:01:24 PM   
JerryL

 

Posts: 596
Joined: 12/27/2012
From: Kenmore, Wa
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: S1



drink your antioxidants

I've received this one before.

My church choir gives me a gift card to a good LWS every Christmas


We have a bottle of this that someone brought to a party. It is sitting in the garage because I have been unwilling to open it for guests.

(in reply to S1)
Post #: 24
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 5:06:42 PM   
mc2 wines

 

Posts: 3873
Joined: 8/31/2012
From: NYC
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: f22nickell

We have monthly dinner parties. When its our turn to host, we always mention that we will have wine available. Inevitably though, someone still shows up with a ubiquitous bottle of Barefoot Cab-Merlot ...

I have a collection growing of undrinkable wines ...


We do something similar with quarterly parties with our friends. We've now taken to pulling out the 'gifts' from the last round at the next party. What's funny is even our non-wine drinking friends seem to want to default to the ones we provided vs. the ones that they themselves brought the last time around.

As far as the Chocolate Wine that Scott and Jerry alluded to, a dear friend bought that as a joke last year during college reunion. It is straight up undrinkable. Just trust us on that one.

(in reply to f22nickell)
Post #: 25
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 5:38:00 PM   
ChrisinCowiche

 

Posts: 7845
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
Status: offline 		All in all we've probably been pretty fortunate since we're known among friends, family, co-workers as "the winos" and most of the gifts we've been given have been pretty good to very good stuff, and of course have always been well intentioned.   Even the low end stuff we've drank and appreciated.  Except...

Our one cringworthy experience I've mentioned here before, but during our cross country trip in 2012, a nephew in South Dakota wanted to share the local wine with us.  He and his wife are NOT wine drinkers so they did not really know how awful the stuff was/is, but they went so out of the way to buy us 2-3 versions of the local stuff that we had to taste and at least try to drink some.  Fortunately the party was outside, so I could pour on the ground when no one was watching.  We still have a bottle they gave us as a parting gift.

On the Chocovine stuff, some of it is made in Washington, I am ashamed to say, and one of the bottle shops I visit in wine country was serving it at a tasting one day.  I didn't taste it but it forever changed my opinion of the owner's wine sense.  The shop generally carries a very nice selection of WA and OR wines mostly mid range but some higher end bottles, and though prices aren't great, I've bought several bottles there that I knew to be out of circulation or not available elsewhere.   And they have a clearance rack with real finds sometimes. 

_____________________________

http://www.cellartracker.com/new/user.asp?iUserOverride=102173

(in reply to mc2 wines)
Post #: 26
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 6:28:40 PM   
Agee

 

Posts: 113
Joined: 12/14/2011
From: Chicago
Status: offline 		I love this question and ask my wife this every time we have company over!

Still, it really is the thought that counts. So I just keep that question between her and me...and now all of you.

(in reply to John 14:21)
Post #: 27
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 7:29:30 PM   
John 14:21

 

Posts: 54
Joined: 1/28/2013
Status: offline 		These truly are amazing stories. Huge grin while reading these.

Really like the idea of shouting out my local wine shop to friends because like most of you with your wine shop, they know me and know what I like. What a great idea.

Pouring on the ground while no one is watching is stone cold... but I probably would of done the same thing.

Aqua Net Hair Spray meets Hi-C Grape Drink. Nice! I too had a similar thought regarding Yellow Tail. And my poor sister alone keeps them in business!

QUESTION? How do you politely not open a plonker that someone brings to dinner? I kinda feel if they brought it over maybe we should open it... but I really don't want to!

(in reply to Agee)
Post #: 28
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:10:50 PM   
grayfont

 

Posts: 592
Joined: 3/1/2010
From: New Orleans (but live in Falls Church, VA)
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: John 14:21

QUESTION? How do you politely not open a plonker that someone brings to dinner? I kinda feel if they brought it over maybe we should open it... but I really don't want to!


If you want to avoid opening the wine your guests bring, Standard Operating Procedure is to decant your own wines before your guests arrive - whether the wines need it or not. Then you can always tell your guests that you appreciate their contribution but you weren't expecting it so you've already opened enough wine for the meal.

In my case, however, I'm always happy to open the wine that guests bring alongside the wine I've previously opened. It solves the problem of having the well-intended gift bottle sit around your house indefinitely, and sometimes everyone learns a little bit by comparing the wines. And - sometimes I end up unexpectedly liking what they brought.

(in reply to John 14:21)
Post #: 29
RE: Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? - 1/13/2014 8:16:36 PM   
skifree

 

Posts: 3411
Joined: 3/14/2010
From: SE King County, Washington
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: grayfont


quote:

ORIGINAL: John 14:21

QUESTION? How do you politely not open a plonker that someone brings to dinner? I kinda feel if they brought it over maybe we should open it... but I really don't want to!


If you want to avoid opening the wine your guests bring, Standard Operating Procedure is to decant your own wines before your guests arrive - whether the wines need it or not. Then you can always tell your guests that you appreciate their contribution but you weren't expecting it so you've already opened enough wine for the meal.

In my case, however, I'm always happy to open the wine that guests bring alongside the wine I've previously opened. It solves the problem of having the well-intended gift bottle sit around your house indefinitely, and sometimes everyone learns a little bit by comparing the wines. And - sometimes I end up unexpectedly liking what they brought.


I signed in to make the same suggestion - so +1! Well said. And thanks for the thread - very funny.



_____________________________

So much wine, so little time

(in reply to grayfont)
Post #: 30
Page:   [1] 2   next >   >>
All Forums >> [Cellar Talk] >> General Discussion >> Why Do Non Wino's Try To Give Us Wine? Page: [1] 2   next >   >>
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts


Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

0.141