okay, so this word is from Italian, not German.
but I used it for Friday's wwftd, and I got this from our friend Emanuela:

Hi!
I never heard this word, perhaps since I don't drink wine.
It sounds a word from Tuscany, indeed.

Some comments:
1) We always eat using a tablecloth on the table, so the most likely possibility is the mark over the tablecloth (if someone says "on the table", I bet that he is meaning "covered by the tablecloth")
2) Very clearly, there is the root "culo", it means "ass", and it is a not polite word. The reason should be that the "culo" = "bottom" of the glass leaves the mark.
For this reason, I feel the word as very "popular" and not "elegant"

Ciao
Emanuela

Interesting word. It is usually mugs that cause unsightly rings on wooden furniture, so it seems logical that these rings refer more to tablecloth rings. Course, there are some who find such signs of use to be a likeable way to personalise their furniture.

Pet peeve: I can't stand it if I am served a beer (or any drink) without a mat if the table is glass - awful. I am generally a fan of coaters/beer mats, they keep the table from quickly becoming a sticky mess when more than 4 or so people a sitting at one all night. And if wine is had at a meal it should, IMO, be served with a (paper) serviette underneath. Okay, enough of revealing my pedantic side.

Just curious...

The only places I've seen wine served with a napkin beneath it is in bars, BY? Do you mean at home if you don't have a tablecloth or all the time?

I'm sure I could find a coaster somewhere if pressed, but we never use them in our house. When folks come over, I always have a tablecloth, and when Hubby and I eat, we use placemats.

I agree about the yucky sticky glass tops though... Unfortunately, our living-room tabletop does get sticky, but it's from the Big dog licking anything he sees off of it (he's a bit drooly). The Small dog isn't tall enough.

> Do you mean at home if you don't have a tablecloth or all the time?

I meant when out for a drink. Most restaurants have tablecloths, of course, which I am not personally fussy about, but if it's going to be without...
I have often heard people gauge a eateries by whether they have tablecloths or not.

You know, it's funny how you often do things without realizing it. I've been thinking about this, now that you've mentioned it.

Whenever I'm out for dinner or in a bar, I do have a tendency to put a napkin under my glass whenever it has condensation on it (i.e. a cold beer on a hot day) if it is on a wooden surface.

With a glass surface though, I'll generally wipe the glass and put it down directly on the surface.

I wonder where we get our habits.

Quote:

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whenever it has condensation on it

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Where I live, that's every day. One paper napkin is not sufficient.