How to politely decline the gift of homemade wine? Or trying a person's latest

[LAUGHING MAGPIE]

batch, when visiting them ? I work in a fine wine shoppe and I have definite preferences in wine. I can't abide just drinking wine for the sake of drinking wine; it must be a pleasant experience. I really don't want to offend, I respect their time and effort to bottle their own wines and if they give it to me I won't drink it. Such a waste.
I don't want to offend or seem pretentious.
It is not okay to accept it and pour it out. My friends took time and money and effort to bottle it. That truly would be pretentious, as if their time did not matter.
I manage the wine store: I schedule, inventory control, order product, meet with wine reps., conduct tastings, go to wine shows, tour vineyards and occasionally work up-front. I sample wine for a living, my job includes tasting vineyard wines I would not put in my spaghetti. So why is it okay for people to pour their home made wine for me at 11am, when everyone else is having coffee, because I know wine and this is their best ever. It is my liver should I not be able to chose the grape I sacrifice it to.
If my friends don't like raw oysters, I don't force them to eat them. Because they work in a seafood restaurant.

[Goldar]

Well, first of all, I'm curious what your job description is at this wine shop.

What is your favorite wine right now? Did you know it was your favorite before you tried it? Of course not. You don't know you wil lhate every homemade wine either, without trying it.

You're being very prejudicial, presuming you won't like it. I'm sure the judges at the famous 1976 tasting would have been likewise about California cabernet if the tasting hadn't been conducted blind. And what point would the prejudice have served? None.

A similar trick could be pulled with a top notch homemade wine, and the snobs would have egg on their face.

I've worked in wine retail myself and there wasn't a wine snob / wine zombie among our entire company. We'd try anything, because the great thing about wine, winemaking, enology and viticulture is the infinite variety and surprises. That's the difference between someone who only does what Wine Spectator tells them to, and a true enophile, the difference between pretense and genuine appreciation. You know, pretentious like adding unnecessary letters to words like "shoppe".

If you automatically know what everything tastes like before you've ever tried it, I'd like you to recommend some stocks that are going to triple in the next month!

[Tab H]

Honestly I think you need to be more gracious. A sip of wine will not hurt your refined tastes. And turning away a gift is simply rude.

[angie devine]

dump the bottle given to you when you are alone, say no thank you when offered a taste ,if they insist, then they are being rude, and say no thank you again, no reason needed.

[Trid]

I'm guilty of offering up samples to guests.
"No thanks" works just fine to send the message they're not interested.

Offering up a long-winded explanation or using a condescending tone is what comes off as pretentious (IMHO), not declining an offer.

[WendyD1999]

I am sensitive to sulfiting agents so I cannot drink red wine and even rose can give me a stomach ache.

Perhaps you could cultivate this same sensitivity.

[clarity]

If you don't accept their offer of some of their wine, you WILL seem pretentious. Take a sip or take a bottle if it's offered. You can handle a sip and you can dispose of a bottle when you're safely at home.

[Filbert Crunchy]

If they are asking your opinion, drink some and tell them honestly what you think. Make it constructive criticism so that they can improve, but don't feel obliged to drink an entire bottle (or glass) of swill.

If they are not asking your opinion, (and you know for a fact that the wine is not to your taste) tell them that you have so much wine at home that you will never get around to it. If visiting, tell them that you have a headache or an upset stomach, and the wine will make it worse.

If a truly horrible wine is pressed on you, take the wine anyway and dump it. You will be doing the world a favor.

[Douglas D]

You seem to have a definate prejudice against home-made wine. It's understandable though, I have tasted some home-made stuff that didn't even qualify as decent vinegar.
Just tell them exactly what you said in your question. "I respect your time & effort to bottle your own wine, but I prefer not to drink home-made".
If they offer you a taste of the latest batch, why not give it a try. You may be pleasantly suprised, & if they ask for your opinion, make sure they understand that they are asking a person with discerning taste.

[colorist]

Basically Mrs. Manners would say that you DO seem pretentious. However, I say just accept the gift graciously and do with it whatever you want as long as you write a thank you note. When visiting you must simply have a drink and then you can fake a bit of a sore throat and say you feel that wine might be irritating it. Best wishes