They drank absinthe as one would drink water, one was called Verlaine, the other was Rimbaud. To write poems, you don’t drink water … It was even common knowledge: Verlaine, Rimbaud were great lovers of absinthe, just like Musset, while Baudelaire was (very) fond of wine, Apollinaire, Poe … and many others loved drinks in general. They wrote under his influence, but they also wrote to his glory. What about the great haiku poets? Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre sake sommelier wonders for you, the poems soften everyday life and their words are warm during this holiday season shaken by the health crisis. First of all, the Haiku is a short poem of Japanese origin that originated at the end of the 17th century. Short, because in general haiku is on 3 lines: 5, 7 or 5 syllables in its most classic form.
Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre: The haiku is an image of the present moment, of the ephemeral. It is extremely simple so that the senses become aware of the emotion it gives them. Sake has often been discussed in haiku.
The great poet, probably the best known of all, Matsuo Bashô (1643-1694) was a Zen monk, left behind nearly 2000 haiku. Blackberries, without flowers for the butterfly which gathers them, is it his hermit sake? Or: Moon of the harvests, the blue sea, tonight, with the scent of sake. Be inspired for your holiday meals too, and have fun composing a haiku while serving a little sake. To be consumed of course in moderation.
Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre is a “made in Bordeaux” woman! In 2012, she launched the Chloé and Wines blog to talk about her wine and spirits discoveries with a focus on wine tourism. Since 2014, she has been a sake sommelier and is the only female sake educator in France, Otsukimi, Moon Drinkers – Sake Sommelier, Sake Educator and Shochu Advise. Chloe participates in numerous competitions as a jury, rates sakes and wines for an international magazine and is officially recognized by the Japanese government as a “Japanese Food Supporter”. Chloé regularly gives talks on sake and Japanese spirits. She joined the team of bloggers of France Bleu Gironde in 2020, very happy to share her knowledge and her passion for Japan on the air! Kanpai! (Cheers !).