Haha well I don`t personally use them but I suppose they must be for .......rubbish wine

How terribly Non-U.

I think you have the right idea on how to serve the wine. Red should be served up to the widest part of the glass (which is usually about a third) so that it allows for the enjoyment of the whole bouquet (nothing to do with allowing to breathe) and white wine possibly less in the glass because of the warmth. Why else would there be different glasses for different wines? And would anyone enjoy a glass of Pouille Fume, for example, filled to the brim? It really depends on what type of wine is being drunk.

It's also acceptable to drink different wines from the same glass, obviously finishing one first. The glass is them already "prepared" (vinieren, I'm not sure of the english term for this) Usually, the decanter is prepared in this way with a small amount of cheap wine which is then thrown away.

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Just remember that the amount on your credit card is a limit and not a target!!!!!

Must be fun taking you to a restaurant.

I don't turn off the lights at restaurants. And I don't go to the sorts of restaurants where "fun" prevails and toddler-thrown food spatters the walls.

fixed that for you.

Hmm did I not see you on the KFC trip?

Yes, but we skipped the matinee. Not a toddler in sight.

Has anyone been on a Knigge course? I did one a few years ago, had a lovely teacher and it was really interesting to find out how and why things "should" be done.

No... it's those cooked salted ones, they always stand on the table in local restaurants that have hardly seen any foreigner before me - I guess they help selling drinks.
That brings me to my favourite ways to piss off a French friend who loves his wine collection.

a) "This Burgundy stuff is fairly sour, do you have any citrus fruits so we could make a Sangria out of it?"

b) "I think my wine is a bit warm, can I have some ice cubes?"

Refixed to show what was going through Mimi's mind when she said that...

He shouldnt be pissed off, he should give you both , but i can guarantee he will gob in your glass when youre not looking !!!!!

I thought LiB and Porsch turned up?

porsch doesn't go to KFC for the food - he stays in the ball pit until it's time to go home.

In my family, we were instructed in the 5 sets of dining rules as kids: English, Continental, Asian (Chinese and Japanese mainly), American, and a mix of Middle Eastern styles. At this point of my life, if I thought about it, I could tell you when to hold your knife and in what hand, if you even had one. Where to put your fork and knife to show you are resting versus being not finished yet.

But is there any point to it? I don't like hearing or seeing the food in the mouth of other people, but am I offended if I see them twirl their pasta in a spoon or slurp Asian noodles? Nope. If it's good, enjoy. If they do something differently, so what. Courteous behavior, like asking to try something, is what matters to me. Not if they used the wrong fork for a meal.

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Floccinaucinihilipilification: act of describing something as useless.

I forgot "can you mix this with coke"...

One thing that really, really gets me are those who insist on chewing gum after a meal. Do this in my presence and I will forcibly remove the offending article from your mouth and shove it so far up your arse you'll be able to chew it all over again.

i'll take that into consideration the next time we're at the Dolder together...