Above: “Tuscan producers who order their own wines at restaurants never drink them at home,” notes celebrity sommelier Andrea Gori. Is it good or poor form for winemakers to order their own wines when they go out to eat?
Sunday evening, my friend and client Luca Ferraro, who produces Prosecco DOCG and Prosecco Col Fondo DOCG in Asolo, asked the following question on his Facebook: What prompts winemakers to go to a restaurant and order their own wines?
At last count, the post had generated nearly 70 comments and had even inspired a humorous post on one of Italy’s most popular wine blogs, Intravino, “Six Good Reasons that Winemakers go to Restaurants and Order Their Own Wine.”
Reason number 6? “Because they secretly hope the sommelier will tell them, ‘I’m sorry, we’ve run out of it,’ and multiple orgasms will ensue.”
Author and celebrity sommelier Adua Villa chimed into the Facebook thread with the following explanations: “A unbridled ego; B insecurity; and C (and above all) a lack of curiosity. And this last reason is the worst.”
Noted consulting enologist, publisher, and author Maurizio Gily weighed in, writing that “the only justification is that it’s a horrible wine list. But in that case, the producers have to ask themselves why their wines are the list.”
I love how he echoes the Marxist paradox: “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.”
But he added, however, that “obviously, if the producer is with clients, it’s a normal thing to do.”
With classically acerbic Tuscan wit, celebrity sommelier and blogger Andrea Gori quipped: “Tuscan producers who order their own wines at restaurants never drink them at home.”
In scrolling through the comments on Facebook (hilarious for the most part), it occurred to me that there is a sizable disconnect between Italian and American attitudes on this topic.
In the U.S., it’s common to see winemakers who order their own wines when they go out to eat.
In my experience, there are a number of reasons for this.
Do Bianchi 
I AM egotistical, but when I order my own wine at a restaurant, it’s pride rather than ego. Not sure which is worse.
Importer not winemaker, but I never order my own wine. An exception was made a month ago when a visiting friend who had never had Ruche and an MW candidate were in town. We also ordered two bottles that weren’t my wine.