Finesse

Used to describe a wine with elegance and BALANCE. The term implies that the wine is polished and sophisticated. Hearty, rustic country wines would not be described as having finesse, while a well-made Champagne or top white Burgundy might be.

The custom of clinking glasses before drinking a toast was originally based on discovering that what you were about to drink was not lethal.

Answer: True.

At least it’s one of the leading theories behind glass clinking. This theory considers that at the time of the Roman Empire, poisoned beverages were the modus operandi for assassinating unwanted political or economic rivals. By the Middle Ages, a kind of “poison epidemic” had grown, stimulated by the increased availability of medicinally-suspect ingredients from apothecaries throughout Europe. At about the same time, Arabs developed an odorless and transparent form of arsenic; woe to the Crusaders. Thus, self-preservation dictated that a visitor would insist his host drink some of what was poured for the visitor himself. Once the host drank “successfully,” the guest could imbibe with confidence. Eventually, in situations when the guest trusted the host, the process was done away with and supplanted by clinking—an acknowledgement that all was safe.

“Pinotage is what happens when you leave the lovely Pinot Noir in a room with Bill Cosby—an offspring to avoid.”

—Ron Washam aka The HoseMaster
Writing in The Wine Advocate, November 21, 2016

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