LOL. That show was great.
Basil, of course. But he was in all situations.
I havenāt brought stems but have often realized I should have, after the fact. I had a nice dinner with @Nick_Christie at a local spot which was great but we were drinking Richebourg from tiny 2.5ā diameter stems haha.
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Iād say that generosity and forethought is the opposite of snobbery.
Again, I see this as more of a semantic debate than an etiquette debate. There are a variety of less-than-admirable traits that one can associate with wine (none in my mind associated with your post, Howard), but the diagnostic criterion for snobbery is an attempt to make others feel less-than and to exalt oneās own knowledge/possessions. I canāt see wanting to treat others to something nice you have and they do not fitting that definition.
Suppose one of your guests had a very special bottle (or many) of scotch that the rest of the group had never heard of, and wanted to treat his/her friends who otherwise would have been drinking whatever the bar was serving. Would anyone in that position feel put down?
Great response. I am not really a Bourbon or beer (or scotch) guy. I remember a work friend who was into these things brought me a small batch Bourbon and another time a higher end beer to get my views of those things. Another time, on St. Patrickās Day someone brought into work a bottle of Jamisonās and a bottle of Bushmill Black (I think it was what we had - this one is almost 40 years ago) for us to taste. In each of these cases, I think they wanted my view because they knew that I knew a lot about wine. I tried in all of these cases to show respect to the person who brought them, taste the things seriously and gave the people who brought them my honest opinion.
I really learned a lot from the two Irish whiskeys. I picked out the more expensive one blind because it had more to it. Several others liked the Jamisonās more and I think it was because it was smoother. It taught me at a relatively young age how differently different people react to things. Has influenced what I give to non-wine geeks in the way of wine. I tend to emphasize smoothness over complexity. [Or as one friend has said, he doesnāt like wines that ābite his tongue.ā]
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I do that too, Ian. Sometimes I donāt drink at birthday parties unless I can get a cocktail, but rarely would drink wine. I donāt consider it snobbery. It would be snobbery if I looked down at people who do drink the wine served at those events. I guess if people knew the real reason I decline wine, some would call me a snob.
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I tried this and it rarely worked. My non-wine friends did not appreciate wines I was brining. They were too tannic, acidic, tight, etc. for them. They all preferred cheaper wine that also was on the table. So I learned and next time instead of Barolo or BDM I brought much more approachable but still nice Italians which I would not mind drinking myself. They were simple wines but in a separate league than generic wines my friends would drink otherwise.
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Interesting thread.
There is a lot of anti-intellectualism about in the world these days an anything that smacks of being particular about something, be it wine, music, food or what have you, often gets labelled as snobby pretension or elitism by the canaille (oops, I guess that was an elitist term, too).
I am unapologetic about not being a member of the group that is largely a beer and burgers crowd and while I understand how being anything other than an obvious member of that group attracts accusations of being pretentious it is really an accusation that you somehow feel superior to others, which simply having different tastes does not imply.
But you will rarely convince people that feel that way to think otherwise - with one exception in my case. I introduced a couple of people that were not into wine at all to wine tastings. With one, it took, and he said that he enjoyed it and realized that it wasnāt elitist and with the other, it didnāt take, but at least he expanded his understanding of a different point of view.
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So what do you do when invited to a burger party? Brining your own food? 
Itās actually a question to many on this thread myself included. Where is the line?
On that note, reading the recent natural wine thread and asking the question posed in this topic does lead at least me to lean in one direction on the matterā¦
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Not sure if it was a reply to my bad attempt at sarcasm 
(Deleted it to make sure it wasnt misunderstood)
Anyway, my honest answer is that I donāt think most people on this board are snobs. I believe most of us are passionate geeks who may unintentionally come across as snobbish at times, myself included.
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I would never, ever bring wine or GASP! stemware to someone elseās party unless they were wine geeks and we discussed the plan.
But going to a restaurant? I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that some people I donāt know, sitting at another table, would think it is snobbish for me to bring a bottle to enjoy with my wife.
FWIW I assumed it was a joke
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We went out to a local French bistro last night with another couple. We took a bottle each and also our own glasses and never gave a thought to what anyone else would think.
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I donāt know of any of my non-wine friends that find it āsnobbyā were I to bring a bottle. I do think the thread has drifted significantly from the original statement that someone would never go to a restaurant that did not offer corkageāthat is a significant distinction compared to just bringing your own bottle.
It also seems like snob/snobbish isnāt very well defined here. I donāt think it makes sense in the traditional sense of the word (as association with class superiority). As a relative newcomer to the board and to wine in general, there are certainly threads or posts that are off-putting or give off an exclusive air, but hard to say that even most of these are āsnobbish.ā
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Never gave a thought to the feeling of others? SO YOUāRE A SNOB!
I kid I kid! No reason you should.
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I never thought that BYOB to a restaurant could be even remotely considered as snobbery until I read this thread. And if someone does think this way I donāt really care.
Bringing a bottle to friendsā party or house is fine as long as you share it with everyone else without emphasizing wineās exclusivity. But I admit I was in awkward situation few times when asked by friends why I decline the wine at parties when they know I love wine. What do I say without making others uncomfortable and not coming across as a snob?
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This. Itās sometimes an uphill battle to get them to appreciate some of the wines we prefer.
They are much happier with the pedestrian choices. Like you, I find that taking it down a couple of notches gets a better civilian group response.
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Yes, just to be clear, thereās a time and a place for it. If you take stems to your neighbor who invites you over, youāre a douche. Even bigger one if you take stems but no wine. Thatās the scenario I had in mind. But if its the right people and right occasion, sure why not. Most people I hang out with who are wine people already have decent stems.
Iāve been to a dinner party with non-wine friends, where one guy loudly proclaimed that he is allergic to sulfites and thus only drinks natural wine and obviously brought his own, but would not share. All about knowing your audience.
Isnāt that the equivalent of posting about Velveeta on cheeseberserkers.com?
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Agree without Neal here. My own experience is that the guy is more likely than not to show interest, and want to know why Iām bringing this wine. Itās a lot more likely to stimulate a nice interaction than anything negative.
The reactions our group wine dinners get from āregularā diners around us is usually pretty positive.