For Francophiles, like myself, who need a
thrice-weekly slice of French life, one can do no better than read Kristin
Espinasse’s blog, which provides gentle and humorous lessons in love, life and
language, whilst adding French words to ones vocabulary that never featured in
my French classes at school. Originally from Arizona, she now lives in a farmhouse with a vineyard, run by Jean-Marc her husband (the Chief Grape) near the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards - his Rouge et
Bleu wine is truly formidable, our choice for Christmas lunch (see below). Kristin's stories are complimented by photographs - the kinds of sideways glimpses of French life and landscape, I wish I could have taken.
 |
| Smokey and Blaize, Kristin's dogs |
I met them at a wine event in Earls Court a couple of
years ago. I said how much I enjoyed her blog and she suggested I wrote one. So
with her encouragement I have finally set mouse to keyboard or something.
Her books, distilled from the blogs, are the best
birthday present anybody could give or receive.
To quote from Booklist: Espinasse's
"definitions" come from her everyday experiences, particularly those
provoked by her children's frequent delight at their mother's mistakes,
misuses, and mispronunciation of words. When her son asks her to pass the ficelle, she searches the table for a
string, not comprehending at first that the same word applies to an
exceptionally narrow loaf of bread. Her daughter's loss of a baby tooth reminds
Espinasse that French children earn a visit from the little mouse, not the
tooth fairy.
Mistral red 2009 :
- 90 points on the Wine Spectator : "Rich and smoky, with mouthfilling charcoal, roasted fig, tobacco and plum sauce notes all rolling through the broad finish. This has muscle, but stays accessible and balanced. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Roussanne. Drink now. 1,000 cases made. –JM"
No comments:
Post a Comment