Have I become a wine snob? Say it ain't so.

Last night we attended a retirement party, a group of about 25 people, at the home of the retiree. He is well connected to the local community through his job and lives in the ritzy neighborhood of Santa Rosa where many of the socialites reside. When we were getting ready to leave I asked the little woman if we should bring some wine. She said she wanted to give him a bottle so I grabbed an '08 Tara Bella Reserve Cab to wrap plus a Bedrock Old Vine Zin.

When we arrived at the party the host had almost a dozen bottles open on the counter top.
“Red or White?” He asked
Red: Folie a Deux Zinfandel and an even crappier Merlot
White: KJ Chardonnay
He did have some Racer 5 on ice but I just wasn’t in a beer mood.

I powered through the evening wishing he would open something good since the guests had brought a lot of nice bottles. Oh well, you get what you get. What I got was a nasty shitty wine headache this morning and an overwhelming feeling that I am becomeing a wine snob. Or was I just being selfish?

Either way I am concerned.

I always choose a good beer over ordinary wine.

I feel the same way. My palate just does not tolerate crappy wine. Snob would be if you were dismissive of the wine because it was cheap, not because it was bad.

If it makes you feel better Brian, no more than me or any of the other knuckleheads on this Board.

Take solace in the fact that you are a fan of the fine wine world’s greatest “pretension-chaser” - - Zinfandel!

I don’t think not wanting to drink crappy wine makes you a wine snob. I also don’t want to drink crappy beer, vodka or eat crappy food.

Nothing snobbish in having personal preferences. Everyone has them. I, too, sometimes am put in that situation - I just accept a glass and pretend to sip if it is reasonably priced. If expensive, I just accept the glass, and, when the host is not looking, I give it to anyone else in my table who wants it (done that with Screaming Eagle of a vintage I’ve had twice before and liked neither time - not that I’ve particularly liked any vintage of Screaming Eagle I’ve had).

Many years ago, at a clients’ cocktail hosted by a bank, what was being offered was some red, the mere smell of which I found repulsive (highly alcoholic, sharp, metallic). Just to be polite, I struggled through one glass, which gave me a headache an hour or two later. Never did that again.

Best,

N

Doesn’t all Vodka taste the same, ie lacking any flavor whatsoever?

With you all the way.

We often go to large parties with a full plastic cup and milk it all evening.

If pressed, I go to beer, Sprite or, hopefully, Sav Blanc (which seems to be OK even at the low end.

At small parties, people who know us open our gift bottle right away…which happened last night.

Just curious, Fountaingrove?

It sounds like the host faired well, serving while receiving some good bottles. Brian you’re not alone. I almost never reach for the wine in those socializing situtions.

I sat down yesterday and actually entered all my wine into cellar tracker. I had done it once before, so I was able to mark all that was gone, consumed. I am positive there are lots of wines that I bought and drank and never entered.

All I can say is I was shocked at the value of purchases and consumption over the last three years.

This is to say I want to go back to drinking cheap nasty wine!

This. +1

Plus the cheap nasty headache in the morning.

No, Proctor Terrace, the old guard neighborhood on the flat lands below Fountain Grove. Typically Fountain Grove parties have better wines as the people are much more concerned about how it looks.

That just makes you a beer, spirits, and food snob too.

Honestly at events like that I almost always drink water. You know, as long as they have a good quality spring water.

You’re not a wine snob. Mr. Retiree sounds like a selfish hoarder, though. On a related note, I’m a fan of the Tara Bella CS.

+1. Retirement party? Come on, this is a big deal! You should have grabbed a corkscrew and started opening some bottles. Life is way too short to hoard it especially when your nearing the final chapter…

+1 “Not wanting to drink crappy wine” is specifically what makes us wine snobs, in everyone’s opinion but our own.

I think some may be missing Brian’s TiC tone

That’s what happens when you hang with this crowd.

I almost never drink at social gatherings and parties since the wines aren’t what I like drinking, so it is iced tea or Diet Coke. No wine is better than wine I don’t like.