I don’t get it. Why would someone bring wine to a party, put it on the table, and then expect it not to get open?
Well, that is the crux of the debate, isn’t it? Some people don’t ‘get’ one side or the others argument. And I was using “recklessly” as a tongue-in-cheek manner.
But in this case, the guy that brought it and put it on the table DID expect it to be opened, it was a third misguided person that felt the need to defend the bottle’s honor and take offense at it being opened by someone he didn’t know.
As Mr. Evans mentioned, it was no-win situation, and I can argue both sides. Had it been a 1985 La Tache instead of an 2005 Tig, however, I’m willing to bet that everyone at the party would’ve asked around before just popping it. But grabbing a bottle from someone’s hand is totally bad form in any situation. 
There are some stories I really can’t share in public, but I can tell this one and keep the person anonymous. Many years ago I had dinner with a bunch of wine geek friends, and one of the guests (not a regular part of our group) got invited. He showed up with a significant case of b.o., which was bad enough. The worst part was that he was a bottle hog; he poured more than 2X the size of regular pours, so some bottles didn’t make it around the table. Someone made a public plea for more modest pours, but it didn’t seem to change his pours. After that, we started all bottles immediately to his left and then passed them clockwise so that he was at the end of the line. As far as I could tell, he really didn’t care whether anyone else at the table got short-changed on pours…That was the one and only time he attended one of our wine dinners.
Bruce
For something like that, I’d either put a sticky note on it, or do the double decanting myself before anyone could get their hands on it. But stuff happens, roll with it is my attitude. In all honesty, I would never bring an exceptional bottle to a backyard bbq situation where the wine will almost certainly not get appreciated - or if I do bring something really good, I keep it with me, and open when the time seems right, then do the pouring myself to make sure the people I know will appreciate it get some wine.
It all depends on what kind of party it is. We do some where literally everyone there is a wine geek, so protocols are pretty well understood. But a mix of family or non geeks gets a different approach, and different wines.
My wife and I went to a dinner party where one of the hosts asked us to bring a Cayuse Flying Pig as she had never tried it - she was thrilled. One of the guests, a wine novice, proceeded to pour herself an Olive Garden sized pour. She took one sip, said “this is disgusting” and poured it down the drain. I watched in horror as it was about 1/4 of the bottle. Couple lessons learned that night.
forgot about that…what an awesome night!
Aha! I missed the part of the third person. I thought it was the person that brought it that was upset.
About 9 - 10 years ago, we had a Bordeaux dinner/tasting and it was held in an Islamic restaurant in midtown Manhattan. I don’t recall the exact circumstances as to why it was held in that restarant, but it was.
I remember that the theme was “your preferred off-year Bordeaux”, and multiple bottles were brought in by most of the 8 - 10 attendees in the tasting. What we didn’t know was that it was the month of Ramadan, a month of extreme religious fasting, and we were promptly told that we can drink but will have to keep all our bottles under the table in the light of being sensitive with the other restaurant Muslim patrons. I recall that our designated pourer (Dale?) had to be handed over our glasses for the under-the-table pours and you can just imagine how comically chaotic it was.
Hey Arv, you were there.
If I bring a bottle to a party and sit it on a table unattended, it is fair game. It seems the problems arise when you have mixed crowds where someone who doesn’t understand our “Wine Code of Ethics” steps over our invisible line.
This sounds a bit less clear cut, but maybe I’m mis-reading it.
Was he saying CT posters or wine forumites were saying the wine was flawed (i.e. at the winery) and that he disagreed? I’m sure there are instances where 2-3 TNs in a row point to ‘off wines’ but it’s just a case of the cork gods having a laugh. What if that taint was Brett and he was very tolerant, but you tasting group wasn’t.
If he’d opened it there and it was off/corked but he didn’t agree, then it would be harsh. Bringing a wine in good faith should not be criticised just because it turned out to be tainted by TCA.
The bullshit artists should indeed be ‘called on it’ - the DRC story being a fair example. Whether it was ‘better’ or not, lying is a very poor character trait.
Perhaps our most memorable, was a tasting at a friend’s house. Towards the end of the tasting, one of his female friends turns up, absolutely drunk. She then sets starts a tirade of abuse at another lady there, then stumbles & crashes into the coffee table, smashing IIRC a moderately expensive bowl and sending glasses and wine flying.
I once strolled up to a group while tasting the 40th Anniversary Caymus cab and they asked what I thought about the wine.
We all still hang out, but it was like being Big Bank Hank in Rapper’s delight…
Have you ever went over a friend’s house to taste
And the wine just ain’t no good?
The Caymus is flabby, the fruit tastes mushed,
And the cab tastes just like wood
So you try to play it off like you think you can
By saying that you’re full
And then your friend says, “Fellas, he’s just being polite
He ain’t finished, uh-uh, that’s bull!”
So your heart starts pumpin’ and you think of a lie
And you say that you already drank,
And your friend says “Man, there’s plenty of Caymus,”
So he pours some more in your glass
While that stinky wine’s steamin’, your mind starts to dreamin’
Of the moment that it’s time to leave
And then you look at your glass and your wine’s slowly evolving
Into something that tastes like jam…
…so you say “That’s it, I gotta leave this place
I don’t care what these people think,
I’m just sittin’ here makin’ myself nauseous
With this ugly wine that stinks”
So you bust out the door while it’s still closed
Still sick from the taste that you drank
And then you run to the cellar for quick relief
From a bottle of Dunn HM…
And then you call your friend two weeks later
To see how he has been
And he says, “I understand about the Caymus,
Baby Bubba, but we’re still friends”
I felt like Bill Klapp would likely feel at a SQN tasting!
Did you give her a beat down? ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
That sounds awesome.
It’s funny if it isn’t me or my wife that did it and it wasn’t at my place!
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I’m to blame for that doozy! The Google didn’t tell me all the Ramadan rules!
Best part of that night was that one attendee decided off vintage Bordeaux meant a 1999 Palmer.
It smashed everything around the table, sort of like that Cubs 3b who was sent to minors for a few weeks to screw over his free agency stuff. Shouldn’t have been down there, but the AAA fans were happy!
I remember being at an OC offline years ago. I brought an 85 Beaucastel out from Cleveland and then let it stand for about a week while I was in LA, so I could decant it at the offline. Before I had a chance, one BBer (who now probably knows better but then was quite an enthusiastic novice) grabbed it and started swinging it about, looking at the label, etc. He then popped the cork, poured some and poured some for those around him (turning the bottle upright after each pour). Needless to say, everyone got a lot of sediment in their glass. I just watched in silence. Oh well, still had a great time.
I must drink with a better quality Berserker. I can’t remember any serious issues except when I had a Berserkerfest at my house and some of you brought sme really good stuff and forgot to bring it to the host for a taste . I didn’t know there was a good first growth until I found the bottle the next morning .
That one time I brought the Russian Hooker along with me to Spago…
Jay, weren’t you the one ranting about the mag of white zin that someone brought to an offline at your house?
I’ve been to one offline in my life, which was Flannery/Berserkerfest on Lake Sammamish in Ed Murray’s home, and I was the subject of the funny experience. I had an ear issue at the time and my equilibrium was out of whack. I feared that the other participants thought that I was gassed when I arrived, so I didn’t stay as long as I wanted to. It was great to meet so many wonderful people though.