Mike D Quotes

Christopher Plummer once told me that he never orders a wine without first confirming that the restaurant has a second bottle in case he loves it.

I only really fake it anymore with sommeliers who are being really snotty to me and I don't want to take their grief and so I try to do something to kind of throw them off or put them on the defensive, even if I don't know what I'm talking about.

There's always a wine bully. The one person who did read the 'Wine Spectator,' who tells you what to drink and why the '97 is better than the '98. I want to punch the wine bully in the face. I want to make sure this generation of wine drinkers isn't elitist and snotty. I want it to be about family and bringing people together.

Well, you know, when you go into a restaurant, one of the scariest things is the wine list, so whenever I'm really feeling intimidated, I'll just pick a wine type, like a Chianti or Brunello or a Burgundy, and I'll pick a year that's missing and ask for that one.

Wine is wonderful stuff. But so many people are put off by the snobbery of it.

Wine is something to enjoy. We get sick and tired of people who pick it apart and talk about its 'saucy nuances.'

The wine world is so big. Yes, there are styles of wines I don't like. Orange wine, natural wines and low-alcohol wines. Truth is on my side, and history will prove I am right.

The world of wine is more creative than the world of cooking.

Growing up, my dad drank a lot of wine, so I got a taste for, and learned how to enjoy it. He spoke a lot about flavors and differences in tastes of wine. Also, our manager, Rick Sales, is a big wine drinker; he goes to a lot of wine-tasting classes, and he's taught me about the qualities of wine.

Burgess Meredith taught me a lot about wine.

The way people connected with wine intrigued me and I wanted to be a part of it.

Am I an elitist because I like wine?

I'm not a real big wine drinker. I enjoy wine from a distance.

Wine is not just an object of pleasure, but an object of knowledge; and the pleasure depends on the knowledge.

I can certainly see that you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn't know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret.

I think wine is such a big universe that it's kind of like food - it's intimidating to a lot of people, myself included.

I'm a bit of a wine snob and like a glass of Chateaux Margaux '82 with a meal or to unwind.

To buy very good wine nowadays requires only money. To serve it to your guests is a sign of fatigue.

I opened a restaurant that had nothing but California wines.

From age 16, I lived and breathed wine. I read every magazine and book about wine.

As I get older, my appreciation for wine has just increased. I fell in love with wine through my travels, but knowing what the wine country is all about definitely makes it my own.

People are more comfortable learning about wine because now they can just Google, you know, 'Soave,' and say, 'Oh, O.K., cool.'

Critics have done the wine industry a lot of good overall.

A good wine has many qualities, I think. If drunk moderately, it is healthy and good for your heart.

When I started in 1978, the greatest wine in Spain, Vega Sicilia, wasn't even imported to the United States. The alleged greatest Australian wine, Penfolds Grange, wasn't imported to the United States. There were no by-the-glass programs. Sommeliers were intimidating.