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Learning Center Wine Entertaining Here's To A Great Toast | Here's To A Great Toast |
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| Saturday, 18 December 2004 | |
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You may have wondered just what a crispy slice of bread has to do with the practice of offering a toast? These two seem quite unrelated, unless the bread is a French baguette and there is some brie involved.
You may have wondered just what a crispy slice of bread has to do with the practice of offering a toast? These two seem quite unrelated, unless the bread is a French baguette and there is some brie involved. In the 6th Century B.C., Greeks were toasting to the health in hopes that the wine they were consuming was not poisoned. This paranoia also fueled a custom for the host, as a symbol of friendship, to pour wine from a common decanter and drink it before his guests. By doing so, the host would satisfy his guests’ fears. He would then raise his glass to his guests to encourage them to do likewise. Then the Romans adopted the similar practice because they were known to drink from the poisoned goblet on occasion. The term TOAST comes from the Roman practice of dropping a piece of charred bread into the wine. The carbon on the charred bread actually reduces the acidity of slightly off wines making them more drinkable. The Latin word tostus, meaning roasted, came to refer to the actual drink itself. In the 1700’s, people liked to toast to folks who were not even present, especially beautiful women and celebrities. Women, who became the object of many such toasts, came to be known as the "toast of the town." If you want to take part in this age-old tradition, here are some useful pointers with regards to toast making and giving. Do’s Be Eloquent, and Witty. Be certain that the toast message is appropriate for the audience and occasion. Be simple, brief and stay away from big words. Be Sincere (from the heart) Be Prepared Be sure to have closure and end on a positive note. Clearly define the end by saying "Cheers!" or "Let us raise our glass". Don’ts Never drink a toast or stand, when it's being offered to you. However, you should always stand up and respond to the toast, even if this means just thanking the host for the gesture. Never should a toast be offered to the guest of honor until the host has had the opportunity to do so. Never sit when offering a toast, unless you’re with a small group of friends. Standing can help you to get the attention of the group and quiet them down. Never push someone to make a toast who would rather not. Never refuse to participate in a toast. It is more polite and perfectly acceptable to participate with a non-alcoholic beverage or even an empty glass rather than not at all. Today, a well-presented toast can make a simple dinner with friends or family special. The simple age-old gesture can be delivered by anyone; it just takes a little planning. A good toast is like a small speech. Any politician will tell you, it is more difficult to create a short message than a long speech. It takes practice to sound spontaneous. It's a good idea to have a couple of short toasts embedded in your memory banks to use when the toasting should arise. In able to empower you with the ability to offer a memorable toast or two, here are a few that you can add to your repertoire. Cheers! Here's champagne to our real friends, And real pain to our sham friends. — Unknown Here's hoping that you live forever And mine is the last voice you hear. — Willard Scott May you live all the years of your life. — Jonathan Swift May you live as long as you want And may you never want as long as you live. — Unknown May our wine brighten the mind and strengthen the resolution. — Unknown When wine enlivens the heart May friendship surround the table. — Unknown Fill to him, to the brim! Round the table let it roll. The divine says that wine Cheers the body and the soul. — Unknown May friendship, like wine, improve as time advances, And may we always have old wine, old friends, and young cares. — Unknown May bad fortune follow you all your days And never catch up with you. — Unknown To temperance . . . in moderation. — Lem Motlow Let us have wine and women mirth and laughter, Sermons and soda-water the day after. — Lord Byron To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with. — Mark Twain I drink to your charm, your beauty and your brains — Which gives you a rough idea of how hard up I am for a drink. — Groucho Marx To old times, old friends, the best of freinds. To new times, new friends, the best of friends. — Amy Jo |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 October 2006 ) |
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