Five things they don鈥檛 tell you鈥� about wine in France
Never chill a bottle of red and other unwritten rules around drinking wine - but do you agree?
Pouring just a third of a glass is elegant
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1. Les 补辫茅谤辞蝉
Wine is a recent arrival at French 补辫茅谤辞蝉.
Traditionally, ap茅ritifs were pastis for monsieur, and kir for madame (white wine with cr猫me de cassis).
Today, however, a glass of dry white or ros茅 is perfectly acceptable, although it might come with more than a dash of grapefruit juice in it.
厂补苍迟茅!
Read more: 鈥楾chin tchin鈥�, 鈥榮ant茅鈥�, eye contact: The rituals of French 补辫茅谤辞蝉
2. Les digestifs
Red wine is often paired with cheese, but at formal meals, once the fromage has been removed, the wine will disappear as well.
Dessert might be paired with a sweet wine, and you might thereafter appreciate a petit digestif, but the real wine will not come back until lunch tomorrow.
Tchin!
3. Le petit verre
Glasses should never be filled up.
Just a third of a glass is elegant, so the nez can be appreciated because, naturellement, you are not going to knock it back like a thirsty camel.
If the wine mysteriously evaporates, however, pourquoi pas a further s辞耻辫莽辞苍?
A la votre!
4. Les faux pas
Do not chill red wine. Just don鈥檛 do it. Do not put it in the fridge, do not add ice cubes.
If you insist on committing this crime against the grape, at least confine yourself to abusing dry ros茅 and/or white wine drunk somewhere down south and preferably in la France profonde during les grandes vacances.
Trinquons!
Read more: Ros茅 wine guide - a tour through France鈥檚 pink wine producing regions
5. La f锚te
If you ever find yourself learning a French drinking song, particularly if the chorus involves lots of glouya, glouya, glouya, be resigned to not getting home until dawn.
You will almost certainly have a wooden gob and need much coffee.
贵茅濒颈肠颈迟补迟颈辞苍蝉!
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