When I was 23 I moved away from home to take a job in a new town. I didn't know a soul. A few months after I moved, another woman moved into the vacant apartment next to me and we got friendly. She was very worldy. She was an army brat and had lived in many different countries. She was only about 5 years older than I was, but she seemed very sophisticated and...just very classy.

She invited me over one night and gave me a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. I just about gagged. It was horrible. I asked her if she had any ice, and she laughed and said "sure". She got up, went the the freezer, and plopped two ice cubes into my glass. I could drink it after that. It was still pretty awful, but it was drinkable cold.

It wasn't until years later that I read you were supposed to drink red wine at room temperature. But she never said a word. She was pretty cool.