Let me whine about wine being real pain in the glass

WHAT has happened in the hospitality industry?

I am referring to the activity of serving wine in a glass the size of a fishbowl, with plimsoll lines (horizontal lines marked on the outside of the glass). I am guessing the lines are used to measure one standard drink.

However, a friend stated that for drinkers trying to count their standard drinks it is difficult to determine standard drinks based only on the volume of wine, without having knowledge of the alcohol content of the wine.

So what is it used for? Is the publican concerned that drinkers may get more than they paid for the wine?

Given that the drinks were $15 or more a glass with a 400 per cent mark-up, I hope that would not be the case.

What happens if the level of wine goes beyond the line?

Does the waiter have to try to put the extra liquid back in the bottle, or do consumers drink the extra and compensate by drinking less the next time or do they leave the excess in the glass? So confusing.

It is not the glass I object to really, it’s the painstaking, laborious and anxiety-provoking (for the waiter and the drinker) process that the waiter has to undertake to ensure that not one extra drop goes over the line on the glass.

The process goes like this: waiter squats down so their eyes can be level with that of the line; then they slowly pour the wine, pouring almost drop for drop as they reach that dreaded line.

It goes from being a simple act of pouring wine to a chemistry experiment conducted by a scientist with utmost concentration and nerves of steel to ensure the measurements are exact for fear of causing an explosion.

Please. Could publicans do one of the following: cease this practice immediately and go back to regular wine glasses; supply all staff with an eye dropper to ensure precise measurements; or demand all employees gain a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Chemistry.

In the meantime, I will continue ordering Coca-Cola, by glass or can, no stress, no anxiety and no plimsoll lines.

JOELLA DRURY, SURFERS PARADISE