I found myself thinking about lobsters today, and remembered that my grandmother had a peculiar method for preparing lobsters. Bringing home the live lobsters, she would put them on a baking tray and pour in some wine. The lobsters would drink the wine. We were told that the wine made the lobsters drunk, so they felt no pain when being plopped into a pot of boiling water. We were also told that the wine made the lobster meat more tender and flavorful. As a kid growing up in Boston, that is what I remembered. I was never a lobster fan myself.. in fact my mom reminded me today that when the family would go out for lobster, the order was four lobsters and a grilled cheese for me.
But back to the oxymoron. As I recalled my grandparents' house and habits, wine was never part of the usual or special dining experiences, No one would just "have a glass of wine." There weren't bottles of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in the pantry next to the ever-present box of Swedish Fish. No wine with dinner...except of course on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. And the wines of choice for making kiddush? Mogen David or Manischewitz, both in their odd square bottles--that's all there was back then.
And the lobsters? Well, they spent their last moments getting drunk on Manischewitz Kosher Concord Grape Wine.
Oxymoron, indeed.
But back to the oxymoron. As I recalled my grandparents' house and habits, wine was never part of the usual or special dining experiences, No one would just "have a glass of wine." There weren't bottles of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in the pantry next to the ever-present box of Swedish Fish. No wine with dinner...except of course on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. And the wines of choice for making kiddush? Mogen David or Manischewitz, both in their odd square bottles--that's all there was back then. 
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