Date: Fri 01-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SUEZ

Illustration: C

Location: A-12

Quick Words:

Wine-Wisdom-Drinker-Top-10

Full Text:

Wine Wisdom-

Top 10 Reasons For Being A Wine Drinker

(with apologies to David Letterman)

By Steve Small

10. The government's latest recommendations for a healthy lifestyle include

wine in moderation; one glass a day for women, and two for men.

9. You learn how to pronounce really cool foreign words like Poully Fuisse

("poo-yee fwee-say") and Viognier ("vee-oh n'yay").

8. You actually know what the difference is between Poully Fuisse and Viognier

(they are both dry white wines, but taste quite different).

7. You can impress your friends in a restaurant by actually knowing which wine

to order from the wine list. (Beware of the lowest-priced wine on the list: it

could actually be marked up more by percentage than more expensive wines.)

6. Wine dinners give you a chance to taste five or six wines with five or six

different courses for the price of a routine night out. They are fun,

interesting, and an incredible value.

5. You get to talk to people who make wine. Working at a winery seems to

attract cool people who love what they do. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

4. Wine goes better with a meal than any other beverage I know.

3. A glass of wine with dinner is an excellent way to relax after a tough day.

2. You become proficient with a corkscrew, one of the more ridiculous tools

known to man.

1. It can become a lifelong passion that will constantly leave you wanting to

learn more, travel more, and taste more and more different wines.

(Steve Small is the proprietor of Steve's Liquor Store, in Ricky's Shopping

Center at 71 South Main Street/Route 25 in Newtown.)