When I sold wine full time, I made it a point to never judge customers based on what they were buying. The only time a customer’s choice frustrated me was when they came in looking for so-called “cooking wine.” The store I worked at carried them, of course, these big, fat bottles on the lowest shelf, with nondescript labels that said “Sherry” or “Port” or whatever else the liquid inside claimed to be.

These were a far cry from the historical, artisanal wines they were imitating, more akin to Kraft Singles masquerading as a freshly cracked wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano. And though we sold them, I always tried to convince the guest to buy a bottle of the actual wine they needed. Sure, the hand-harvested Madeira or the traditional sherry will cost a few dollars more than the jug wine, but I promised them that their dish would turn out 10 times better for the price.