Meet for a bottle of Sauternes?

So NewYorker Table for Two review of Justine's on Hudson (owned by Neal Rosenthat's daughter) starts off:
"Think of Justine's on Hudson as the kind of West Village bistro where Emily (of Paris) and Carrie (of the post-pandemic City) might meet for a bottle of Sauternes on a Saturday evening."
OK, so my initial reaction was NO ONE meets for a bottle of Sauternes. But I realized I'm an old fogie, maybe this is something new and trendy that hip NYers do. Is there a trend I don't know about?
Anyway review (author is Jiayanf Fan) was pretty positive,

Ha! I don't know much about the author, but my initial reaction would be that this is not a thing. And, the more likely explanation, is that the author has a little bit of knowledge of French wine words and sprinkled one in that sounded good (but of course doesn't really make sense). One finds that a lot with wine words. Which is annoying to us specialists!

Periodically in novels I run into the "author thinks this sound impressive." A character is supposed to be a rich aesthete, and so their favorite wine is the 1972 or 1991 Petrus. Or the like. If you are putting in a detail, do a 3 minute google.

[David M. Bueker]

If people are meeting for a bottle of Sauternes I want in!

[Jenise]

Ha! I don't know much about the author, but my initial reaction would be that this is not a thing. And, the more likely explanation, is that the author has a little bit of knowledge of French wine words and sprinkled one in that sounded good (but of course doesn't really make sense).

Can't tell the sex of the author from that name, but my girl ears immediately have to wonder if its a male author presuming women gravitate toward sweet wine.

Ha! I don't know much about the author, but my initial reaction would be that this is not a thing. And, the more likely explanation, is that the author has a little bit of knowledge of French wine words and sprinkled one in that sounded good (but of course doesn't really make sense).

Can't tell the sex of the author from that name, but my girl ears immediately have to wonder if its a male author presuming women gravitate toward sweet wine.

Author is a woman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiayang_Fan), but doesn't mean that stereotype wasn't involved!

[Jenise]

True. A woman with a sweet tooth who herself thinks dry wine tastes sour might presume this.

It does beg the question, what would we meet up casually/in a bar/without a meal to drink a bottle of?

Champagne seems the obvious choice as it can be (thoroughly) enjoyed without food. Probably plenty of white wines qualify too.

For redder wines, maybe a lightly chilled Beaujolais or a couple of glasses of rose?

I've never seen Emily in Paris , and only a couple episodes of original SITC. But I think you nailed it. Iwouldn't have taken any notice if she had said "kind of West Village bistro where Emily (of Paris) and Carrie (of the post-pandemic City) might meet for a bottle of (Sancerre, Chablis, Champagne, rose, Beaujolais, or even Cotes du Rhone)

Psst - Jenise, you will be getting three vintages of Sauternes from three different decades this weekend as a starter course. Nothing wrong with a Sauternes to share - I am with David - people don't use off dry wines as an aperitif often enough.

I prefer not to immediately try and drink dry wines analytically, but a bit of food and the palate is ready to go again. I tend to prefer wines from the Loire early in a meal - a nice Vouvray demi-sec is a good place to start. I admit that Sauternes is a tad on the sweet side as a starter but it works with things like seared foie gras.

I love demi-sec Huet or Foreau as a starter, or a Spatlese. And on the rare times I serve foie gras to start, it's usually Sauternes. But I have never consumed 375 ml (or even 187) of Sauternes in a sitting. That's why meeting a friend at a bistro for a bottle of Sauternes seems weird!

[Jenise]

I admit that Sauternes is a tad on the sweet side as a starter but it works with things like seared foie gras.

Bill, I'm looking forward to it!

But this post is about a different issue. Women don't meet up to drink a whole bottle of Sauternes (which may or may not include food.)

Foie gras and Sauternes are a magical pairing.

Foie gras and Sauternes are a magical pairing.

As it happens, that is exactly the combination Jenise will be having.

[Jenise]

Fantastic!