A French friend and his Italian wife who have invited you to dinner are going to thank you for the great bottle of red wine you brought before placing it near the sink and pouring it out prior to the night’s end.
The friend, who has a good nose for wine and who has learned from previous experiences to not drink anything you bring, is going to make a polite display of gratitude, saying, “oh thanks, you shouldn’t have” before quickly calculating if he should keep the wine for cooking. He will decide against this.
He will then telepathically communicate with his wife, asking her if she can imagine some sort of other purpose for it, such as removing rust from that gate latch outside, to which she’ll respond no.
And when during the meal you urge the host to open your bottle, he will stumble over his words, saying, “yes, no, well maybe it’s better if we save it.”
To which you’ll say: “Right, wine only gets better with age.”
At which point the host will think but not say: “Not that wine.”
And you’ll think: “He’s going to put it in his cellar, that’s how good I am at choosing wine.”
Sources indicate that the next time you’re invited to dinner in the couple’s home, you will make a visit to the wine section at the supermarket, looking for that same bottle that made such an impression the last time. “Ah ha,” you’ll say when you spot the distinctive cursive lettering and idiosyncratic spelling of “Barren Rottschild” before feeling a slight tinge of disappointment when you see that the price has gone up from 1.99 to 2.49.
