I used to edit a travel magazine that was sister to a foodie magazine.
The two MDs had touches all over the catering industry - they could seriously up or down a restaurant's reputation, so our Christmas party was the private dining room of ... some bloody poncy pea--and-mint-puree-with-a-hint-of-freshwater-salmon-mist-type establishment.

We started at 12pm with champagne, and had the correct wine with each course or whatever, and were then 'allowed' to free-drink, as it were - order whatever we wanted.

Then came the games - we had to identify weird foodstuffs and ting, and then - since one of the MDs was a qualified wine connoisseur, we had a red wine which he told us about - the long finish, the notes of bumblebee shit and lamb's vomit or whatever. It was alright, but by this point we were all pretty well trashed, and I remember him saying it was about £170 a bottle, and I couldn't help thinking that a bottle of Jacob's Creek would have done the job absolutely fine.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 23 Dec 2014, 13:08, Reply)