My kids love to smell and taste whatever we’re drinking. They’re not very discerning yet-- their standard observation is that it “smells like wine”. Last weekend, though, this was part of my TN of 1997 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Chassagne-Montrachet: I shared a taste with my daughter, because '97 is her birth year. She made her mama proud when she observed that it “doesn’t taste like much more than water in the front of my mouth, but it’s very tingly in the back”.
We allow our four-and-a-half -year-old daughter a tiny sip of wine every so often. Each time she gets to try a taste, I ask her what she thinks of it. She always responds that the wine is either good or – most often – great. I think this means either that I have excellent taste in wine or that my daughter is gunning for Dr. Jay Miller’s job.
Reed(10) grabs a stem off the table, swirls (he’s very good at it), sticks his nose deep into the glass and says, “strawberries, like grandma Wanda’s strawberry leather, right dad?”, takes a sip, walks to the sink as he’s swishing it, spits it in the sink (as we’ve taught him to), looks at us and says, “good, but a bit too much alcohol, don’t you think”? -(Melville 06 PN Estate). Kimberly and I were rolling.
My father would drink wine for as long as I remember. My late mother as well, but my father was/is the collector. He allowed my siblings and I to have a glass at dinners with him if we wanted. I do the same with my kids and they are very used to it. The problem is when we are in the US and out in restaurants - the 2 older ones (16 and 14½) ask for wine from my bottle but I have to remind them that I could get in trouble for that.
Yes, as far as I know, and it would make the restaurant/staff liable as well. It differs from state to state I understand, but, I was told in the past by a friend/co-counsel (a lawyer practising in California) that it would be illegal for me to let my kids (minors) drink from my bottle of wine in any restaurant in California (nb., when in the US, we spend most our time in California).
This was several years ago, my eldest was 9 at the time. I just never bothered to take any chances in any other state since then. They can have their glass or two of wine back in Manila, not a big deal. I always figure: “When in Rome…” Same thing with my cigars - when in the US, I forego Cuban cigars and just buy/smoke/bring Dominican cigars, etc.
My 2 and 1/2 year old asked for some “vino” (mom’s italian) and I let her take a drop from my finger. She made a face and walked away. That was a horrendous pinot from garagiste. A few days later she asked again for some vino. I gave her another drop. She started to walk away and came back saying “Can I have 4 more vino?” This was 05 Saxum Bone Rock. Boy was I proud. (She got one more drop
It’w more the restaurant being liable. When I worked in a restaurant, we were under strict orders to not let anyone have any kind of alcohol. Even if given by a parent. The ABC would even come in and do ‘sting’ operations everyonce in a while either coming in and saying they didn’t have ID or coming in and asking for a glass for a small sip for thier 19-20 year old companion. If you passed, they told you right away, if you gave them a glass of anything (which happened twice while I was there,) you were immediately fined and had to go to court and pay a hefty fee.
EDIT: The restaurant would also be fined and you would be fired.