by John Finocchiaro | May 1, 2008 5:11 pm
As I sat next to my father at the dinner table and stared at his glass of wine, I mustered up the courage to finally pop the question:
“Dad, can I have a sip?”
“Sure, but not too much.”
The liquid barely touched my lips. Still, the taste was unique and not all that unpleasant.
“Dad, why doesn’t anybody else’s parents drink wine at dinner?”
“I guess you would have to ask them. But I think most people in this country are a little intimidated with wine. They don’t feel that they know enough about it, so they just drink something else,” my father responded.
I’m not sure I understood his answer. See, the word “intimidated” is a pretty large gulp to swallow for a twelve year old. But in my quest to beat this question to death, I persisted.
“Dad, then why do we drink wine?”
“Well, your nonno and nonna (grandparents) came from Italy where wine is very common. Everyone in Italy is comfortable with wine. They drink it with their meals. But you have to be careful, it is not good to drink too much of it.”
Good answer. Even I was starting to get more comfortable with this “wine” thing. So, I persisted.
“Dad?”
“What?”
“Can I have another sip?”
“No. Eat your pasta.”
Now decades later, I still see the wisdom in my father’s simple answer. And today wine is more popular than ever in the U.S. While our comfort level has grown considerably, there are still some distinctions in the consumption habits of Americans versus Italians – and other countries of Western Europe for that matter. Having recently returned from a trip to Italy, here are some observations.
Everyone in Italy is comfortable with wine. They drink it with their meals. But you have to be careful…”
Americans have come a long ways in our understanding and appreciation of wine. Our wines are better than ever and consumption is on the rise. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the 20-somethings out there, now preferring wine as their beverage of choice more so than ever before. And they are drinking pretty good stuff too, not the sugar-sweet “pop” wines of a generation ago. Sure, there’s no end in sight to the goofy-labeled “critter wines” of the modern era. But at the same time, interest and curiosity in previously unknown and obscure wines from all areas of the world are at an all-time high. We are finally getting comfortable with wine. And while countries such as Italy had a bit of a head start with this whole wine thing, we are getting there. Finally. Salute’!
Source URL: http://fsmomaha.com/how-italians-drink-wine/
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