Wine Professionals Quotes

Lucky Lily. A lot of us share her love for Champagne but must ration our consumption. And never, ever a Champagne bath.

Yes, it is true wine is the source of their income. But it is also true that wine is the source of their great pleasure, a pleasure that they are only too happy to share with you.

Lily Bollinger was asked "When do you drink champagne?", and replied:
I only drink champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty.

When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away vintage charts out the window and invest in a corkscrew. The best way to learn about wine is in the drinking.
Alexis Lichine, American wine dealer and writer (1913-1989)

Wine to me is passion.  It's family and friends.  It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit.  Wine is art.  It's culture.  It's the essence of civilization and the art of living.
Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, (1913-) in Harvests of Joy (Autobiography)

Making good wine is a skill. Fine wine is an art.
Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, (1913-) in Harvests of Joy (Autobiography)

W]ine has been a part of civilized life for some seven thousand years. It is the only beverage that feeds the body, soul and spirit of man and at the same time stimulates the mind....
Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, (1913-) in Harvests of Joy (Autobiography)

They wanted to sell boxes. I wanted to sell a way of life.
Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, (1913-) in Harvests of Joy (Autobiography)

Wine has been with us since the beginning of civilization.  It is the
temperate, civilized, sacred, romantic mealtime beverage recommended
in the Bible.  Wine has been praised for centuries by statesmen,
philosophers, poets, and scholars.  Wine in moderation is an integral
part of our culture, heritage and gracious way of life.
Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, (1913-) in Harvests of Joy (Autobiography)

When asked whether he ever confused a Bordeaux with a Burgundy in a blind tasting, British wine legend Harry Waugh (1904-2001) replied: "Not since lunch."

Louis M.  Martini's pithy quip about the marriage of oak and wine, "If you want oak, chew on a plank."