Don’t be an ass: never tell a host you don’t like their wine.
Dining and drinking with friends can be a bit of a contact sport. When people entertain in their homes, emotions often run high, and one’s feelings can easily be hurt. One of the surest ways to avoid hurting someone’s feelings is to avoid acting like a wine snob.
A common situation for wine snob behavior to rear its ugly head is when we are poured a glass of wine that we simply don’t enjoy. Whenever we taste something, whether food or drink, that isn’t pleasant to us, our first inclination is to spit it out and cry foul. When this happens we have to remember we’re better than that. It’s actions such as these that will not only quickly label us a wine snob, but also never get us invited back over.
Wine is a personal experience for anyone who drinks it — we will all taste different things. At some point or another, we’re going to come across a wine that we don’t like. That said, never be the guy or gal who insults the wine, thereby insulting the person who poured it for you.
If someone pours you a wine that you don’t enjoy, here is what you do:
If you take a sip and don’t like the wine, simply smile and put the wine back on the table. If your glass isn’t too full, your best option is to just finish the wine and then patiently wait until a different bottle is opened. If instead, your glass is quite full and you simply don’t think you can stomach drinking it all, your next best option is to find a way to discreetly pour out the beverage. Please note, only pour out the wine if you can actually do so without the host noticing. There is nothing more hurtful than watching a wine you may love being poured down the drain.
Both of the above solutions assume an alternative wine option exists that you may enjoy more. If the only wine available for the evening is the wine you don’t enjoy, just put your glass down and resign yourself to a sober evening. Worst things could happen!
Finally, if you actually think something is wrong with the wine, such as it’s corked, you absolutely should say something, but remember to do so politely.