French Shopping
Amazing how many differences there are between different cultures. Take for example wine.
When I go to do the house shopping in Champion (that's French for supermarket), I have a functional shopping list in my head. One of the things on this shopping list this afternoon was white wine. You'd think that's an easy thing to get - after all, it's easy to separate from the non wine products in the shop, and it also easy to separate from the non-red products in the shop. In one phrase, I'm looking for white wine.
Alas no. we're in France. Where complexity is cherished, but never openly expressed. I come home with my 2 bottles of (what I thought were) white wine, only to discover that they were actually dessert wine. How did I discover this? Well, I opened them and tasted them. And here's the shocker. It's not like I read the label for the second time and spotted the "this is dessert wine" sign that I had not seen in the shop. It's not like there was a subtle footnote on the back of the label saying "this is dessert wine". Oh no. This is France. Where a combination and subtlety and obtuseness is worshipped for its sake alone.
It seems the answer lay on the 5th line of the back label - according to my French Swiss housemate. 10 point font of course. If a wine is suitable for serving with Foie Gras (as was stated on the 5th line of the back label), then that means it is a desert wine..... I mean for fuck' sake.....
When I go to do the house shopping in Champion (that's French for supermarket), I have a functional shopping list in my head. One of the things on this shopping list this afternoon was white wine. You'd think that's an easy thing to get - after all, it's easy to separate from the non wine products in the shop, and it also easy to separate from the non-red products in the shop. In one phrase, I'm looking for white wine.
Alas no. we're in France. Where complexity is cherished, but never openly expressed. I come home with my 2 bottles of (what I thought were) white wine, only to discover that they were actually dessert wine. How did I discover this? Well, I opened them and tasted them. And here's the shocker. It's not like I read the label for the second time and spotted the "this is dessert wine" sign that I had not seen in the shop. It's not like there was a subtle footnote on the back of the label saying "this is dessert wine". Oh no. This is France. Where a combination and subtlety and obtuseness is worshipped for its sake alone.
It seems the answer lay on the 5th line of the back label - according to my French Swiss housemate. 10 point font of course. If a wine is suitable for serving with Foie Gras (as was stated on the 5th line of the back label), then that means it is a desert wine..... I mean for fuck' sake.....
posted by The Apprentice at 1:58 AM
2 Comments:
Did it come in a slightly smaller than usual bottle? Is it a muscat or a sauternes...?
If you had gone looking for a bottle of red wine, and come out with port, would we feel sorry for you...?
Ahh no no no. The Frenchies are far too clever to use a clear signal like a different shaped bottle or a clearly recognised desert name like Muscat.
No no. I think it was a Lauriac? Not sure. But it's definitely in a bottle that looks like the real deal. And it's 13% alcohol - so no hints there either.
The thing about Port is - well it's Portuguese. And they don't aspire to complexity as much. So they write Port on the bottle....
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