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Couple at NYC eatery served $2,000 Bordeaux in error after ordering cheap wine
NY Post ^ | 23 Oct 2020 | Yaron Steinbuch

Posted on 10/23/2020 11:11:24 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT

A young couple who once dined at the Big Apple’s iconic Balthazar couldn’t bottle up their emotions after ordering an $18 Pinot Noir — but being served a $2,000 Mouton Rothschild instead by accident, the eatery’s owner recounted this week.

...the restaurant’s night manager said the host of the business meeting actually praised the purity of the cheapest wine on the list, while the lucky couple “jokingly pretended to be drinking an expensive wine,”

“The young couple were ecstatic by the restaurant’s mistake, and told me it was like the bank making an error in their favor,” said the red-faced owner, who admitted the embarrassing mix-up.

“The trouble was, it was me who was down $2,000, not the bank,”

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Humor
KEYWORDS: goodhooch; wino
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To: DUMBGRUNT

The couple lucked out and avoided the problem mentioned yesterday: “How Income Inequality Has Erased Your Chance to Drink the Great Wines (NYT alert)”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3897073/posts


41 posted on 10/23/2020 11:37:16 AM PDT by omega4412
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Waiter: “Would monsieur care for another bottle of Chateau Latour?”

Navin: “Ah yes, but no more 1966. Let’s splurge! Bring us some fresh wine! The freshest you’ve got – this year! No more of this old stuff.”

Waiter, appalled: “Oui, monsieur.”

Navin, to Marie: “He doesn’t realize he’s dealing with sophisticated people here.”

42 posted on 10/23/2020 11:37:28 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Don Corleone

With some meals a $5 wine is OK. With other more refined meals its better to pair the dish with a decent wine IMO.


43 posted on 10/23/2020 11:38:25 AM PDT by Starboard
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To: BBQToadRibs
I could never understand the allure of Champagne, much less Dom Perignon.
Even when someone else pays for it, I'll choose the beer.

44 posted on 10/23/2020 11:38:36 AM PDT by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)
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To: Starboard

I learned a lot by being ignorant when I started drinking wines about 25 years ago. It cost me a lot of money in the beginning. I also found that ratings did not match my tastes.

I was at a wine tasting many years ago and one guy asked the wine expert what the best wine was. The expert said, “The one you like most.” I never for got that answer.


45 posted on 10/23/2020 11:38:47 AM PDT by Dutch Boy
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To: DUMBGRUNT

This had to be a hoax.

The restaurant set the whole thing up and got the restaurant’s name in free media.


46 posted on 10/23/2020 11:39:20 AM PDT by Meatspace
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To: DUMBGRUNT

The point of diminishing returns is about $10-20.

With a little bit of ‘study’, that is learning to identify basic things like aromas and flavors, most people can learn to appreciate the difference between bad stuff and wine that is competently made from good grapes.

Beyond that, it seems like the difference between a 175 mile per hour car and a 210 MPH car- a difference, yes, but only discernible for a very few experts.

Not a pro, but do live in the wine country, taste many weekends, and have studied enology and viticulture formally (feel free to freepmail me if ever visiting Sonoma/Napa)


47 posted on 10/23/2020 11:39:32 AM PDT by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca. Deport all illegals. Abolish the DEA, IRS and ATF,.)
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To: SES1066

“regerts”. Lol


48 posted on 10/23/2020 11:41:22 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (They intend to murder us. Prep if you want to live and live like you are prepping for eternal life)
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To: dp0622

My dad made the strongest wine yearly. There is nothing I buy that comes even close to how good and strong his is. It makes me sad because I love cooking with wine.


49 posted on 10/23/2020 11:42:02 AM PDT by Trillian
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To: hdbc
I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking advantage of the situation. I wonder how many Freepers would do the same?

I had much the same thought BUT note that this was a 'young couple' in a business meeting and apparently some others shared a taste. How do you divide the responsibility, how do you ask your boss(?) to split a cost of a 3rd party mistake? Could they afford an instant pay of $1.8k or would you have them pay an installment plan?

Not an easy read as to propriety from just these story details!

50 posted on 10/23/2020 11:43:00 AM PDT by SES1066 (2020, VOTE your principles, VOTE your history, VOTE FOR ALL AMERICANS, VOTE colorblind!)
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To: Bayan

The federal and state beverage taxes are based on alcoholic content. So, a $20 wine and a $2,000 wine with the same alcoholic content would have the same beverage tax. If a $2,000 wine is sold for $20 the sales tax would be based upon $20. So the tax argument is moot.


51 posted on 10/23/2020 11:44:06 AM PDT by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: dp0622
That reminds me of an amusing incident from my youth.

I was invited to a friend's place for dinner with his Mom and some friends of hers...Phil and Sheila. Phil was an oenophile and loved to talk wine. Unknown to me, he had helped prepare cocktails and the wines for dinner, desert, etc.

When I arrived, we retired to the dining room and began our meal. The appetizers were served and wine was poured in the kitchen and served.

My friend's mom said, "I wonder Phil. Could you tell us the name and vintage of the wine being served?" Phil smiled and said, "Of course."

He then proceeded to lift his glass, smell the aroma after a swirl and then taking a sip. With a smile, he responded, "I believe it is a Puligny-Montrachet...perhaps 1971. No!...1973. Yes...1973." My friend's mom exclained, "Exactly right! Well done."

I was aghast and exclaimed, "That's amazing Phil! How did you do that? You clearly know your wines well."

He let go a belly laugh and said, "Elementary m'boy. You see...I'm the one who brought the wine!"

The whole scene was for my benefit and my "comeuppance" for being a bit late for supper. All had a laugh at my expense. Good fun.

52 posted on 10/23/2020 11:44:31 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (If liberals had a conscience, they wouldn't be liberals.)
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To: Red Badger
Yep.

I remember when a misplaced decimal led to us selling a $20 item for $0.20. Major ouch as we had sold several hundred of them in the couple of days it took to see the error.

Not the customers fault so we swallowed hard and put a double check on the price entry.

53 posted on 10/23/2020 11:44:55 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (And lead us not into hysteria, but deliver us from the handwashers. Amen!)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

“Hey, wait a minute. That’s not what we ordered. We ordered the twist off. That bottle has a cork and a bunch of dust on it.”


54 posted on 10/23/2020 11:45:10 AM PDT by IamConservative (I was nervous like the third chimp in line for the Ark after the rain started.)
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To: Vermont Lt

I thought the $100 cognac was pretty good until I tried the $1200 per bottle stuff - sweet mama.


55 posted on 10/23/2020 11:46:13 AM PDT by dainbramaged (Windage and Elevation)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Yeah that would really be an incredible call!!

I wonder if anyone out there can actually do it?


56 posted on 10/23/2020 11:46:27 AM PDT by dp0622 (Tried a coup, a fake tax story, tramp slander, Russia nonsense, impeachment and a virus. They lost.)
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To: dainbramaged
I thought the $100 cognac was pretty good until I tried the $1200 per bottle stuff - sweet mama.

I recall being served, my a financial wholesaler salesman on the Frisco wharf in the late 80's, a small glass and they said it was like $50, I took a sip and said I didn't want to waste it and he could have it.

57 posted on 10/23/2020 11:49:25 AM PDT by 1Old Pro (FILL THE SEAT)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
I’m a wine connoisseur, I am especially discerning about the kind of box my wine is stored.

Me too. Nothing but the finest cardboard for me. Finely aged in a New Jersey warehouse for at least five years. I will accept nothing less!

58 posted on 10/23/2020 11:49:42 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (Orange Man GOOD!)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Long ago a wine connoisseur suggested looking for the ones with a cork, they are better than the screwtops.

He was recommending his favorites from Argentina.


59 posted on 10/23/2020 11:49:56 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message.)
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To: hdbc

One of my saddest memories from waiting tables was forgetting to charge a few tables for 3 or 4 bottles of outrageously expensive wine.

The host scrutinized the bill but I was so busy... He, a Canadian, tipped me maybe 5% on this table of perhaps 12. Blew out all of my tips that long (12hr+) shift, just covering for my error at that one table.

People who have never been waiters, and Canadians, generally, cheat when they can and tip mercilessly.


60 posted on 10/23/2020 11:53:36 AM PDT by golux
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