Worst. Wine. Bar. Ever

Mark Lipton wrote in news:ki3gce$q4r$1 @speranza.aioe.org:

I will never forget a trip to Paris in which we had booked a dinner at a one-star Michelin restaurant for dinner on arriving day. Since we had a bit of time before, we just did a nice walk around the Centre Pompidou on our way to the restaurant, and we decided to go for a glass of wine in a nearby wine bar. So we seated and after 10 minutes, I went to the bar (the bar itself, sorry if there is another word for this in English), where two waiters were chatting in a lively manner and was told to go back to my table where I would be served.

After looking at the wine-by-the-glass list, we picked two glasses of white Sancerre, that came in a tiny awful glass, the sort of glass we do not see in Spain since 1950 or so.

They were corked. Badly. Awfully.

We did not complain since we thought that it was too good of a story to tell back at home for such a tiny price.

s.

$8-10/glass seems to be the going rate in local restaurants for sub-$25 wine. Graham

Ah, the airport. No surprise it was a beer drinking crowd; I don't know the Indianapolis airport, but usually there are only a few establishments to serve the swilling public. :) And airport prices, no surprise. Recently I ordered coffee and a bagel and it came to $12. At least the cashier looked apologetic when I balked.

Have you ever bought a drink or sandwich on Ryanair! It just about doubles the price of the ticket! Graham

but the drink and you need to use the toilet . . .

Paris, 1990 - a small and relatively inexpensive place, just a block or two back from the Champs-Elysées.

Dining alone, I ordered (using my very best Nouvelle-Zélande français) "Je voudrais le pichet de vin rouge, s’il vous plait"

When my small carafe arrived, I did not need to get it anywhere near my nose - it was horribly corked (and oxidised)

"Monsieur, ce vin est 'corked'

What I gathered from the reply was "you are a foreigner - you know nothing about French wine"

"Non, non, c'est pas bon" (Waiter starts to walk away!)

Angry Kiwi stands, in *very* loud voice...... "Monsieur, ce vin est merde"

Shock horror - and a new carafe of very acceptable wine duly arrives "Merci beaucoup!"

From adjacent table (to me - in English) "Sir, can you try this wine?" (Response - Merde!)

And then again, from two other tables (both times addressing me in French) - more Merde!

In each case, when challenged, the restaurant replaced the offending and offensive "wine".

My meal and wine were paid for, by the English couple.

Merci beaucoup!

Back in the early 1960s there were some terrible wine choices at very high prices in some otherwise good hotelsin the US.

Back in the early 1960s, there were some very bad wines at very high prices in some otherwise good hotels in the US. In a hotel dining room in Chicago I tried to find a good white for seafood. The best they had on the list was a Chablis from some source I had never heard of before and hope I never hear of again. It reminded me of thin wine made from very unripe grapes. The extreme acid burned all the way down. I and 2 guests would all drink only one sip of it. We ordered Martinis to replace it. Also in another Chicago hotel dining room, two guests who were from Austria and Germany wanted a demi-tasse at the end of the meal. The waiter said he would have to check to see if he could provide it. After about 10 minutes he came back to say he did not have the right coffee for a demi-tasse, but he could serve their regular coffee in a demi-tasse cup.

Back in the early 1960s, there were some very bad wines at very high prices in some otherwise good hotels in the US. In a hotel dining room in Chicago I tried to find a good white for seafood. The best they had on the list was a Chablis from some source I had never heard of before and hope I never hear of again. It reminded me of thin wine made from very unripe grapes.

--------------------------- In the late 70s I dined at what was supposed to be a good restaurant in Tulsa, during a convention. The wine was corked and the sommelier told me that it was OK because all Californian wines tasted like that! Graham