Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some
wine with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.

Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER

One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection
of crassly industrial wines.

Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of
Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if
nothing to get excited about.

At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price
that matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.

Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton > wrote in news:ki3gce$q4r$1
@speranza.aioe.org:
>
> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.

I will never forget a trip to Paris in which we had booked a dinner at a
one-star Michelin restaurant for dinner on arriving day. Since we had a bit
of time before, we just did a nice walk around the Centre Pompidou on our
way to the restaurant, and we decided to go for a glass of wine in a nearby
wine bar. So we seated and after 10 minutes, I went to the bar (the bar
itself, sorry if there is another word for this in English), where two
waiters were chatting in a lively manner and was told to go back to my
table where I would be served.

After looking at the wine-by-the-glass list, we picked two glasses of white
Sancerre, that came in a tiny awful glass, the sort of glass we do not see
in Spain since 1950 or so.

They were corked. Badly. Awfully.

6 euros each glass.

We did not complain since we thought that it was too good of a story to
tell back at home for such a tiny price.

s.

"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
...
> Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
> with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some wine
> with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.
>
> Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER
>
> One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection of
> crassly industrial wines.
>
> Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of Monkey
> Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if nothing to
> get excited about.
>
> At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
> which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price that
> matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.
>
> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
$8-10/glass seems to be the going rate in local restaurants for sub-$25
wine.
Graham

On Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:21:33 -0400, Mark Lipton wrote:

> Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
> with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some
> wine with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.
>
> Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER
>
> One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection
> of crassly industrial wines.
>
> Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of
> Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if
> nothing to get excited about.
>
> At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
> which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price
> that matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.
>
> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.
>

Ah, the airport. No surprise it was a beer drinking crowd; I don't know
the Indianapolis airport, but usually there are only a few establishments
to serve the swilling public. And airport prices, no surprise.
Recently I ordered coffee and a bagel and it came to $12. At least the
cashier looked apologetic when I balked.



--
Questions about wine? Check the FAQ. http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

"Emery Davis`" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:21:33 -0400, Mark Lipton wrote:
>
>> Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
>> with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some
>> wine with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.
>>
>> Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER
>>
>> One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection
>> of crassly industrial wines.
>>
>> Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of
>> Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if
>> nothing to get excited about.
>>
>> At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
>> which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price
>> that matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.
>>
>> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.
>>
>
> Ah, the airport. No surprise it was a beer drinking crowd; I don't know
> the Indianapolis airport, but usually there are only a few establishments
> to serve the swilling public. And airport prices, no surprise.
> Recently I ordered coffee and a bagel and it came to $12. At least the
> cashier looked apologetic when I balked.
>
Have you ever bought a drink or sandwich on Ryanair! It just about doubles
the price of the ticket!
Graham

>>
> Have you ever bought a drink or sandwich on Ryanair! It just about doubles
> the price of the ticket!
> Graham
>
>
but the drink and you need to use the toilet . . .

Paris, 1990 - a small and relatively inexpensive place, just a block or two
back from the Champs-Elysées.

Dining alone, I ordered (using my very best Nouvelle-Zélande français) "Je
voudrais le pichet de vin rouge, sil vous plait"

When my small carafe arrived, I did not need to get it anywhere near my
nose - it was horribly corked (and oxidised)

"Monsieur, ce vin est 'corked'

What I gathered from the reply was "you are a foreigner - you know nothing
about French wine"

"Non, non, c'est pas bon" (Waiter starts to walk away!)

Angry Kiwi stands, in *very* loud voice...... "Monsieur, ce vin est merde"

Shock horror - and a new carafe of very acceptable wine duly arrives
"Merci beaucoup!"

From adjacent table (to me - in English) "Sir, can you try this wine?"
(Response - Merde!)

And then again, from two other tables (both times addressing me in French) -
more Merde!

In each case, when challenged, the restaurant replaced the offending and
offensive "wine".

My meal and wine were paid for, by the English couple.

Merci beaucoup!

On Mar 16, 11:21*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
> with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some
> wine with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.
>
> Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER
>
> One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection
> of crassly industrial wines.
>
> Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of
> Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if
> nothing to get excited about.
>
> At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
> which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price
> that matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.
>
> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.

Back in the early 1960s there were some terrible wine choices at very
high prices in some otherwise good hotelsin the US.

On Mar 16, 11:21*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
> with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some
> wine with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.
>
> Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER
>
> One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection
> of crassly industrial wines.
>
> Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of
> Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if
> nothing to get excited about.
>
> At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
> which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price
> that matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.
>
> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.

Back in the early 1960s, there were some very bad wines at very high
prices in some otherwise good hotels in the US. In a hotel dining room
in Chicago I tried to find a good white for seafood. The best they had
on the list was a Chablis from some source I had never heard of before
and hope I never hear of again. It reminded me of thin wine made from
very unripe grapes. The extreme acid burned all the way down. I and 2
guests would all drink only one sip of it. We ordered Martinis to
replace it. Also in another Chicago hotel dining room, two guests who
were from Austria and Germany wanted a demi-tasse at the end of the
meal. The waiter said he would have to check to see if he could
provide it. After about 10 minutes he came back to say he did not have
the right coffee for a demi-tasse, but he could serve their regular
coffee in a demi-tasse cup.

"cwdjrxyz" > wrote in message
...
On Mar 16, 11:21 pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Jean and I recently found ourselves in the lovely Indianapolis airport
> with a two-hour-delayed flight. SWMBO convinced me to partake of some
> wine with her in the centrally located "Vinea" wine bar.
>
> Worrisome sign#1: most of the patrons are drinking BEER
>
> One glance at the wine list revealed my biggest fear: a small selection
> of crassly industrial wines.
>
> Jean and I made the best of a bad situation and got two glasses of
> Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which is at least varietally correct if
> nothing to get excited about.
>
> At the end of this pleasant diversion, we are presented with the bill,
> which shows that we owed over $10 a GLASS for the Monkey Bay, a price
> that matches what we'd pay for a bottle of the same wine RETAIL.
>
> Suffice it to say that we shan't be returning to Vinea any time soon.

Back in the early 1960s, there were some very bad wines at very high
prices in some otherwise good hotels in the US. In a hotel dining room
in Chicago I tried to find a good white for seafood. The best they had
on the list was a Chablis from some source I had never heard of before
and hope I never hear of again. It reminded me of thin wine made from
very unripe grapes.
---------------------------
In the late 70s I dined at what was supposed to be a good restaurant in
Tulsa, during a convention. The wine was corked and the sommelier told me
that it was OK because all Californian wines tasted like that!
Graham