Dont under estimate the power of wine

I had the luxury of spending Friday evening with old friends and several new friends at a new Italian restaurant close to my apartment in New York. The meal was very causal several shared plates that were passed around the table with accompanying homemade bread. Everything was casual except for the wine. The wine was treated with the utmost care and respect, the bottle was presented and then transferred to a decantar. It always poured into our oversized Riedel glasses by the sommelier and seemed to touch my lips at the perfect moment in time. I have had the luxury of visiting several wineries and I have never seen more attention to the presentation of the wine at such a simple event. After the experience of last night, I have a new appreciation of the power that this can do for a small dinner party. Food or no food, its really about the wine. If a decantar takes things a bit too far for your taste, just try to throw out those AP glasses you got from the Olive Garden and invest in true oversized hand blown stemware. Baby steps my friends, you know who you are!