Kramer: Rude or Righteous? ( New Article posted by Berry Crawford)

There has been a new article or blog post on Wine Berserkers titled ‘Kramer: Rude or Righteous?’ by Berry Crawford

Click http://wineberserkers.com/content/?p=1070 to view the entire article. The full text is also incuded below.


Matt Kramer has an article on wine etiquette at Wine Spectator:
The dinner party started smoothly and we all seemed to be enjoying ourselves. But when the first wine, which our hosts were quite proud of, appeared at the table it was unmistakably (to me, anyway) corked. But nobody said anything.

Here lies the dilemma: In such a situation, do you say something? Or, even though you are sure you’re correct, do you keep your gob shut? (As you might imagine, I often have a problem keeping me gob shut.)


Follow this link to read the rest.



Link to article: http://wineberserkers.com/content/?p=1070

I rarely smell the cork but might if it looks crappy.
I only ask for another glass if the one proffered is incorrect
I turn over bottles to indicate to the waiter it is empty.
If a wine is clearly tainted with TCA I try to make it an educational experience to those others at the event. I am not that sensitive to minor TCA so sometimes others point it out to me. [swoon.gif]

Recently, we were at a winemaker dinner here in Boston and one of the bottles of Chardonnay was corked. We were dumbfounded that the winemaker was not aware as he was walking about pouring it for people. After we realized, we tried to tell him but, unfortunately, were unable to get his attention (there was a rather large attendance) before the next course. The point is, I would have told him; we paid good money to be at the tasting. On another occasion we were at a paying tasting at a very reputable winery and were served a corked version of their flagship wine which had been decanted 2 hours earlier. I’m sure it was a little embarrassing for them, but we felt - for various reasons - that we should speak up. In the end it generated a lot of discussion with others who’d paid to be there and everyone was curious to learn about identifying “cork” in wine. These instances aren’t the same as being a guest in someone’s home, but I think it should always be brought up. I find the people tasting - both hosts and guests - are usually very interested and it turns into a great learning experience for some (it was a similar situation in which I learned to identify “cork” years ago.)

Sniffing the cork may not be the best way to find a corked wine, but if you smell TCA there then you can be certain the wine is corked. Most cases it’s pretty obvious at that point and you will smell it at the mouth of the bottle as well. I also tend to notice a smell of glue when pulling a composite cork, though this does not seem to affect the wine.

If you are in a restaurant and they hand you the cork and pour a taste, that’s a different story. Toss the cork, taste the wine. At home, you can save yourself the trouble of decanting or pouring.

These kind of thready are what make me think a lot about TCA issues. I have missed a few myself and have had others have to mention it to me.
See this thread where I am talking about an alternative cork closure I have been using more if these days.
https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/opinions-wanted-re-diam-and-like-corks/58641/1

If the wine is corked you say so. Just like you wouldn’t quietly pretend you enjoy moldy meat or spoiled fish or rotten potatoes. Why is it “rude” to point out that a wine is bad?

Going to a restaurant and asking for different glasses? The whole glass thing is just weird to me. I’m sure there’s going to be a Reidel of silverware one day and he’ll convince a lot of people that the shape of the fork directs the wine to a certain part of your mouth and affects the flavor of the food. I’ve asked for clean glasses and I’ve had glasses that have a bad smell from the cabinet or whatever, but that’s not the same thing. And I’ve just used the water glass or the “white” wine glass for red wine but I’ve never sent for a different set.

Bringing a bottle to someone’s house depends on the people - if they have crappy wine, then you can bring a bottle and exclaim how much you wanted to share that bottle with them. If they have good wine, just sit back and let them pour. Give them a gift if you want for sure, but you would certainly pour for them when they come over.