Wine with jimmy yt channel is basically a free WSET 2 course

You work in a wine shop? Why don’t you ask to see if your employer would cover the education?

Get your employer to buy you a Wine Folly Magnum book or at least work through all of their free content online and through their YouTube content. That will get you set up with major grapes, regional styles and what’s important. Without that, pick a label every day from your store’s stock and look it up online. Keep notes about what you read and ask your customers what they like about the wines they buy. That will help in a world where you can’t purchase the wines yourself. Which does seem insane.

100% agree with the “no thanks, I don’t drink” answer. Anyone who doesn’t accept that is a POS; aside from it being a choice, there are people in the program, people with health issues, AND entire major religions that forbid it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with not drinking.

That said, if you decided to try wine because you’re curious or interested in what the big deal is or whatever? Get a bottle with a friend. Drink a glass slowly over half hour to an hour. Stop there.

If you feel fine the next day, maybe have a second glass in the second hour next time. Or don’t. It’s entirely up to you, just don’t try it or have more than you’re comfortable with because of what anyone else says. It’s your health and experience, not their’s.

For perspective, I’m a fairly heavy drinker myself, I can comfortably drink a full bottle of wine over an evening and be fine; my partner is a one and done person most nights (if she drinks at all). It’s all up to you.

I would say start with a couple of ounces, which is what a person usually gets for a wine tasting at one of those events. You do want to keep in mind that depending on the event and the person pouring, a typical serving is 5 oz.

But that being said, I would go to a place where you can sample some wines and determine if you like any. There's no shame in not drinking alcoholic beverages. I personally LOVE wine, but I know not everyone is a fan.

Chiming in with the - It’s more than ok to say no thank you. I have two friends- one is a big corporate guy. Neither of them drink, or ever have. While it might feel a little awkward at first saying no, you’ll get used to it. Don’t ever let people pressure you or make you feel weird for not drinking.

Also, a lot of bar/restaurants these days have amazing mocktails that are even better than regular cocktails.

It's 2023. You can say, "no thanks, I don't drink." If someone has an issue with that, it's their problem, not yours.

Try a glass of wine at home if you fancy, where there’s no pressure. If you hate it you can pour it down the sink. If you like it you can learn more.

But don’t fake it to impress some suits. They won’t be.

Good video! You're a winemaker right? Now I want to try your wine!

Also I don't know how well that a video would cover this but any tips on reading a wine list? I've learned you have to know your regions and flavor profiles to navigate but anything you look for we might not be? I'm curious to get into the mind of the professionals in that regard!

Hes back! Nice one again. This sub really needed an injection of energy. I know some of this stuff but its sure presented in a fun and unpretentious way.

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Speaking of glasses, why not do one on that? Varietal specific seems like kind of BS but maybe break down which glasses we should have at minimum as intermediate wine drinkers. Example, I dont drink much Pinot Noir but I do drink Gamay Beaujolais and more full body reds... Also lots of rosé...

Would love to get you guy's input as to topics you'd like me to cover in the series. I make these videos for the wine community, so might as well know what you want to hear about?!?

thanks much :-)

I know very little about wine so I’m not sure if this is useful and I’m not sure how you’d go about this in a video, but I once took a wine class in the Niagara region (I’m Canadian) and they had us drink the same wines from different types of glasses and to everyone’s surprise the wine tasted different from each glass. But it helped me decide what type of glass is obviously my preference to buy and use. It also made me throw out all my plastic glasses for my patio! lol

Ps, loving these videos of yours!

A few more others haven’t mentioned.

To get the servers attention, just make eye contact and perhaps a small nod of the head. No calling for them or raising your hand.

If you are a wine drinker, don’t be afraid to ask for the sommelier. Many fine dining places have one. They can be really helpful in finding a great bottle, especially if you have a limited budget.

You may not want to broadcast your wine budget at the table, so it is acceptable to point at a price on the menu and say “something like this?”

There is a small presentation of the bottle to the person who ordered the wine. You may want to familiarize yourself with the procedure. In short, don’t smell the cork.

As someone who got into fine dining in the last year or two, never be embarrassed to ask. The first time I had Foie gras I had no idea what to do so I just asked the server. If they are rude or dismissive then that’s a place you’ll never want to go to again. 

My mom’s guidance, which still holds: Sit up straight. Put your napkin in your lap. Keep your elbows off the table. Hold your fork right. Don’t talk with your mouth full and keep your lips closed.

There’s probably a YouTube. The etiquette is largely the same whether you spend 50 or 500.

If you’re not sure of something, you can always ask your server. They’re there to serve you- not judge you.

A lot of modern places reset the cutlery for each course anyway. You’re not going to have to choose from an arsenal. If you need a steak knife, one will appear. If you need a tiny shrimp fork, one of those will also appear at the right time.

If you want to be fancy, you can adopt the custom from Europe or the UK in which you keep the knife in one hand and the fork in the other, rather than switching up like an American.

Typically work from outside in with the silverware. When in doubt, watch your dining companion and copy them. Even if they get it wrong, you’ll make them feel more comfortable.

If you are close enough with your dining companions, make a joke out of it. “Alright, someone’s going to need to walk me through how to eat this caviar”. Once you know, you won’t have to ask again.

In most places, there won't be a load of cutlery. Generally, it's just a butter knife for your bread plate and whatever cutlery you need to eat the course you're eating at the time. Setting out all the cutlery beforehand is very old school, although if you encounter it, from the outside in is generally the way to go.

My overall advice is don't worry about it. Ask the staff if you're not sure - they want to help, their job is to make you comfortable.

What restaurant? Sounds pretty old school if they had all the cutlery out at the beginning. Most places these days provide dish-specific cutlery and instructions if eating is unintuitive.

Wine Folly! They have good articles online and posts on social media. If you have a wine bar in your area, hang out and talk to the server or somm. Wine shouldn’t be pretentious or wasted money. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and keep tasting until you find what you like.

Wine Folly was a great resource to learn from when I first got interested in wine, they make info super accessible and there is a lot to learn from them. I’d also suggest that it would be worth checking out Sherry - styles like Amontillado, Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel all have flavor profiles that might be more interesting to you as rum aficionados and there is a ton of top tier Sherry for under $30 so you don’t have to break the bank to drink some great examples. Same goes for Marsala and Madeira but those can be more expensive for benchmark bottles.

Nothing has taught me more about wine than this subreddit

Wine for Normal People is an enjoyable podcast.

YouTube, honestly. I find V Is For Vino to be really accessible and he has some great shorter videos about the nuances of wine. Here's his twelve minute video on how to taste wine.

https://youtu.be/UV6XhubaZew?si=txVz4k7ImRtjwU6v 

I also find Wine Folly to be great for beginners and Madeleine is very unpretentious and fun. 

WSET education is what you're looking for. If you're someone familiar with wine now, go to Level 2.

I’m far from an expert but I’m on a similar path as you. I do the following:

• Drink wine when you can. Really pay attention to what you’re smelling, tasting, and visually observing. Then, I’ll pull up reviews/tasting notes halfway through the glass (to remove confirmation bias) to see how much I match up. The following gets expensive, but I also enjoy sometimes tasting two bottles side by side. I recently bought two Chablis, for instance, one left bank and one right bank, to see if I could spot differences in body and acidity. This is easier done with multiple people. You could do this with grapes from different regions for terroir expression, etc.

• Talk to your wine merchant when buying. I live in a state with relatively poor wine allocation and merchant knowledge, but it still helps. They’ll help guide you on what you want to try based on preferences.

• Read wine books. I’ve enjoyed Wine Bible, Windows on the World, The New California Wine, Cork Dork, and some others. Some of the above are textbooks which help for reference.

• Listen to podcasts. I’m a big fan of Wine for Normal People. She does a great job of overviewing regions, grapes, styles, and even topics like collecting and aging wine

Good luck and have fun

I took the WSET level one and it was a great introduction to understanding and tasting. It’s not free but it was really worth it to me. I had read a decent amount before then and tried many wines, but this course helped me to put all the information I had together in my head. Cheers!

I think it helps if you start with a region. I find it all quite overwhelming so I stick with local vineyards (I'm in British Columbia) and just focus on getting knowledgeable about the BC varietals and wineries. It means I'm totally in the dark when I travel, but at least I have a decent knowledge when entertaining or dining at home.

Easy steps:

1. Consume some sort of pop media about wine (the Somm documentary is a fun one, the book Cork Dork got me started, and both of these are applicable because they deal with wines and broader wine culture that your collector clients will be familiar with).

2. Drink two or more wines next to each other WITH someone who can explain how to explain what you’re experiencing. (Absolutely take a WSET class if you have time)

Never drink young Bordeaux wine, it must be 15yo at least 

Drink what you like, in moderation

try everything learn what you like learn what you don't like, and don't underestimate the power of the correct glassware!

It’s a sensory experience that is happening simultaneously at all times so make sure to just sit within all of it and enjoy. Breaking it down into see, smell sip, notes, etc are great tools to help with that but don’t forget to actually just let yourself slip into the divine.

I’m making my way through Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible. It is very informative!

Yeah, people like that exist. Might be pure douchebaggery, or it might be the realization that the sort of wine that costs a lot money is an acquired taste and novices might actually hate it.

But at the point that you're actually in the house as a guest, any sort of rudeness is unforgivable and shitty. Serve everyone equally.

If you want to develop your palate, buy wine with your own money.

That doesn't particularly sound like someone I would want to engage with at any level.

I would probably look for a different avenue to explore wine through.

If you are not serving the same wine to all your guest present at your place at the same time, sorry but total dick move. But if you don’t want to serve the same level of wines depending on the level of experience of the guests, I get that.

To be honest, I wouldn’t serve a Chambertin by Trapet to my 21yo niece and 18yo nephew visiting, but I made them try the excellent Marsannay and the Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Ostrea by Trapet for them to start understanding the differences in terroir and quality. Not because they are not worth it but because you need some reference points and get yourself acquainted with an excellent sub-grand cru wine to really appreciate them. Also, although I mainly drink Burgundy, I think you need to try out a lot of wines around the world to truly appreciate what makes a great Burgundy and I’m guessing it’s the same for the great Bordeaux, Napa Valley or Piedmont wines. For that I gave a few moderately priced bottles as « homework » each time.

I have some Laurent Roumier Chambolle generic village and 1er cru « les Charmes » I plan to try out with them next time. For the Bonnes-Mares by Laurent Roumier or the Chambertin by Trapet, I won’t serve it to them for at least a dozen more tastings ;-)

What your relative is doing isn’t necessarily strange, or gatekeeping to be honest. I have friends who I know appreciate the good stuff, when those people are around I will open my more special bottles. If I’m opening something out of the ordinary I want to be sure that it will be appreciated.

First off, he sounds like a bit of a prick.

Secondly, if you want to be part of a wine group, consider trying out some wines for yourself, and then either mention it, or ask questions to your friends, who may be more knowledgeable. The best way to be welcomed in is by showing interest, passion, and curiosity.

From the latest edition of Emily Post's Etiquette:

>A host does not have to use the hosting gift that is brought or enjoy it with the person who brought it. While they cetainly may if they wish, it is a gift for the host who may choose what they do with it.

Ideally, your fiancé would have let the hosts choose what wine to serve and whether they wanted to save for later the bottle you brought as a gift.

(This is different from something you bring explicitly to be part of the meal, but that would be a contribution and clear from the invitation, not a hosting gift. In other words, if they'd said "Bring a bottle of wine to share," then you'd expect to open the wine you brought.)

You were correct. The etiquette expectation is that that it is the host's responsibility to select a wine option that compliments the meal, if they are serving wine. You, being the guest, are not expected to know what the meal is ahead of time and thus could not possibly have properly matched a wine. If you bring a bottle, it goes in the host's cellar to enjoy at their leisure. Now, obviously this is off the table if it's potluck or if you asked if you could bring something and they said wine.

I don't know that I would say your fiance was rude, but it was definitely not appropriate. The wine was supposed to be a hosting gift, and it should be treated as any other gift, ie the recipient chooses when and how to use it.

Short answer....yes he was being quite rude in my opinion. It is no longer his bottle to open. You were correct and saved him from doing something pretty rude IMO.

You received the etiquette responses but from experience it doesn’t make much sense to me to gift a wine then drink it . I normally gift a wine but bring wine to drink as well . It’s hardly a gift if I’m drinking it ?