You have been traveling vicariously with your nose in your glass of wine for two good years, failing to set foot in the vineyard.
Two vintages in which our winegrower friends around the world will have been left to themselves and their vines, under the yoke of a pandemic that will have damaged relationships and human contacts.
Come to think of it, the latter will undoubtedly have been happy not to be disturbed at all hours of the day and night and to have been left simply to their daydreams.
Put yourself in their place. You opt for your daily nap and ring! ring!the “club of sulfur-free organic wine lovers wearing DIAM 30 corks” arrives without warning and then leaves only after a few hours, buying only one bottle of wine…
This is undoubtedly, from my point of view, a more than sufficient reason not to embrace the profession of winegrower, not for this simple bottle sold, but for the sabotaged holy siesta!
Are you planning to move to the locals soon? A few rules of etiquette should already be in your travel diary. Let’s detail.
A little respect, all the same
Punctuality. The restaurant industry has been grappling for years with this filthy little consumer cowardice called no show by the Anglo-Saxons, or these reservations made at the restaurant where, ultimately, the lascar in question does not show up, having maliciously planned two or three other appointments elsewhere that he will honor or not according to his mood or the Humidex index . A simply filthy reflex.
This cowardice should also not invite you to lie on the pretext that the GPS which serves as your moral compass was leading you to Aubigny-sur-Cher instead of Aubigny-sur-Nèreen due to a typographical error or, clearly more villainous, that your alarm clock still under the influence of the lag has mistaken the time zone.
A winegrower, although located outside the tourist circuit, does not wear a watch in the shape of an hourglass of time on his wrist.
Another point: Know how to leave without abusing the hospitality of your host. His schedule is often busier than your own vacation schedule.
Presentation. Ringing the doorbell of a winery in flip-flops and soggy underpants because you’re late or you’ve lost your suitcases already exposes you to being confused with Franck Dubosc in his sketch “Le kéké des plage”, which, between you, me and Nadine de Rothschild, is not very glorious.
Without going so far as to mimic the winegrower’s blue work dungarees, all the same bring a little wool to anesthetize any discomfort linked to the stay in the cellar for three hours and twenty minutes and its painful 10 degrees Celsius. You will thank me!
Attitude and courtesy. On site, don’t play “Ti-Joe Connaissant” by bragging about having drunk a “Mouton 45” the day before or, even more swaggering, don’t compare it with the fruit of his labor. Also avoid telling the winemaker how he should have make your wine because the use of the barrel at 200% irritates you. Listen and tame it.
Above all, take an interest in its wine and take advantage of its presence to penetrate its intimacy. Do not make an Alain Delon of yourself by outrageously flattering his wine under these “Words…Words…” sung by the great Dalida. Honesty pays. He will appreciate. This attitude is a real sesame for the future. Other boutanches from behind the bundles then risk, because you have a good mouth and you diligently read the wine chronicle of the To have to, to be generously uncorked. This, for free. The class, what. I like, for my part, to practice this cultural exchange which consists in offering a bottle of Quebec wine to the winegrower.
Suddenly, the face lights up. Mine too when, as you leave, the man sometimes slips you a bottle or two from his own cellar. At the time, Bernard “Nady” Foucault (Clos Rougeard) rewarded me with two passes of his 2010 “Les Poyeux” cuvée. What would you have done in my place?