Saturday, July 23, 2011

Is Wine Tasting for the Birds??


As a former bartender, I have to admit, there are times I wonder why people love alcohol so much. Aside from the fact that it looks colorful and sparkly, but alcohol taste bitter and acidic. It makes you feel crappy the next day, aka: hang over and vulnerable during a good buzz. And don't get me started about wine, I see rich folks crowding in Napa valley sipping their sauvignon cabernet or blancs, swirling their drink clockwise, and capturing every aroma that escape through the air. I did the exact same thing to every wine that they presented me and they all taste and smell the same. How in the world do these folks come up with these abstract description for each wine they tasted. Wine is so bitter to the point where I have to mix a good amount of my own saliva to block out the bitter taste.

I always hear these pretentious folks blabbering about how wine is an acquired taste. "Bull shiet!!" even I make the same arrogant comment to make myself appear well-informed and dignified, when in fact I want to puke. I know what the real purpose of wine tasting is for and I'm not afraid to blurt it out. Rich folks use wine tasting as an event to get to know other rich folks. I guess this could be advantageous, wine tasting allows you to start a conversation and slowly lead to somewhere profitable. The thing that confuses me the most are folks my age. I see people in their twenties pretending to be "high class" or well-informed about the drinking scene. Why do they need to be ostentatious, I can clearly see their Rolex and Louie V is fake as hell. There is no way any rich business officials would do business with them with or without the knowledge of wine. I guess that is also advantageous, it help boost young individual's confident about their lack of everything in life.

So here I am, the person who use to mix alcohol, served the wine, and provides the best bull shiet introduction to each exquisite drink, is still wondering the meaning behind alcohol. I'm going to flat out admit this: I don't know anything about wine, drinks, cocktails, etc I just memorized what they want me to say or do, so I sound legit, that is how I got paid. How in the world can one truly appreciate alcohol, when it taste so strange and bitter? I realize that for me, wine is truly appreciated when food is present. If you take a bite out of some lamb chops and gulp down some red wine, it takes the flavor to another level. For some strange reason, red wine goes extremely well with red meat. It accentuates the flavor of the meat and loses it's bitterness at the same time.

White wine brings out the flavor in lobsters, shrimp, and fish. I guess in some ways I do appreciate wine, but that's only if the right food is present. So the main question is, "is wine tasting for the birds?" I would not say anything about birds, but I think wine tasting is for someone with a motive. My motive is to find the wine that can bring out the flavor in whatever I'm munching on :), what is yours?

12 comments:

Nava K said...

Thats a big experience you have on wine and alcohol. I am a wine drinker and enjoy the bitter ones more then the sweeter version.

I try to have a glass or two during weekends for relaxation and to get a good sleep for that I have been missing the whole week.

Petronela said...

Classy pictures :) you are no amateur :))))

Sebab said...

I have to agree with you! I used to work in a bar too. And honestly all these taste same. But they tell you this wine taste like this or that and it get stuck in your mind. And when you taste it your mind works....ohhh this has the deep taste of the ock :D

Like your writing style, clean and neat lay out of the blog and some fantastic pictures.

Thanks for visiting me and leaving some beautiful comments.
Cruise Pictures

Cubicw86 said...

@Nava: You are right, another advantage of wine is its ability to relax you.
@Unikorna: Hahhaha nah I'm still an amateur. If you blind fold me and give me two different wine, I would just say "are you feeding me shiet." lol
@Sailor: Finally someone understands the bull shiet I go through working in a bar hahahhah.
I went on vacation not to long ago to a caribbean island. I read your post a couple of times about cruises before heading out :)

Anonymous said...

i don't understand the fuss over alcoholic beverages either.

but then again, i haven't eaten anything that comes with a wine because I cannot afford one in the first place. nyahaha.

Cubicw86 said...

@Love2type: hmm I think the fuss is that it allows younger kids to feel confident and mature, and it allows adults to feel superior and high-class.

I think they might as well drink ethanol, it's all the same hahha

Anonymous said...

I guess they do taste different but not to the point that it will be a big difference (some might be), its like coke and pepsi or 7 up and sprite. For me its not a big deal coke and pepsi are both cola, same with wine white wine is white wine and it will always be good with seafood!

Cubicw86 said...

@angsarap: hahahh I tried to differentiate between pepsi and coke, and boys was that a major fail. It takes a person with an extremely developed taste budd to really appreciate the tiny, insignificant taste between various wines or even cola drinks. Sadly, I am not bless with this type of gift, wish I was though :(

Samantha Bangayan said...

Thanks for saying this out loud, Hilda! I'm actually not an alcohol fan in any shape or form. =P I try to avoid it precisely because of its taste and personally, I've never felt that food tasted better with wine even when they told me so! My palate is just not that sensitive, so I don't need wine to enhance any flavors for me. I'm a rabid eater and most things already taste scrumptious to me. Hehe! =)

Cubicw86 said...

@Samantha: Let me guess, you are the type that love to eat your food with ice-cold soda :)

ropcorn said...

I like to have a glass of wine from time to time. What kind depends on what I feel like drinking at the moment. And because I don't know much about wines I just buy whatever I have tried before and liked. :p

Thanks for your comment on my blog by the way. Perhaps you can send over some of your warm weather to Sweden? Hehe. ;)

Cubicw86 said...

@ropcorn: I sometimes drink wine when i need a good sleep, but I don't drink all the time either. The taste is too bitter

hahahhah we should exchangem, i give you warm weather if you give me cool weather

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