Originally published on October 15, 2011.
A while back, I shared a quick tip on how to remove slow pours from a wine bottles. Or rather, how to remove a slow pour from a wine bottle without breaking a nail or slicing your finger off.
Now if you don’t already know (and haven’t already guessed) what a slow pour is, then here’s the definition: it’s a little plastic device that allows you to pour wine s-l-o-w-l-y. Without looking stingy. Which is especially important at big, fancy tastings where you want to give lots of people a little taste of wine but are too cheap to run through more than a bottle or two.
These are geezers.
So the other day, I’m talking with one of my sales reps to coordinate an upcoming tasting at the store. What time to arrive, which wines, what order – the usual – when he asks if I have any geezers he could borrow. This is a strange question, so I ask for a little clarification.Well, apparently ‘geezers’ are his name for slow pour – which makes perfect sense since geezers stereotypically move more slowly than the average person – especially if that person is a New York City wine sales rep. ‘Geezer’ also implies a certain crankiness, which is usually how the person pouring the wine feels when stuck behind a table dealing with clinkers, anti-spiters, and the general sloppiness that is a big, fancy tasting*
These are also geezers….but you can’t put them in a box.
So we’ve started to call them geezers at the store. It’s especially fun to yell down the basement – “bring me some geezers – they’re in that box under the stairs!” Just as long as no one from the AARP is in ear shot.
*Not to be confused with the good time that is pouring at a cool, little Frankly Wines in-store tasting, where the pourers get to stand in front of the table.
Photo credit: Plastic geezers: Christy Frank. Geezer sign: rileyroxx