he prebuttals the wine

Not so far-fetched, that one. Isn't there a proverbial "butt of Malmsey"? I don't think that was simply to object of his jokes.

[Edit: Sure there is. See http://www.bartleby.com/81/5386.html. (Now where's that list of old measures of volume? the Tun, the Magnum, the Hogshead, the Jereboam, and all those)]