Comments on: Lighten up - It’s only wine

by: JimKay

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 02:25:26 +0000

Great intro to the piece. If you’re willing to define yourself by how you consume, then you’re just a tool for the marketers. “Tool” carrying all the conotations you can think of.
Want to have fun - tell your wine friends you like the little wine cartons from Target. The Calif Cabernet/Shiraz is earthy, but not overly tanninc, the Pinot Grigio is fruity, but crisp. Watch’em stare or roll their eyes. ha ha ha

by: admin

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:59:36 +0000

Rebecca-

a BIG Amen to everything you write. Wine should be for EVERYBODY not just type A personality status mongers. And the wine “industry” must take a bit of the blame too by overselling the prestige and rarified taste angle that clearly feeds the snobbery in those who know just a little about wine, while subtly belittling those who know nothing by making them feel inadequate. If you drink wine every day like everyone should, these silly distinctions melt away.

TOM CIOCCO

by: Rebecca

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 19:48:30 +0000

Love your terrior blog. Can’t help but comment here. I been working in restaurants for years and come across these types of winegeeks on a very regular basis, therefore I can completely connect with your comments. Trust me, they do it with food as well. It’s all this name dropping stuff. I usually amuse myself quietly with how hoSPITable I become in their presence. On the on the other hand, they keep my employers in business and my employers, in turn can keep me on their payroll. In my own restaurant someday, I will have a completely different style wine list, hopefully, to cater to a different mental palate. To me, wine is about food and company you enjoy it with and food is about wine and company you enjoy it with. The most fascinating part of all three is learning where they all come from and how they pair up (the wine, the food and the company).

by: Suzanne

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:28:12 +0000

I like your blog! Great writing and observations. I recognized many people from your “wine lover” categories that I’ve had the misfortune of running into at restaurants and tastings!

by: Paul

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 03:19:16 +0000

Tom,
Love the blog and response to comments. And the stream of consciousness writing.

by: admin

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:59:21 +0000

Julius-

Thanks for reading. The writing in the previous incarnation of this site was far more didactic in tone, but we later decided that the blog format was a bit more dynamic and allow us to create a real dialogue - I’ll still be doing some pieces like the Prosecco piece, but the overall approach is going to be more conversational and “off the cuff”…

As far as your Steve Verlin example goes, If he actually did something like that, and I was present, I’d think he was tool regardless of his reputation and would probably try to make him cry by “accidentally” knock the bottle out of his hand…and by the way, Gary and I disagree about lots of things (but probably agree about far more) What does Gary have to do with any of this anyway?

Tom Ciocco

by: Tony S.

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:40:51 +0000

Amen. Right on the nose. These are also the same guys that refuse to say “hi” or look you in the eye when me or one of my warehouse guys are loading their Bently w/ tens of thousands of dollars worth of wine.

Go Bears,
T

by: admin

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:31:54 +0000

Brian S-

“They” drive a few different types of vehicles, but many of them look like this:

http://www.inet.ba/~admado/cars/pig-car.jpg

by: admin

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:11:39 +0000

Terry-

Thanks for the kind words. Keep reading and commenting!

Tom Ciocco

by: admin

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:00:06 +0000

GeneV-

In a snarky sort of way, I guess what I’m saying is something that Flava Flav once said perhaps better than I: “Don’t believe the hype”… that wine is not a competiton, and that what it IS about is community and culture and knowledge thereof - both yours (country, traditions, family, friends, etc.) as well as the place from which the wine comes. It’s about the things that you can LEARN from the culture from which the wine comes, as well as the people sitting around your table. That wine does not exist either in a vacuum of ratings and misplaced “bottle envy” nor in an all too common American proclivity for conspicuous comsumption, waste and gluttony…

Two thoughts that (may) encapsulate my point:

-Drinking alone,(and I’ve done it too)is always a little sad.

-To me, the only “100 point” wine there can EVER be is that one that pairs PERFECTLY with what I or my Aunt Tillie or my friend Kenichi prepared for dinner.

Hope this helps clarify my overall point.

Tom Ciocco