Wine
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Sandra
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Todd
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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 terimisu.
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.
wine connoisseur
Are you a wine connoisseur or a wine teacher?
A 'connoisseur' is an expert about something, usually having to do with food, drink or art. Notice the following:
- Traveling has turned me into quite a connoisseur of different types of food.
- I think of myself as a coffee connoisseur.
snobby
I'm not a wine connoisseur; that's sort of snobby.
If a person is 'snobby' they act like they are too good for average or normal things. A person can be snobby towards other people or about certain things like clothes or food. Notice the following:
- My friend can be kind of snobby, but I promise she's a good person.
- She is very snobby about the food she eats.
make money
I try to make money from wine.
When you receive money for doing or selling something you are 'making money' from that. Notice the following:
- His company makes a lot of money selling plastic products.
- Can you really make money selling wine?
goes with
Steak goes with almost any red wine.
If a wine 'goes with' a food it complements or enhances the flavor of that food. They taste good together. Notice the following:
- I need a wine to go with the seafood I'm making.
- What goes well with this soup?
start off
I always start off with a sparkling wine.
If you 'start off' with something you have it or do it at the beginning. Notice the following:
- He always starts off his day with a cup of coffee.
- We will both start off with a bowl of soup.
Vocabulary Quiz
go with • start off
