Todd: Sandra, hello!

Sandra: Hello!

Todd: Now, you are a wine connoisseur. Or wine teacher. No?

Sandra: Not really!

Todd: Not really?

Sandra: A wine connoisseur. No, that's sort of a snobby.

Todd: Oh, really?

Sandra: Yes.

Todd: Oh, OK. So, how would you describe what you do?

Sandra: A wine professional.

Todd: A wine professional. OK, so what does a wine professional do?

Sandra:Try to make money from wine.

Todd: OK.

Sandra: So, I'm a wine writer, a wine columnist. I teach wine.

Todd: Oh, wow. OK, so let's say if I'm going to have friends over and I'm making let's say steak. I'm having a grilling steak. Can I serve wine with steak?

Sandra: Yes. Steak goes with almost any red wine.

Todd: Oh, really? OK. So, red OK. How about if I want to mix wines. Is it OK to go red wine, white wine..?

Sandra: You always start out with white wines going towards red wines.

Todd: OK, always go white wine first, then the red wine.

Sandra:Yes.

Todd: OK, and how about for dessert? Is there a special dessert wine?

Sandra: There are many great dessert wines so it depends on what you like, how sweet you like and what you're making for dessert.

Todd: OK, so how about I'm making tiramisu?

Sandra: Tiramisu, then I would probably have a tawny port either from Portugal or from Australia, which makes great ports or you might even go for a fruity and oaky zinfandel, which is dry wine from California.

Todd: OK, nice. How much will that cost me?

Sandra: Depends on how much you want to spend. For a port, a tawny port, anywhere in between ¥3,500 to ¥10,000.

Todd: ¥3,000. I think I can maybe afford that. Not much. And, how about what would be a good wine to start off for like appetizers or with a salad or something like that.

Sandra: I always start off with a sparkling wine.

Todd: A sparkling wine.

Sandra: Yes. I prefer champagne but if you can't afford it, even though champagne is the lowest price anywhere in the world is in Japan.

Todd: Oh, really?

Sandra: And many of my students load up on cases of champagne and have it sent home by their companies container.

Todd: Oh, wow.

Sandra: Yes. But champagne is a good starter.

Todd: Okay. Alright, thanks a lot Sandra.

Sandra: You're welcome.]]>