True or False

[Waldo]

All of the senses except for hearing are utilized in the drinking of wine. Hence was born the tradition of "clinking" the glasses together in a toast when drinking wine to incorporate the sense of hearing into the experience.

 

[MedPretzel]

True?

 

[grapeman]

This is probably true for wine. If it was beer, most of us already bring sound and hearing into play after drinkin a glass or two with a good hearty belch.

 

[Pepere]

TRUE

 

[grapeman]

I came across this information on the clinking of wine glasses. Not sure about it's validity. We are all waiting for Waldo's answer.
<DIV =line>Clinking of Wine Glasses and Toasts


As with many of our food traditions, the clinking of glasses traces its root to the health and safety of the drinker. In this case, it goes back to the tendency of nobles to kill each other off by poisoning their food!


Wine was very commonly drunk during medieval days because it was one of the only safe liquids available. Water was often polluted, and milk was both useful for other things and thought to be for children only. As the wine was often full of sediment, a poison was easily introduced into it.


To prove that his wine was safe, the host would pour a bit of his guest's wine into his own glass and drink it first, to prove it was safe. If the guest trusted his host, however, he would merely clink his flagon against that of his host's when his host offered his cup for the sample. The 'clink' (or perhaps 'clunk' back then, since wood or metal was more common for drinking vessels) was a sign of trust and honesty.


Later, as metal and glass became more common, the chiming noise also brought a festive feel to events, and brought to mind the 'safe' feeling of church bells.


*So you see according to this guy, it could be FALSE or TRUE.

 

[jobe05]

Sounds reasonable to me......

So I say True........

 

[Waldo]

 

[Angell Wine]

Find out where the pink elephants come from. I always see them a few hours after the clinking of the glasses.

 

[pkcook]

My vote is TRUE

 

[Funky Fish]

To the original post, I say FALSE! No offense to you or to whomever you heard it from, Waldo, but it sounds like a bunch of malarky to me. I'm sure a group of people were sitting around drinking somewhere, and the discussion turned to the wine and how the various senses were involved. Then someone mentioned that hearing is the only sense not involved, someone else mentions, "That's why you clink the glasses," and VOILA! an urban legend is born. Or someone is tasting wine at a winery event, and the winemaker, in explaining the various things to see/smell/taste, tells everyone to clink their glasses to incorporate all senses into the occasion - and then someone goes home and tells their friends that the tradition of clinking glasses was born to incorporate the sense of hearing.


Appleman's explanation sounds more on the head, but I don't see that explaning the action of clinking glasses solely to incorporate all senses into the occasion.

 

[Dean]

I say Appleman has it right too, so I say false. I've always been under the impression that the "Clinking" back then was to splash a little wine from your cup into the other persons cup so they would "have some of the same poison they gave to you". So it stands to reason that the tradition continued as we moved to glass, but became more symbolic than actual as the amount of force to splash your wine into someone elses glass will most certainly break the glass.

So count my vote for FALSE!