I like experts to be a little humble and not to flaunt it, thats for the wannabees to do. An expert should only reveal themselves when asked or when it is appropriate to utilise their knowledge. Otherwise keep it in your pants.

As an example (and I could pick any number), I once had a lady complain about her glass of Sav Blanc, telling me in no uncertain terms that I had poured her a Riesling, that she knew a Riesling when she tasted it and that she insisted upon a glass of S.B. After opening up a brand new bottle straight out of the fridge just for her and pouring her an identical glass of wine to the one she had just complained about (with no apology) I thought that would be the end of it, but no — after she finished that glass, she ordered another one, but insisted that this one be ‘properly chilled’.

Examples that extreme would happen probably once a month (keeping in mind I only work two shifts a week at the moment), and many other less extreme examples occur far more often (depending on the amount of wine sold over any particular period, but on average probably once a night — which considering the amount of wine sold in proportion to other drinks is actually rather a lot.

“The problem is that many people out there revel in the fact that they are part of a ‘wine culture’ without having the first clue as to what they are on about – they visited Whatsisname Vineyard, or had a fantastic Savignon Blanc, or read an article in a magazine, and with that they consider themselves knowledgeable.”

Im sure some people ‘feel’ like they are being all sophistimacated an’ all going to vineyards and such, but im not sure these same people would verbally go around claiming some kind of expertise. Who are these people that revel in being a part of a culture? What kinds of things would they say? Am i being picky?

“A large portion of the middle age males would get XXXX gold (which was poured from its bottle to a fancy looking glass so they could charge a little extra for it)”

I’ve got news for you — they would have charged exactly the same glass or no glass. No matter how cheap the product, when you go somewhere fancy the mark up is going to be more for a number of reasons. And no, wine isn’t a massive money spinner.

“I have been lucky enough to try Don Perignon and Cristal… but im not much of a fan of Champagne at the best of times. To me the $500+ per bottle really is wasted on my tastebuds”

Do you remember what year Dom and Cristal you drank (it makes a massive difference)? I wouldn’t recommend jumping straight into anything that expensive right off the bat anyway — try some lower end ones first (non vintage might be a place to start) and work your way up on special occasions. Champagne really, really, really is worth it! :-D

I’ve never been much of a drinker at all, but as of late my tastebuds have evolved and now I quite enjoy a nice bold Pinot Noir with my steak\lamb and a nice light unwooded Chardonnay with my fish and pasta.

As for price… beer is around half the price of a mediocre wine (on a dollar per standard drink basis), but as with the majority of social interests in life, you dont just pay for the drink, you also pay for the culture. It’s almost considered rude to sit in a flashy restaurant and ask for a XXXX gold or a VB. I was once in a 4 star restaurant in southern qld and we were actually making guesses on what drink people were going to order. A large portion of the middle age males would get XXXX gold (which was poured from its bottle to a fancy looking glass so they could charge a little extra for it)

I come from one of the premiere winemaking regions in the country yet have never done a wine tour much less actually gone to a winery to buy a particular brand of wine.

I have been lucky enough to try Don Perignon and Cristal… but im not much of a fan of Champagne at the best of times. To me the $500+ per bottle really is wasted on my tastebuds

Ultimately i guess it comes down to you dont get wine at a night club… you cant water down wine with lemonade or coke so it’s not as economic for the bars to sell it in high volume situations, and its not something you can really throw down mega fast to get a big binge session underway fast.