to think his behaviour was pretentious/ toffy??

[Summerdays011]

I've been on a few dates with a guy who ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant and accepted waiters offer to try it, he swirled it on the glass then smelt it... then .. finally tasted it!! (I know this is the correct way to order /taste wine lol but it made me cringe??)

When I then picked up my glass and went to drink it he said "smell it first"... I wanted to throw it at him lol!!
.. am I over reacting???

It’s ‘hoi polloi’, not the ‘hoi polloi’.

tell that to The The! (band)

Haven’t had time to read it all, but surely a restaurant would take a bottle away and replace it if it were corked, even if you hadn’t sniffed and swirled...

I would have found this pretentious...the most cringe bit is him telling you to ‘smell it first’ - he does know you’re an adult doesn’t he? Unbelievably patronising!

Not pretentious at all - the proper way to act prior to drinking wine. Maybe you are too plebian for him and stick to people of your own type.

Lot of chips on a lot of shoulders here. Calling other people pretentious and toffy and insulting them for doing perfectly normal things is merely showing up your own insecurities and lack of sophistication.

Don't know what all the fuss is with wine. I've never found a wine I like.

I literally always do this; my Dad taught me how to taste wine so it became a habit. Helps you tell if it's gone bad and enhances your enjoyment if it's good! I don't think I'm being pretentious

My DD who taught me btw is from a very working class background.

I think it sort of adds to the 'isn't this a treat, I'm going to enjoy everything as much as possible!' glee of going out for a meal.

Sorry that should say DF shouldn't it.

I hate when the waiter offers it to you to taste or smell or whatever it is you're supposed to do. Because I have no idea what I'm supposed to do! I usually just take a little sip and give an approving but solemn nod.

Was he trying to impress you perhaps?

He sounds an arsehole OP, what all that over a £20.00 bottle of wine!.
Hes used to having nothing, because someone who was used to the finer things in life wouldnt be pissing about over cheap plonk would they?

He sounds an arsehole OP, what all that over a £20.00 bottle of wine!.
Hes used to having nothing, because someone who was used to the finer things in life wouldnt be pissing about over cheap plonk would they?

Why is he 'an arsehole'? Why shouldn't he enhance his enjoyment of wine that costs £20? Is there some magical financial threshold where you're 'allowed' to do it?

Even a $7 bottle of wine can be greatly improved/enjoyed by letting it breathe (sometimes, not always), serving at the right temperature, serving it in the right kind of glass, and yes, swirling it and smelling briefly before drinking.

What if he does 'have nothing'? What difference does that make?

*Lynne1Cat

You sound like a McDonald's kind of girl*

You sound like a &@£€$%!!! kind of girl

es used to having nothing, because someone who was used to the finer things in life wouldnt be pissing about over cheap plonk would they

You're the arsehole, sneering at people you think are getting above themselves and daring to properly enjoy wine.

Fine for him to do what he wants (smell/ taste etc) but rude to tell you how to drink wine unless you've expressed an interest in learning from him. I hate people who try and push their hobbies and preferences on to other people, especially if they clearly think they are a cut above.

I personally think it’s acceptable for him to check the wine but insisting you smell and savour the wine is embarrassing and very rude.
You really shouldn’t go out with him again as you don’t appear to be on the same page.

No, he likes good wine? He wants to Make sure he likes the expensive wine he’s buyin?

I personally think it’s acceptable for him to check the wine but insisting you smell and savour the wine is embarrassing and very rude

He said, "smell it first"... Is that really 'insisting'? He just - probably instinctively - suggested that OP smell the wine. Maybe it was a lovely wine, maybe he thought he was being nice. It wasn't a bloody order. It was probably done pleasantly and conversationally.

This man has been called arsehole, twat, knob etc. for simply saying, 'smell it first...'

There's more projection on this thread than at a bloody cinema.

I am a trained sommelier. It’s correct form to swirl and sniff to make sure the wine is okay to drink. However if a sommelier has already done this and deemed the cork to be okay then there would be no reason for a customer to do this. Also, if your guy has already done the whole tasting thing there is no reason he should encourage you to do the same.

My dh went on a wine tasting course years ago. He's the most unpretentious person I know but he does taste wine properly. If it smelt good, he probably would suggest I smell it. Sounds alright to me.

if your guy has already done the whole tasting thing there is no reason he should encourage you to do the same

It's actually better that this man encouraged the OP to smell/test the wine for herself rather than assume he'd done it for both of them, in my view.

I went on a date with a guy who was telling me all about wine tasting and what he'd learnt. He went to swill it round in the glass but he "over swirled" and it shot out - all over me, him, the table cloth and the floor. We couldn't stop laughing. But no it's not pretentious unless it's just the house red!

My best friend once went on a date with a French man who told him (after he had ordered a glass of red) that wine is for chavs. BF and I balked to no end over a French man of all nationalities slagging off wine. Suffice to say, he didn’t see him again...

I would also snigger internally at a pretentious git sniffing and swilling wine.