Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 326, Finding the Right Wine.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 326.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you all of the vocabulary definitions, sample sentences, cultural notes, comprehension checks and a complete transcript of this episode.
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This episode is called Finding the Right Wine.
Let's get drinking.
We can't go to the dinner party empty-handed.
We need to bring a bottle of wine.
I don't know anything about wines.
You'll need to pick a bottle.
Do you think we should get a bottle of white, red, or rosé?
I don't know.
The label on this one says that it's fruity and not too tart.
This other one says that it's full-bodied, but I think we want a light-bodied one, right?
I have no idea.
The label on this one says that it's from a California vineyard.
Is that good or bad?
I don't know.
Stop asking me.
Here's a corkscrew.
Why don't you take out the cork and we'll have a taste?
That's very funny.
You're not helping me at all.
I say we just bring them a six-pack.
I know I'd rather have beer than wine any day.
Stop fooling around.
We need to pick out a bottle of wine.
I have an idea.
Let's bring them a bottle of champagne.
You can't go wrong with champagne.
Champagne?
It's not a special occasion.
We'll tell them that being invited for dinner in their home is a special occasion for us.
They'll be happy to hear that.
I don't know about that.
Trust me.
Grab a bottle and let's go.
We're late.
Our dialogue is between Antonio and Melanie.
They are going to a party.
They've been invited to someone's house for dinner, and they want to bring a bottle of wine.
It's traditional, if someone invites you to dinner at their house, to bring a bottle of wine or some small gift for them.
Antonio begins by asking Melanie, why are we stopping here?
Why are we parking our car and stopping at this place?
Melanie says, we can't go to the dinner party empty-handed.
To be empty-handed means not to have anything. to come with no gift, with nothing.
Melanie says we need to bring a bottle of wine.
Wine, of course, is an alcoholic drink that is made from a fermented, a specially processed type of grape juice.
Wine is a popular drink today at dinner in many countries in Europe and the US and other parts of the world.
I am not actually a wine drinker.
I like the taste of wine, but it often gives me a headache.
So I think my body is telling me that I don't need wine to or to be a little crazy.
I'm crazy enough.
So I don't drink wine myself, but it is very popular.
And in our dialogue, Antonio says he doesn't know anything about wines.
He's just like me.
Melanie says, I don't know much about wines either.
I just know we need a good table wine.
A table wine is an inexpensive, a not expensive type of wine that you drink with your meal.
It's not for special occasions.
It's the common wine that you would find in a restaurant.
Not the best wine, but still probably, we hope, a good wine.
Melanie says to Antonio, do you think we need a bottle of white, red, or rosé?
These are three types of wine.
A white wine has a very light yellow color that you can see through easily.
A red wine, you can guess, has a dark red or purple color.
A rosé is a type of wine that has a light pink or purple color.
You can usually see through in the glass a rosé wine.
Melanie says that the label on one bottle that she's looking at says that it's fruity and not too tart.
The label says L-A-B-E-L is the piece of paper that is, in this case, glued to the bottle of wine.
That gives you more information about it.
A label is any piece of paper, anything that is put on something else to give you more information about it.
When you buy milk, for example.
There's a label on the back that tells you how many calories and how much fat and other nutritional information.
This is a label that is telling Melanie what kind of wine this is.
For some additional definitions of this word label, take a look at our learning guide.
Melanie says that the label says this wine is fruity and not too tart.
There are different ways that people sometimes describe the taste of wine.
One way is to say that it is fruity, F-R-U-I-T-Y.
Something is fruity when it has a fruit-like flavor.
It tastes or smells of many kinds of fruit or a particular kind of fruit.
If a wine is tart, T-A-R-T, we mean it's sour.
Sour is the opposite of sweet.
So a tart wine is a sour wine and Often for some people not good tasting.
But some people like that kind of taste.
Melanie says the other bottle she's looking at is full-bodied.
When we talk about a full or light-bodied wine, we're talking about it having a very strong taste if it's full-bodied.
If it's light-bodied, it would have a weaker taste or smell.
If ESL Podcast were a wine, I would describe it as full-bodied, a strong taste.
Back to our dialogue.
Melanie says that she thinks they want a light-bodied wine.
Antonio says, I have no idea.
I don't know.
Melanie continues the label on this one.
She's obviously picked up another bottle of wine.
A different bottle says that it's from a California vineyard.
A vineyard V-I-N-E-Y-A-R-D.
It's spelled like vineyard, but pronounced vineyard is a farm where grapes are grown, usually for wine.
The grapes grow on a plant, and the plant is called a vine.
Wine is made in many different parts of the world.
Italy and France and Germany, Spain are all famous for their wines, but there are other countries also that make good wines.
Here in the United States, California has a large wine-producing section.
It's up in Northern California, north of San Francisco.
There was a popular movie a few years ago called Sideways in English, and it was in part about people going and visiting the wine areas in Northern California.
I, of course, have never been there because I don't drink wine.
Melanie says, is this good or bad, being from a California vineyard?
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Antonio says, I don't know.
Stop asking me.
Then he makes a joke.
He says, here's a corkscrew.
Why don't you take out the cork and we'll have a taste.
A corkscrew, C-O-R-K-S-C-R-E-W, one word, is the tool you use to open a bottle of wine.
It usually has a piece of metal that goes into the top of the wine bottle.
The wine bottle on the top has something called a cork.
The cork is like the cap.
It keeps the wine in the bottle.
So a corkscrew takes the cork out.
Antonio is joking here saying well, let's just taste the wine here in the store, which of course you normally cannot do.
Well, you could do it, but you'd have to buy the bottles of wine first.
Melanie says, that's very funny.
The expression that's very funny, said in that intonation, said in that tone, is meant to give you the idea that it's not funny.
I don't think that's funny.
It's a strange expression.
Someone makes a joke about you and you say, oh, that's very funny.
You mean you don't think it's funny.
Antonio says, I say we just bring them a six pack.
A six pack refers to six cans, usually, of beer or some other sort of liquid.
Usually beer.
Someone says, I'm going to go get a six pack.
They mean they're going to go buy six cans of beer.
Usually the cans come together in a plastic-like container that holds them together.
A six-pack would be something you would buy for going, to say, a party with your male friends watching the football game or the soccer game.
It's not something that you would bring to a dinner party.
Once again, Antonio is sort of joking.
But he says, I know I'd rather have beer than wine any day.
He's saying I would rather have beer, which is made from a grain.
It is a popular alcoholic drink.
He would rather have a beer than a wine any day, meaning I would always prefer a beer over a wine.
Melanie says, stop fooling around, stop joking.
We need to pick out a bottle of wine.
Antonio says, let's bring them a bottle of champagne.
Champagne is a type of white wine with bubbles in it that people usually drink on very special occasions.
True champagne comes from the area in France.
That is the real champagne.
But many companies now make champagne and call it champagne.
It's a type of bubbly wine.
Antonio says you can't go wrong with champagne.
The expression you can't go wrong means you will never have a problem if you decide to use this particular thing.
Melanie says champagne.
It's not a special occasion or special event, special happening like a wedding or a holiday or a birthday.
It's just a normal dinner party.
Antonio says.
Well, tell them that being invited for dinner to their house is a special occasion for us.
Melanie's not sure if this is a good idea, but Antonio says, trust me, meaning believe me.
Grab a bottle, meaning pick up a bottle, and let's go.
We're late.
Now let's listen to the dialogue again, this time at a normal speed.
Why are we stopping here?
We can't go to the dinner party empty-handed.
We need to bring a bottle of wine.
I don't know anything about wines.
You'll need to pick a bottle.
I don't know much about wines either.
I just know that we need a good table wine.
Do you think we should get a bottle of white, red, or rosé?
I don't know.
The label on this one says it's fruity and not too tart.
This other one says that it's full-bodied, but I think we need a light-bodied one, right?
I have no idea.
The label on this one says it's from a California vineyard.
Is that good or bad?
I don't know.
Stop asking me.
Here's a corkscrew.
Why don't you take out the cork and we'll have a taste?
That's very funny.
You're not helping me at all.
I say we just bring them a six-pack.
I know I'd rather have beer than wine any day.
Stop fooling around.
We need to pick out a bottle of wine.
I have an idea.
Let's bring them a bottle of champagne.
You can't go wrong with champagne.
Champagne?
It's not a special occasion.
We'll tell them that being invited for dinner in their home is a special occasion for us.
They'll be happy to hear that.
I don't know about that.
Trust me.
Grab a bottle and let's go.
We're late.
The script for this episode was written by Dr. Lucy Say.
I don't think she was drinking wine when she wrote this script, but I'll have to ask her.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2007.
