May Likes TorontoWhat's the most niche topic that you can confidently talk about for 5 minutes?
Kim Possible 
@mayintoronto I used to be somewhat of an expert on wine. Got out of the biz in 2007. But, a lot of the info. sticks.
Reay@kimlockhartga @mayintoronto Could’ve used you a few days ago.
At the LCBO we’re of course trained in various alcohols as part of the on-boarding process, but not deeply on any one. And particularly not deeply on wines, I’m guessing due to their huge variety. Four years at the job, and there are varietals mentioned to me that I’ve still never heard of before.
Anyway, last week a polite young guy came in and over to me where I was stocking a shelf and asked if I was a sommelier.
I held back a laugh from WAY not being one, and politely said I wasn’t but I could still try to help him.
He asked what wine would go best with goat cheese.
I immediately told him that yeah, I was going to go get my shift lead to help him with that one.
Alison Meeks@reay You might find this helpful. Michael is a friend of a friend who does wine reviews. https://michaelpinkuswinereview.com/
@kimlockhartga @mayintoronto
@kimlockhartga @mayintoronto
C++ Wage Slave@Alison @reay @kimlockhartga @mayintoronto
That site seems to be experiencing the Fedi hug of death. 😏 I've bookmarked it for later perusal.
@Alison @reay @kimlockhartga @mayintoronto
The site is back online now. Thanks for the recommendation. Whilst I don't doubt his good taste, Michael Pinkus, unsurprisingly, spends more on a bottle of wine than I can afford to.
@CppGuy @reay @kimlockhartga @mayintoronto Yikes! I hadn’t realized. I’m not a wine drinker so was aware of the site but hadn’t browsed it.
Hey, no harm done. I don't mind a bit of oenological window-shopping. 🙂
@CppGuy @Alison @kimlockhartga @mayintoronto That’s too bad. I’d think covering sub-$20 bottles would get more eyeballs on the reviews.
I’ve come to realize I don’t have a taste for anything much more than that. We have occasionally sampled much more expensive ones at work. And frankly, I usually prefer the ones I tend to get that are under $20. 🤷♂️
@reay @CppGuy @Alison @mayintoronto You're correct for two reasons: under $20 wines are going for a pleasant experience you can enjoy right now. Expensive, very complex wines are usually terrible until aged a bit in the bottle. Even Chardonnays need a little aging, IMHO.
Ooh, yeah. People often keep modest wines too long, expecting them to improve with age. They don't.
An elderly relative bought almost 100 bottles of heavily advertised supermarket wine in 1999, stuck them in a wine rack in the hottest part of the house, and forgot about them for 25 years. White wine turned beige; red, brown; and most of it tasted of mildew. All of it went down the drain.