People who know I'm a wine geek invariably ask my opinion of their "special wine." I don't want to offend them by saying I don't like it (as is often, sadly, the case) and I end up hemming and hawing, trying to think of something positive to say.
This happened again this weekend, I was served some awful Bordeaux that was made by a cousin of the Hostess. She was really proud, but I thought it was herbaceous but at the same time over concentrated, with an addition of oak juice and elmers glue. I took a couple of sips politely but drank water with the rest of the meal. (Got a headache anyway, but maybe not down to the wine, although it had "headache" writ large on the label.)
She pressed me for an opinion so I waxed on about how wonderful it must be to drink juice produced by one's very own family. Blech.
What say the fellow geeks, or those considered geeks by their friends, in these situations? Is honesty really the best policy?
-E