How Not to Promote a Premium White Wine.

I recently attended a wine tasting in a restaurant (names have been excluded to protect the innocent), the wine was to be served with three courses the main course was to be a fish course.
The promotion was being supported by a well known local restaurant guide for the benefit of a fairly prestigious Italian wine producer, the owner was present at the tasting.

The restaurant was about 80% full with the two prime tables seating eight people, each consisting of hangers on for the restaurant guide and the other for guests of the vineyard. The proceedings were opened by a speaker for the restaurant guide, now this individual throughout his performance addressed the two tables for the hangers on and totally ignored the paying punters, the people who from the wine producers point of view really matter.

The proceedings were then handed over to the top man from the vineyard himself, who explained where and how the wine is made and why we should all rush out and buy it, well at least he addressed all the company present, paying customers and all.

As the second glasses of wine were being poured to taste I noticed that the wines were considerably warmer than the first, the first glass of wine was served chilled, the second glass however was slightly cooler than room temperature. When I asked the restaurant owner about this later he told me that the first glass of wine came from stock from his own cellar, the importer of the wine was supposed to provide him with the wine for the tasting earlier in the day, he did not deliver the wine until 30 minutes prior to the tasting getting under way, the wine had been in the boot of the importers car all day, temperatures had been 36 degrees during the day so you can imagine how warm the wine was.

To try to salvage the situation the restuaranteur quickly put the hot wine in his freezer, which because of the quantity of wine promptly melted his entire stock of ice cream, so he was not a happy bunny
either.

The wines that we tasted at the correct temperature were actually very nice, had the whole thing been better organized between all party's concerned it could have been a much better evening.

The food?............. well that was first class no complaints there.

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading".
Henny Youngman