Jeff is suspicious of Pierce's engagement to a pretty classmate. Troy invents a childhood trauma to impress Britta, and Abed challenges a professor.
Wine episode struggles with tone—54 jokes land at only 72.9, dragged by uneven cringe execution.
Directed by Joe Russo · Written by Emily Cutler
WAR
32.4
Wins Above Replacement
“Competitive Wine Tasting” ranks #95 of 110 Community episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 72.9 — Solid. The episode packs 54 scored jokes at 2.6 per minute, averaging 6.7 on craft and 6.5 on impact, with Pierce landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Teacher: That's a beautiful childhood memory. Where was this playground?
Troy: Well, it was right behind my house.
Teacher: And how old were you?
Troy: Seven.
Teacher: That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Troy: Yeah, actually, that was today. I'm twenty-three.
Troy Character Comedy Absurdist Abed: Britta's attracted to broken things because she's broken. It's a defense mechanism. She'll date you, realize you're not actually damaged, and leave you for someone with real problems. It's why she dates so much.
Britta: I'm standing right here.
Abed: I know. This is part of why you'll never change.
Abed Character Comedy Observational Jeff: Yeah, and like a baboon, you throw your feces at people when they get too close.
Jeff Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Troy: My heart is a football, and it just got intercepted by the blitz of life.
Troy Absurdist Character Comedy Jeff Winger: I took a joke-writing class once. Dropped after learning setups.
Jeff Winger: So a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar...
Student Meta/Self-Referential Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 54 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Jeff Winger: I took a joke-writing class once. Dropped after learning setups.
Jeff Winger: So a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar...
Student Meta/Self-Referential Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Pierce: You know, when I was your age, I learned that the key to a fulfilling education is choosing the right... electives.
Pierce: You want to make sure you're getting the most out of your time, if you know what I mean. Really... stretch yourself. Try new positions.
Pierce: And always remember: it's not about the size of your course load, it's about how you... apply yourself.
Pierce Cringe/Discomfort Dark/Subversive Jeff: So you two are taking an acting class to tap into your emotional cores?
Jeff: I figured you'd both prefer to just go play foosball or something.
Jeff Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Annie: I got into the media class! I'm so excited!
Annie: It's an entire academic course analyzing one sitcom.
Annie Absurdist Observational Pierce: Jeff, we're taking a wine class together! It's going to be amazing!
Jeff: I'm going to look up how to laugh in Italian so I can do it convincingly when you talk about the notes.
Jeff Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Jeff: I've got extensive legal experience with wine. I've helped a lot of wealthy people avoid justice.
Jeff Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Troy: So what's in your wine cellar anyway?
Pierce: Only the finest vintages, Troy. Bottles worth thousands.
Troy: Wow, do you ever just go down there and... get it up?
Pierce: What? No! Troy, that's not— we're talking about wine!
Chang: I'm taking wine class because I want to learn about wine and expand my palate.
Chang: Just kidding. I'm here to case the joint for valuables and I heard they have a really nice bathroom.
Chang Character Comedy Absurdist Chang: I got you a present!
Jeff: Oh, thanks Chang. What is it?
Chang: It's a photo from when you were younger. I thought you'd want to remember what you looked like before you got old.
Jeff: I'm not that old, Chang.
Chang: That's what I said. But the photo disagrees with you.
Chang Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Who is the dumpling with the nice Asian pair?
Pierce Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Pierce: I'd like to see her... assets.
Chang: Hey, that's not cool. Although, I have to admit, I'm influenced by your sexism, so I kind of want to see them too.
Chang Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Pierce: I'm like a fine wine, Chang. I get better with age. You're more like a cheap beer—you peak early and then it's all downhill from there.
Chang: At least I haven't turned to vinegar yet.
Hmm hmm, the red dragon ordered a number 37 with a side of pork-fried snap.
Chang Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Jeff: Yeah, well, I was going to break up with her anyway. I'm seeing someone else.
Jeff Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Troy: I'm gonna call myself... The Magnificent Thunderfoot!
Abed: Your real name is Troy Barnes.
Troy: I know! But The Magnificent Thunderfoot sounds way cooler!
Troy Character Comedy Absurdist Troy: Actually, you know what? I've been thinking about this and I really think—
Teacher: No.
Troy: But you didn't even—
Teacher: No.
Teacher: Alright everyone, let's form a trust circle.
Student: A trust circle? What's that?
Teacher: It's just a circle! A regular circle! Why does everyone always assume there's some deeper meaning?
Teacher: That's a beautiful childhood memory. Where was this playground?
Troy: Well, it was right behind my house.
Teacher: And how old were you?
Troy: Seven.
Teacher: That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Troy: Yeah, actually, that was today. I'm twenty-three.
Troy Character Comedy Absurdist Abed: I'm trying to access a painful high school memory about being the football captain.
Abed: The painful part isn't that I was popular and arrogant. The painful part is that I had to wake up at 5 AM for conditioning, and nobody told me I could just... not go.
Abed Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm What a loser.
Teacher Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Like every time I go to say something, somebody just... My uncle put his finger in my no-no!
Professor: Who was the boss?
Abed: Bruce Springsteen.
Professor: Class dismissed.
Annie: Pierce just completely butchered the pronunciation of 'Châteauneuf-du-Pape' and then made some offensive joke about the name that had nothing to do with French wine regions.
Pierce: What? I was just saying what I saw! 'New Pope' — I thought the Catholic Church was getting involved in the wine business!
Annie: It's CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE, Pierce. It means 'new castle of the Pope' in French. There's nothing remotely amusing about your interpretation.
Annie Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Pierce: We're getting married.
Pierce: Not immediately or anything. She's still got a husband.
Pierce Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Pierce: Stranger things have happened.
Jeff: No, they haven't.
Jeff Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Pierce: I went up to her and said, 'Are you a Chinese takeout menu? Because I want to fold you in half and put you in my pocket.'
Pierce Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Pierce: For extremely dangerous fireworks
Pierce Absurdist Character Comedy Pierce: We'll be together forever.
Pierce: Well, as long as you don't gain more than fifteen pounds.
Pierce Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Jeff: I've had more romantic encounters than you've had study sessions.
Jeff: I once made a woman climax just by describing my bone structure.
Jeff: Another time, I seduced a girl with a single wink. She didn't even know what hit her.
Jeff: I'm basically a sexual god among mortals.
Jeff Escalation Character Comedy Troy: Jeff's been working really hard. I'm worried he's getting worked up.
Britta: Troy, you need to stop enabling his behavior. He's using work as a defense mechanism to avoid processing his deep-seated abandonment issues.
Troy: He's just studying for a test.
Britta: Exactly. Classic avoidance pattern.
Britta Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Abed: Britta's attracted to broken things because she's broken. It's a defense mechanism. She'll date you, realize you're not actually damaged, and leave you for someone with real problems. It's why she dates so much.
Britta: I'm standing right here.
Abed: I know. This is part of why you'll never change.
Abed Character Comedy Observational Troy: Actually, it wasn't just one time. There were multiple incidents. He used to make me sing show tunes while he... while he did things.
Britta: Oh my God, Troy.
Troy: And the worst part? He had really good taste in musicals. So now whenever I hear 'Defying Gravity,' I just...
Troy Escalation Cringe/Discomfort Callback Troy: My heart is a football, and it just got intercepted by the blitz of life.
Troy Absurdist Character Comedy Jeff: So what do you know about Pierce?
Wu Mei: Oh, Pierce? He's a young, athletic guy. Very into social media. Always talking about his cryptocurrency portfolio. Super trendy fashion sense. Really into TikTok dances.
Jeff: ...Are you describing Pierce Hawthorne?
Wu Mei: Yes. Why?
Wu Mei Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Annie: That's why they call me Irony-Free Annie.
Jeff: Yeah, well, the other stuff they call you is way worse.
Jeff Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Abed: My mind is open.
Abed: But not so open that I don't know you're acting like Angela from Who's the Boss?.
Abed Setup/Punchline Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Abed: Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool.
Pierce: I'm touched you guys threw me an engagement party.
Annie: Yeah, well, we were threatened.
Annie Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Pierce: You're like the Oprah of this place.
Wu Mei: I'm nothing like Oprah.
Pierce: Well, you're both... you're both very successful and influential women.
Wu Mei: That's literally all we have in common.
Pierce: Exactly! And you're both... not white.
Jeff: Yeah, and like a baboon, you throw your feces at people when they get too close.
Jeff Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Chang: You see, I've prepared a backup meal in case they refuse to serve me.
Chang: It's not paranoia if it's happened before. I've got lo mein in my pocket, a thermos of soup in my jacket, and emergency dumplings in my socks.
Chang Character Comedy Absurdist Chang: In Chinese culture, the family name comes first, then the given name. It's a sign of respect for your ancestors.
Chang: Of course, back in the day, they'd name their kids things like 'Cow Tooth' and 'Broken Stick.' So maybe the order doesn't matter as much as we think.
Chang Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Annie: Pierce, that's not what that means.
Pierce: Well, I'm going to keep saying it anyway because I like the way it sounds.
Annie: Pierce, you really need to be more sensitive about the language you use.
Pierce: What? I'm cool with it.
Troy: I made it all up. There was no molestation. I just wanted to see if I could get away with it.
Troy: Why isn't anyone laughing?
Troy Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Callback Jeff: Wu Mei, I've uncovered your entire operation. The shell companies in the Cayman Islands, the forged credentials, the infiltration of Greendale—it's all here.
Wu Mei: You Googled me.
Jeff: I... yes, but—
Wu Mei: For like twenty minutes.
Wu Mei Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Pierce: Well, I'm not afraid to admit it — I conquered that woman like a European colonizer.
Pierce Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Pierce: You weren't trying to help me, Jeff. You were trying to help yourself feel like a good person. And the saddest part? It almost worked.
Pierce Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Britta: I'm just hoping to fall for someone healthy and normal for once.
Troy: Well, I'm pretty normal.
Britta: Troy, you're afraid of ceiling fans.
Troy: Ceiling fans are a real threat!
Britta Character Comedy Absurdist Troy: I lied. There was no molestation. I just wanted attention.
Teacher: Well, that's disappointing. I already typed up the report.
Troy: I just want to be interesting.
Professor Duncan: You know what's interesting? The fact that you want to be interesting makes you interesting. But the moment you become interesting, you'll stop wanting to be interesting, which makes you uninteresting again. So the only way to stay interesting is to never achieve your goal of being interesting.
Troy: ...I hate this class.
Abed: After extensive analysis of power dynamics, hierarchical structures, and interpersonal relationships within our group, I've completed my comprehensive study on who, definitively, is the boss.
Abed: It's Britta.
Abed Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Troy: They're doing an all-black production of Fiddler on the Roof.
Troy: It's called Fiddler on the Roof... of Harlem.
Troy Wordplay/Pun Absurdist They're like Chinese Mexicans.
Wu Mei Character Comedy Absurdist 