The French love rules, and they are mine fields for unsuspecting ex-pats, until they learn the ropes. We had our first taste of THE RULES for drinking shortly after we moved into the château. One afternoon, we spontaneously invited a group of 10 or so French folks who were visiting Nicole and Pierre to come up and have a look at our apartment. It was 5-ish in the afternoon, so as everyone was standing around admiring the apartment, I said, “Would anyone care for a glass of wine”? There was silence, followed by startled looks all around, and then, “Merci, mais non”. It was clear we had made a social faux-pas, but how could that be?
I later quizzed Nicole, who admitted we had breached protocol. She proceeded to teach us THE RULES for drinking/serving alcohol, if one is to do it properly.
Rule number one : You ONLY drink wine with food. You may drink it with lunch, and then again in the evening beginning with apéritifs (served with a few munchies), but not until after the magic hour of 7:00.
We were confused. “In a café, in the heat of summer, you can’t order a glass of nice chilled white wine at 3:00, or even 5:00?”
Non. “At a café or bar,” Nicole said, “you may drink coffee or tea, or un sirope, or even a beer, but no wine until 7.”
Photo: Drinking beer in the afternoon--it's huge.
There was more. Apéritifs may be champagne or crémant (the local version of champagne), or white wine, never red. Red commences only with the serious food. The host always pours the wine (don't touch that bottle, even if it's in front of you), and a French hostess never pours wine—-even the very enlightened Nicole holds to this this one.
And here’s a really interesting rule: a pitcher of water is set on the table at a meal
but not normally offered, since offering it would subtly imply that the guest has
overindulged, and should perhaps make the switch. If you’re offered water, take note!
One more, which is quite a bother: At a party, you don’t pour the first drink until EVERYONE arrives. And the French are not known for their promptness. So very often, chez nous, when the early guests have arrived for a party Ron will cheerfully announce “American rules apply!” Is it just my imagination, or do even the French smile when they hear that illegal cork pop?
Photo, of our friend Dee: Women can't pour wine in France. There may be a backlash.
Why are the rules important? Well, évidemment, such a structure helps keeps abuse at bay. But also the drinking of wine, it turns out, is somewhat of a class distinction. Ouvriers (blue collar types) may be seen in the cafés having their petit blanc at a frighteningly early hour, and sometimes drink it throughout the day. Drinking wine at the improper time marks you as mal éléve-badly brought up--or worse.
It’s close to 5:00 now, think I’ll go have a coffee—-oh wait, there are a whole set of rules for that too! But that, dear readers, would fill up another entire post.
RECIPE: Roasted Pepper Toasts
So, it’s 7:00, time for that white wine, but you must serve it with food! Here is a quick little something to offer with apéros that you can make at the last minute, from ingredients that are probably in your cupboard. With a green salad on the side, it makes a nice starter or a light lunch, too.
1 can white beans
Olive oil
a lemon wedge
2 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
1 jar roasted red and yellow peppers
Chopped fresh basil (chives or parsley will work too, or the green part of scallions)
Crackers or toasted baguette slices
Rinse and drain the white beans and put them in a food processor with the garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, and some sea salt and ground pepper. Blend until smooth and the consistency of a spread, adding more olive oil if needed.
Drain peppers well, and chop.
Spread crackers or toasts with bean spread and top with peppers and chopped basil.
In the Comments this week: Mille mercies, y’all, for the thoughts on the lemon pasta recipe! Carol suggests clarified butter and explains fond de volaille; Jacqueline has a great idea—-meyer lemon oil! Tricia suggests adding an egg yolk to the sauce ( I tried it, it works well). Diane has a lemon tree so we may hear more from her. As for me, I’m going to veer off and add a bit of crème fraiche to cut the sharpness. Happy cooking!