He selected a chardonnay from Eastern Washington, 2010, $21 for the bottle.

The hostess added it to the mix. She was the first person to try it, exclaimed that it was wonderful, poured herself a second glass and the rest of them sluiced it down as fast as Bud Lite at a redneck funeral.

I have to admit I felt a bit self-satisfied. You folks did a good job.

Arf

Anyway, here’s the advice

Drink and have fun before dinner, (never plan to drink without planning to have a meal), afterwards have a cognac or cordial and don’t drink another drop. To do otherwise is a sign of bad breeding or a definite drinking problem.

Not that I always followed that advice and obviously it is often ignored, but it has never failed to work out well for me when followed.

Some of the better class drinkers I have known got around the advice by delaying dinner to the point of never getting around to it at all. When that happens it is every man for himself.

Some of the younger ones here may not know it but hard binge drinking was just short of an Olympic sport in the 70s. I was an enthusiastic player when I was young and I was surely saved from a bad end by my intolerance of hangovers.

I was jealous of my friends who bounced back with a little hair of the dog, sadly nothing worked for me but several days of abstention. The older I got the less it took to poison my system and the longer it took to get over it. Any attempt to mix in a few social glasses of wine with the vodka and scotch, just made it worse.

I never cared for beer or wine and by my 60s I was down to 2-3 drinks every month or so. That has dwindled down to every 4-5 months in recent years. Most of my drinking buddies are dead so there is not much temptation.

Truthfully I miss the camaraderie and the social part of drinking. It is great fun for the participants but frankly it is hardly ever fun for a non-participant, even when the drinkers are tippling in moderation.

AND, drinking in moderation, for taste rather than for effect, will minimize that. It is entirely possible to drink and enjoy a variety of sensations throughout an evening.

My post above was tongue in cheek, and the comments about it appropriate. On those occasions when I’ve hosted a party I’ve asked people to bring their own, and take what they don’t drink home with them. Everyone knows I don’t drink myself.

They take very good care of themselves, far better than I could as I’m not aware of their preferences.

And when I’ve gone out I generally take something other than wine. It depends upon the hostess. If I know she likes flowers, that’s it. And I make a mean fruit salad. And I know with the current hostess she will have the flowers she wants, and will have a place on her table for everything she wants on her table. Anything else would be a nuisance to her.

It’s only been with my best friends that I’ve taken something like “Thunder Road”, 20% alcohol, and pointed out the virtues in terms of cost and alcohol content.

DanS is right. Friends deserve a good experience. And guests owe it to the hosts and other attendees to be assets and not require much care.

Their pallets will be cleansed and primed for each serving, and the jugments will come.

Now, if these are true friends, perhaps family, they deserve the best you can find. After all, they’ve had to put up with you.

…Well, that’s generally why I try to offer my best bottle…

Personally, I just happen to like a good wine.

BTW:
There is a playful wine I came across a few years back called “Witch’s Brew.” It’s a red, from the cellars of Leelanau, in Omena, Michigan. It’s a nicely blended spirit with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Serve lightly chilled or, on a particularly chilly day, warmed to just above body temperature. Delightful, at about $10 a bottle.

You spent a lot of time on this. That was kind of you.