Will they like this, Omniscient One?

[Geek King]

Hey now- some very good wines don't have corks. St. Julian in Michigan makes a twenty dollar wine that has a screw top, which is great for people like me who only drink one-two glasses at a time. It keeps the wine fresher a little bit longer.

I would also mention that the wine industry as a whole has admitted that there are better ways of sealing wine than cork. The real problem is traditionalists who can't imagine a world without cork removers.

[TryNotToBeThatOne]

One of my dear friends worked at a specialty food & wine shop. My friend knows a lot about food but diddly squat about wines; the owner knew the wines by their first names (forgive the hyperbole). Nonetheless, every 4th customer, usually a woman, would demand my friend's opinion of the wine & not the owner's; because the owner was a woman & therefore could not possibly know about wines. But B, a guy, obviously did. They finally had a little routine where the owner would stand behind the customer's back & signal B about what opinion he should give.

Then the poor ignorant fellow (I really pity this one, no suckiness just lack of knowledge) who came in & asked what was a good year for Boeuf Bourguignonne. B blinked & said 'this one. I always get this year's. Alas, we don't carry that sir, but your grocery store might.' Poor guy wandered out again.

[sportsmom]

Then the poor ignorant fellow (I really pity this one, no suckiness just lack of knowledge) who came in & asked what was a good year for Boeuf Bourguignonne. B blinked & said 'this one. I always get this year's. Alas, we don't carry that sir, but your grocery store might.' Poor guy wandered out again.

That is priceless. I would have loved to have seen the customer's face when he worked that one out.

[PepperElf]

i'd say... when in doubt, white zin.
or if you really want to impress them, some nice ice-wine or muscato / late harvest blend

and i'm use to the cork wines but when i was in australia last year i went on a wine tasting tour and found that a lot of companies are going to the screw-cap types instead, in an attempt to prevent cork-rot issues

[tollbaby]

My humblest apologies.

I occasionally drink a plum wine that has a screw top, too. It's yummy

not to hijack the thread, but that sounds delicious! what's it called?

Cheap AND wants to pin the cheapness on you. Frankly, if the bottle is less than $20, I wouldn't give it as a gift. Just as a general policy to be safe.

That's silly... I'm not a wine snob by any means, but it's perfectly possible to get a fantastic wine for $10-$12 a bottle, and there are some truly horrid wines available at $20-$30 a bottle. Basing your choice on price is especially bad if you've never personally tried the wine in question. Just leaf through the magazines they usually have at liquor stores for reviews - our liquor store gives their magazine away free, and the reviews are usually spot-on!

edited to add: I'm sorry, I just realized that saying 'That's silly' sounds really condescending and trivializing... didn't mean it that way... just meant that you don't have to spend a ton of money to give something good *blush*

[Peppergirl]

not to hijack the thread, but that sounds delicious! what's it called?

I'll PM it to you when I get home. It's a long name, and I never spell it right.

[Meegz]

What doctor doesn't like Arbor Mist?

LOL, although I'm even thinking they went cheaper than that...How 'bout a nice bottle of Boone's Farm!

Seriously though, what is wrong with people. "Will he like it?" UGH!