Conversation 092 - Wine

Todd: Now, Sandra, hello!
Sandra: Hello!
Todd: Now, you are a wine connoisseur. Or wine teacher. No?
Sandra: Not really!
Todd: Not really?
Sandra: A wine connoisseur. No, that's sort of a snobby....
Todd: Oh, really?
Sandra: Yes.
Todd: Oh, OK. So, how would you describe what you do?
Sandra: A wine professional.
Todd: A wine professional. OK, so what does a wine professional do?
Sandra: Try to make money from wine.
Todd: OK.
Sandra: So, I'm a wine writer, a wine columnist. I teach wine.
Todd: OK, so let's say if I'm going to have friends over, and I'm making, let's say, steak. I'm having a grilling steak. Can I serve wine with steak?
Sandra: Yes. Steak goes with almost any red wine.
Todd: Oh, really? OK. So, red. How about if I want to mix wines. Is it OK to go red wine, white wine?
Sandra: You always start out with white wines going towards red wines.
Todd: OK, always go white wine first, then the red wine. (Yes) OK, and how about for dessert? Is there a special dessert wine?
Sandra: There are many great dessert wines, so it depends on what you like, how sweet you like and what you're making for dessert.
Todd: OK, so how about I'm making tiramisu.
Sandra: Terimisu, then I would probably have a tawny Port, either from Portugal or from Australia, which makes great Ports, or you might even go for a fruity and oaky Zinfandel, which is dry wine from California.
Todd: OK, nice. How much will that cost me?
Sandra: Depends on how much you want to spend. For a port, a tawny Port, anywhere in between 3,500 to 10,000 (OK) And for a California Zinfandel, a good one probably about 3,000 (yen).
Todd: 3,000. I think I can maybe afford that. Not much. And, how about what would be a good wine to start off for like appetizers or with a salad or something like that.
Sandra: I always start off with a sparkling wine.
Todd: A sparkling wine?
Sandra: Yes. I prefer Champagne but if you can't afford it, even though champagne is the lowest price anywhere in the world is in Japan.
Todd: Oh, really?
Sandra: And many of my students load up on cases of champagne and have it sent home by their companies container.
Todd: Oh, wow.
Sandra: Yes. But champagne is a good starter.