The Connoisseur:Albert Van Der Steeg
The Connoisseur On the ferry between the Hook of Holland and Harwich we heard a man explaining wines to his girlfriend or wife. We had to laugh a bit: there’s only one kind of wine aboard. It made me think of a man who married into my family. With his father he maintained their family’s wine cellar. It sounded like a lot of work: they saved every label of wine they drank, discussed how long a bottle should rest before being ready to drink, and he would turn the bottles once a week. He even had a written down journal about the wines. At parties in the Netherlands we normally sit in a circle, have our drinks and snacks and talks. He would always show his knowledge about wines. After getting his glass he would stick his big nose in it and sniff loudly. Sometimes he would ask for the cork of the bottle and sniff at that too. The next thing would be sipping a little bit and rinsing it in his mouth. Sometimes with a sound like “mmm”. Finally he would gulp th