Aine

you are making me seriously consider the Blue Nun Come on, this is silly, OK I give up.

SuzieC

...and another thing. Its foolish to think that the ONLY way to judge wine is by the price. That's logic for suckers! Sorry! There are GREAT wines from small winerys ... I had a Sancerre while in Paris for less than 5'es... s Cote du Rhone for less than 10...true serendipity...and a provencal rose...WWWAAAAGH.. I wanna go back!

Aine

guys, just remember, if you are going to try that "little trick I do with the pen" the pressure should be very slow. Picture pouring cold honey. The cork should just slide in without backsplash. Cheers.

m_kingdom

Usually wine can be judged by price, at the lower end of the market, there's not much in it really - after all how's a pound going to change the quality? However, 10GBP will add a better vintage and/or famous vineyard. After all, Chateau Margaux, and Petrus Pommerol, are both at the top end, and much much more complex, and developed than your lower end wines. Why not just used a "waiter's friend" to take the cork out, buy it in Paris, they're cheap, and effective.

carrolldf

If I had to choose between Aine and M_Kingdom as a travelling companion, I vote for Aine. She sounds like she would be fun, always looking for the best of the situation instead of finding the worst. If travel isn't fun, then why bother?

m_kingdom

It depends what you are after? I expect professional service from the moment I arrive at the airport (although this is rarely the case these days with the heightened security) until I arrive home. If i was to stay at a cheap hotel I wouldn't mind some mishaps, and maybe less professional service, but when I'm paying for the "best" I expect the service and quality to be reflected in the price. That's my philosophy anyway!

Aine

m-kingdom, I am not being difficult but I really have to disagree with you on the judging wine by price. It may be to personal taste though. I have honestly had pretty unimpressive and dissapointing high end wines, that fell flat after the first half glass, and then I have had amazing $7 to $10 wines. (I am talking about $100 -$150 difference too). So no, mostly price would not come into it for me. Myself and my brother have an interesting challenge that is fun, and that is to find a $10 (or thereabouts) bottle of wine that tastes like a $30 bottle. It is surprising and interesting to compare how successful you can be. Wine is just - wine - people have been drinking it for thousands of years - its no biggie.

Aine

and yes, m-kingdom, I also believe that you are right in expecting the best for what you have paid for. You should receive the best to whatever your standards may be. Have a happy weekend.

cd

Aneliz
We ALWAYS have wine in our room and I cannot drink it out of anything other then a wine glass, not just a glass, it has to be a wine glass. The first thing I do after checking in is go to the hotel lounge, show them my room key and ask for two wine glasses for our room. I wash them out each night and sit them next to the next bottle of wine, that way the maids do not take them when they clean. And yes, be sure to put that cockscrew in your checked luggage, I just had mine confiscated a few weeks ago as I had it in my carry on. Have a great time!

m_kingdom

An interesting trick to catch out wine snobs is to decant half a magnum of a wine into one decanter, labelled A, and the other half into another decanter labelled B. Enjoy watching the people comparing the "two" wines.

Patrick

About checking your corkscrew through. . . Yea, I always do that, along with my wood handled knife with about a 6 inch serrated blade, which I take for cutting bread, cheese, meat, whatever. However this summer returning from Paris to Miami, I somehow failed to move that knife from my carry on (where I'd put it for a train trip a few days earlier) to my checked luggage. Would you believe they spotted it when they scanned my carry-on and actually asked if I had a knife. Not even thinking about that one (since I was sure it was in my checked luggage) I confidently said "no". They had me open the carryon and did a half-hearted attempt, looking into my toiletries kit and pulling out my umbrella. Then sent me on my way. When I got home and unpacked I found the knife still tucked in the side pocket. So much for security.

Sue_xx_yy

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Da...5,1799,00.html

According to the Wine Spectator article cited in the above link, screw caps have actually been found to be superior to cork for preserving a wine's freshness, and many winemakers are starting to convert to screw caps.

As far as a hotel's accomodating guests who want to drink wine in their room, regardless of star rating, our Provence hotelier claimed our cheese would encourage ants (okay, possibly) and as for the wine, "he had a restaurant."

We got a great giggle about the thought of drunken ants staggering away from our wine bottle.

As for his restaurant, we made a point of never eating there for the duration of our stay, outside of breakfast.

Dick

One other suggestion is not to borrow a corkscrew if you forgot to bring one.

I have several corkscrews that I bought on trips and found that they bring back memories when I use them at home to open wine.

cd

Patrick
That is pretty scary.

beachbum

Fun thread, folks. Someone wrote about the security issue of corkscrews and knives at museums etc. Hadn't thought about that. How else do you slice your cheese, pate, and whatever else for your picnic? Not to mention opening the wine.

m_kingdom

....get the concierge to pack a hamper for you, crystal, silverware, the works, hassle free.

allisonm

My first stop on Wednesday will be at Monoprix for wine glasses, corkscrew and a knife! (I don't know what other store might be in our neighborhood.) We will have to practice opening a couple of bottles this weekend before we get there!

Patrick

How good is the wine you'll be practicing on? Need any help?

wesley

Sorry folks, you can call me crazy (some friends do) but I travel with my Riedels. I have a glass of wine daily and much of my enjoyment comes from the enhanced flavor that comes from the shape and structure of my glass.

Dick

wesley,

I have to give your credit.

Although I drink from my Riedels at home, I would never have thought to travel with them.