Many years ago, the French ruled England. One of the many consequences of this domination: What the French do sans class distinction—drink wine—obtained a class distinction for the English, the oppressed. To this day, in all English-speaking countries, wine is associated with the upper classes, and beer with the lower ones. This is why wine is so fucking expensive and beer is so fucking cheap. But this is only a mistake of history. Every happy hour, the Royal Room, a lovely jazz bar in Columbia City, attempts to correct this historical error by serving drinkable white and red wine at $3 a glass. (The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave S, www.theroyalroomseattle.com, 4–6 pm)