Buying Wine in France AN INTERVIEW with Isabelle Gosselin, owner of Les Caves d Aligre in Paris Interview conducted by Susana Poveda Buying Wine W with AN INTERVIE, owner of lin se os G e ell Isab in Paris. re lig d A s Les Cave in France ucted by Interview cond Susana Poveda Get the Recordings for Free at... www.fluentfrench.com/samples.html Included when you signup: Original interview recording Slowed down recordings Echoing recordings to help you improve your ear Oral Gymnastics Exercises to help you finally understand spoken French Copyright 0. All rights reserved. David Tolman, Publisher Toll free (USA) -888-9-80 dtolman@fluentfrench.com www.fluentfrench.com years - In business since 00
Buying Wine in France Buying Wine in France An interview with Isabelle Gosselin, owner of the Parisian wine shop, Les Caves D Aligre. Interview conducted by Susana Poveda. Please share this pdf! Download the recordings for free at http://www.fluentfrench.com/samples.html What you ll get in addition to the recordings: Track The first track in each set of recordings coaches you on how to use that type of recording. There are types of recordings: original interview, original interview slowed-down by %, and slow echoing recordings for accent and ear improvement. Track Nous allons nous intéresser à We are going to take a look at une boutique de vins qui s'appelle Les Caves d'aligre a wine store that is called Les Caves d Aligre dans le douzième arrondissement à Paris (located) in the twelfth arrondissement in Paris Links to other free interviews pour savoir comment nous, les clients non spécialistes, to know how we, the non-expert customers, Email newsletter with my free French lessons, plus notifications when new recordings become available. Email series: French oral gymnastics (helps you train your ear so that you can finally understand spoken French.) Copyright 0. All rights reserved. David Tolman, Publisher Toll free (USA) -888-9-90 dtolman@fluentfrench.com www.fluentfrench.com nous sommes conseillés pour acheter notre vin. we are advised to purchase our wine. Je suis avec Isabelle Gosselin qui est caviste. I am with Isabelle Gosselin who is a wine merchant. s'intéresser à = to take an interest in. Here, we are going to take a look at this subject. s appeler: literally, to call oneself, to call itself. appeler = to call, to call for. une cave = a cellar; (by extention) a wineshop. Note that cave is a false friend. If you want to say a cave, the French word is une grotte. un arrondissement: a city district. Paris, Lyon and Marseille are divided into arrondissements. un caviste: person in charge of the wine cellar in a restaurant or hotel. Also, a wine merchant, which Isabel Gosselin obviously is.
ww w.fl u entfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 7 Bonjour. Hello. 8 Alors nous sommes dans votre boutique qui Now we are in your store that 8 Bonjour. Hello. 9 a pignon sur rue. Pouvez-vous nous la décrire? is well established. Can you describe it for us? 9 On dit "caviste" et pas sommelière. We say wine merchant and not wine waitress 0 Alors c'est une petite boutique. Well, it is a small store. 0 Quelle est la différence? What is the difference? Elle doit faire une quarantaine de mètres carrés, à peine. It must measure about forty square meters, just barely. Alors le caviste va choisir des vins et pour Well, the wine merchant is going to choose wines and in order Eh bien, elle est couverte de vins des murs au plafond. Well, it is covered with wines from the walls to the ceiling. les choisir, il les analyse. Il analyse leur équilibre, leur capacité to choose them, he analyzes them. He analyses their balance, their ability Bien sûr, les bouteilles sont couchées, c'est impératif : Of course, the bottles are lying flat, it is imperative: de vieillir. Il imagine tout de suite avec quoi ça va aller. to age. He imagines right away what (food) it will go with. le vin doit toujours mouiller le bouchon pour que celui-ci wine must always wet the cork so that it (the cork) Le sommelier, sa première fonction, c est sur (As for) the wine waiter, his first function, it is on garde bien son étanchéité. C'est ce pourquoi les bouteilles keeps its tightness. That is why the bottles la dégustation pour se permettre de reconnaître les vins tasting to allow himself to recognize the wines doivent être conservées couchées. must be kept lying horizontally. bien sûr, après, de les conseiller. Mais on n'est pas of course, afterwards, to recommend them. But we are not 7 du côté du choix. On est plutôt du côté du pur gustatif. in the area of choice. We are more in the area of pure flavor. avec quoi ça va aller: literally, with what that is going to go. On To make sure that we have not confused you with our translation of on as we : the idea here is that, when one is a sommelier, one is no longer in the area of choice; rather, one is worrying about flavor only. du coté de: used here to mean, in the area of. le côté = the side. See page page 9 for du côté de (in the area of..; over near...) and page for le côté champignon et noix (the mushroom and nut aspect, the mushroom and nut taste). avoir pignon sur rue: said of a successful, going business, as opposed to one that is not yet established. Literally, it has its pignon (the triangular-shaped part of the wall that you see on the end of a building when you cannot see the roof (when the two slopes of roof are invisible because receding away from you, parallel to your line of vision)) on a main street (une rue) instead of a side street or path. To help you understand constructions with pouvoir: literally, Pouvez-vous décrire means Are you able to describe pouvoir = to be able to. Elle doit faire, literally, that must make. To give the result of a calculation, you can use faire. Exemples: ça fait = that makes, that measures. Deux et deux font quatre. = Two and two make four. à peine = hardly, barely. Literally, with difficulty. étanchéité: watertightness, airtightness. A barrier that is impenetrable can be called étanche.
ww w.fl u entfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 7 Et ils sont classés par terroir de façon à ce que And they are classified by region in order that des spécialistes du vin. Comment procédez-vous experts on wine. How do you go about 8 le client s'y repère le mieux possible, même si mon travail the customer finds his way as well as possible, even if my work pour les conseiller? advising them? 9 est, bien sûr, de l'orienter et de le conseiller. is, of course, to guide him and to advise him. Je garde toujours à l'esprit que on boit du vin I always keep in mind that people drink wine 0 Et oui, parce que très souvent, Why yes, because very often, pour se faire plaisir. Donc ma première question, c'est for enjoyment. Thus my first question, it is nous n y connaissons rien. Ici, n'importe qui we do not know anything about it. Here, anyone 7 d'abord, bien sûr, avec quoi ils vont l'accompagner : si c'est first of all, of course, what they are going to accompany it with: if it is peut venir. La majorité de vos clients ne sont pas can come in. The majority of your customers are not 8 pour l'apéritif, pour un dessert, pour un plat simple ou for the apéritif, for a dessert, for a dish (that is) simple or 9 élaboré, pour un recevoir son patron ou bien au contraire, elaborate, for a to entertain one s boss or quite on the contrary, de façon à ce que = in order that, so that. Grammar fans may notice that de façon à ce que is followed by a verb in the subjunctive, in this case, s y repère. It is a subjunctive form of se repérer (to get one s bearings; to find one s way around.) s y repère. As noted above, this comes from se repérer. What is the y doing here? It is a replacement for the idea of location. Instead of se repérer dans le magasin (to find one s way in the shop), the idea is s y repérer (to find one s way there.) S y connaître en quelque chose = to know a lot about something. Je m y connais en mécanique. = I am well versed in mechanics. Note that, in fact, many of the customers are very knowledgeable. The reporter talks about neophytes because one of the goals of this interview was to show you that, in France, you can go in and tell the vendor that you know nothing and let them guide you to the right bottle based on your budget and the type of meal you are planning. n importe qui = anyone. See another example on page. A tip for understanding this and remembering it: think of n importe as meaning has no importance; doesn t matter and compare the following: n'importe quoi (anything), n importe où (wherever; anywhere), and n'importe quel (any one, whichever one). 0 pour recevoir une bande de copains. to entertain a group of friends (buddies). Et à partir de là, je vais je lui demande ensuite And from there, I am going I ask him, next, Comment procédez-vous pour les conseiller? literally, How do you proceed to counsel them? garder quelque chose à l esprit / garder quelque chose en tête: to keep something in mind. se faire plaisir: to please oneself, to do something that gives oneself pleasure. l apéritif (l apéro for short) is an important social custom. This is the time before a meal when one sits down away from the table and has something to drink and some small finger foods. After this snack has been finished, the family and guests move to the table to eat. You are more likely to be invited to a French person's house for a long apéritif than for a sit-down meal. recevoir: literally, to receive. Can be used to express the idea that one is entertaining guests at home or greeting and serving clients in a business.
ww w.fl u entfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 7 quel est son budget, parce que ça rentre en ligne de compte what is his budget, because that enters into account de noix qui se marient très, très bien avec ce plat. of walnut that pairs very, very well with this dish. pour tout le monde, quelle que soit la taille du budget, for everyone, regardless of the size of the budget. bien sûr. of course. TRACK Et à partir de là, je l'oriente. Par exemple, And starting from there, I guide him. For example, Est-ce que parfois, c'est l'inverse qui Is it that sometimes, it is the opposite that vous me demandez, vous allez faire un poulet à la crème et you ask me, you are going to do chicken with cream and se produit? C'est-à-dire que je Un client vient happens? That is to say that I A customer comes 7 aux morilles, je vous orienterai, certainement, vers un beau morels, I will guide you, certainly, towards a beautiful chez vous, vous demande une bouteille de tel vin to your store, asks you for a bottle of such and such a wine 8 vin du Jura qui va parfaitement avec les morilles, Jura wine, which goes perfectly with morels, et vous demande avec quoi il pourrait l'accompagner? and asks you with what he could accompany it? 9 puisqu'on retrouve dans le vin du Jura, qui est fait since we find in Jura wine, which is made 0 à partir du cépage Savagnin, ces tonalités très morille, from the Savagnin grape, those very morel tones, très champignon, un peu fumées, sur un fond d'agrumes et very mushroom, slightly smoked, with a base of citrus and quel que soit/quelle que soit: whatever; whatever may be. Grammar fans may like the word-by-word breakdown: quel (which) + que (that) + soit (be). soit is a subjunctive form of être (to be). le cépage: the vine type. Note that, where an English speaker will refer to the grape variety, the French speaker will often refer to the vine variety. Note that le cépage comes from the word le cep de vigne (the vine stock.) Do not make the mistake of thinking that noix refers to an indeterminate nut. The different nuts have their own names. Noix = walnut. Noisette = hazelnut. Noix de cajou = cashew nut. Cacahuète = peanut. se marier avec: literally, to marry itself with. Often used when one is saying that two tastes or foods are being put together. See slightly different uses of the idea of marrying a wine with a food on pages, and 8. Here is why we wrote se marient (plural) instead of se marie (singular): because we consider the subject of the verb to be both les tonalités and le fond. se produire: to happen, to occur. Literally, to produce itself. Compared to se passer, which also means, to happen, se produire gives the feeling of something happening more suddenly. chez vous = to your home, to your place. The context will tell you whether chez... refers to the person s home or to their place of work. See other examples of chez referring to a person s place of work on pages and and an example of being invited chez les gens (to peoples homes) on page 9.
8 ww w.fl u entfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 9 Alors ça arrive de temps en temps. En général, Well that happens from time to time. Generally, Alors maintenant oui, parce que mes clients Well now yes, because my customers j'avoue que c'est moi, emportée par ma passion, qui I confess that it is I, carried away by my passion, who 7 me font vraiment confiance. Je l'avoue en toute modestie! really have confidence in me. I say this in all modesty! 7 me mets à lui dire : «Oh ben, vous savez, le Saint-Joseph sets myself to telling him, Oh, why, you know, Saint-Joseph 8 Maintenant, ils [ne] se posent même plus d'autres questions ; Now, they don t even ask themselves other questions; 8 va très, très bien sur le canard, le confit de canard» goes very, very well with duck, duck confit. 9 ils me foncent droit dessus et ils me disent : they come straight to me and they say to me, 9 ou bien alors, «tel Corbières sur un canard aux oranges», or else, such and such Corbière with duck with orange sauce, 0 «Voila: bœuf aux carottes», «Lapin à la moutarde» ou Here we are: beef with carrots, rabbit with mustard or 0 Voila! C'est plutôt moi qui emportée par ma passion, There! It is more often I who carried away by my passion, ou bien «Moussaka grec». Voilà! or else Greek Moussaka. That s is! qui conseille le client dans ce sens-là. who advise the customer in that direction. Souvent quand on est invité chez les gens, Often, when we are invited to people s homes, Le plus souvent, vous avez Most often, you have on nous dit d'amener une bouteille. C'est vague! they tell us to bring a bottle. This is vague! des demandes précises? C'est-à-dire «Ce soir, je specific requests? That is to say, This evening I Alors oui. Ça, c'est toujours le petit problème, Why, yes. That, it is always the little problem, vais faire un gigot d'agneau. Avec quoi est-ce que am going to prepare a leg of lamb. With what is it that je peux l'accompagner?» I can accompany it? arriver: to happen, to come to pass. See an example of arriver à quelqu un (to happen to someone) on page. se mettre à faire quelque chose = to start to do something. Literally, to set oneself to doing something. See another example on page : se mettent à bavarder. ben, an informal, spoken version of bien. le canard confit: conserve of duck; potted duck. Duck legs or breast preserved in duck fat. It is sold in tins in French supermarkets. Avec quoi est-ce que je peux l'accompagner? To help you think in French like the speaker, keep in mind that peux (pouvoir) means to be able. So, literally, Avec quoi est-ce que je peux l accompagner means With what is it that I am able to accompany it? faire confiance à quelqu un = to trust someone, to put one s trust in someone. avouer = to confess; to avow; to acknowledge; to own up to. se poser une question = to ask oneself a question. Compare to poser une question à quelqu un: to ask someone a question. foncer (colloquial) = to go for it, to go full bore, to put the pedal to the metal. Here, the people are not floating around the store, hoping to find something on their own before asking their question. Instead, they walk straight to Madame Gosselin and ask their question. les gens: people. chez les gens = to people s homes.
0 www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France parce que, effectivement, on [ne] sait pas ce qu'on va because, indeed, you don t know what you are going ont l'habitude de manger, si c'est des végétariens are in the habit of eating, if they are vegetarians manger : si c'est du poisson et que je vous recommande to eat: if it is fish and I recommend to you ou bien si c est, au contraire, des grands or rather if they are, on the contrary, big 7 un Graves, en Bordeaux, qui est puissant, qui est lourd, a Graves, in Bordeaux, which is powerful, which is heavy, des grands amateurs de viande, ou voilà. big meat lovers, or there you have it. 8 qui est charnu, ça [ne] va pas aller très bien. which is full-bodied, that is not going to go (with the dish) very well. Sinon, si c'est plus si c est des repas plus avec Otherwise, if it is more if it is for meals (that are) more with 9 Alors j'essaie de faire situer mon client So I try to get my customer to specify des gens qu'on connaît moins, des repas plus mondains, people who they don t know as well, meals (which are) more formal, 0 en lui demandant si c est des amis proches ; si c'est by asking him if these are close friends; (and) if these are 7 j'essaie de diriger vers des vins qui vont avoir une I try to orient (them) toward wines that are going to have a des amis proches, s'il sait un peu ce qui ce qu'ils close friends, if he knows a little bit what what they 8 un éventail de mariages, si je peux dire, plus large. Voilà. a range of pairings, if I may say so, (which is) wider. That s it. 9 Comme certains vins de Loire : un beau Saumur-Champigny : Like some Loire Valley wines: a nice Saumur-Champigny: effectivement: Note that effectivement refers to something that was said previously and usually carries the added meaning of yes, in fact. Here, the fact that one doesn t know what will be served was not stated, but was definitely understood. So Madame Gosselin says effectivement to agree, that, yes, that is the whole problem. See other examples of effectivement on pages 7 and 9. en Bordeaux. Here, the speaker is reminding us of which region the Graves appellation is, in case we don t know. charnu: fleshy, thick. Related to la chair (the flesh). See another example on page 9. situer: to site, to situate, to locate. Here, Madame Gosselin gets the buyer to give her the context. The construction she uses is faire situer. To help you understand how the French express that one person is going to get another person to do something: the French often combine faire with other verbs to express the idea that one is going to have something done or make someone else do it. faire faire quelque chose = to have something done. faire venir quelqu un = to have someone come. See a similar example en le faisant parler (by getting him to speak) on page. 0 très élégant, très en finesse, petits fruits rouges confiturés, very elegant, very refined, small red jammy fruits, avoir l habitude de faire quelque chose, literally, to have the habit of doing something. Compare to prendre l habitude = to grow accustomed; to get used to something. connaître. Recall that to know something intellectually is savoir. And to be familiar with a person or situation is connaître. mondain: fashionable, urbain, sophisticated. un mariage (in the context of wine and food): a pairing. You hear this word constantly when the French talk about wine. The question is always, If one were going to eat this dish or that dish, what wine would go well with it? See another example on page 0. en finesse: grammar fans may notice that this is an adverb instead of an adjective. The speaker could simply have said fin (refined); but the adverb en finesse gives a vision of movement. Here, we are working in an area instead of just being refined.
www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France une finale juste un peu relevée! a finish (that is) just slightly spicy! tout le repas? Parce que sinon, ça revient très cher! the whole meal? Because, otherwise, it becomes very expensive! Voilà, je me laisse emporter! Et donc voilà : ça, So there, I am letting myself get carried away! And so there: that 7 Alors, d'abord je demande au client Okay, first I ask the customer ça se mariera avec beaucoup de choses. Donc c est. that will go with many things. So it is 8 s'ils sont nombreux. Si vous dinez en amoureux avec votre if there will be many (guests). If you are dining as lovers with your On retrouve souvent ces vins-là You often find those wines 9 mari ou votre fiancé, je [ne] vais pas vous vous pousser husband or your fiancé, I am not going to push you quand je [ne] sais pas du tout avec quoi ça va aller. when I do not know at all with what (food) it is going to go. 0 à prendre trois bouteilles différentes parce que to take three different bottles because TRACK Imaginons que je vienne vous voir : ce soir Let s imagine that I come to see you: this evening vous finiriez par rouler sous la table! you would end up rolling under the table! Évidemment donc ça va dépendre du nombre de Of course, then, it is going to depend on the number of je fais un poulet je ne sais pas aux herbes. Mais mon I am cooking a chicken I don t know with herbs. But my repas va se composer d'une entrée, d'un plat, meal is going to be composed of a first course, of a main course, d'un dessert, de fromage. À chaque plat son vin? Ou a dessert, and cheese. To each course its wine? Or vous essayez de de proposer un seul vin pour (do) you try to to propose one single wine for se laisser emporter: to let oneself be carried away. Compare to se laisser aller (to let oneself go) and se laisser entraîner (to let oneself be drawn in or pulled along; to succumb to peer pressure). ça va aller. In case you are unsure of the meaning here. The idea is that, when I don t know what food they are going to be drinking it with. se composer de...: literally, to compose itself of... tout le repas: the whole meal. Compare to tous les repas (all of the meals) and to chaque repas (each meal; every meal). revenir can be used to mean to amount to, to come to, to cost. So revenir cher means to be expensive. Compare to le prix de revient (the total cost of the item, including the costs of the raw materials plus production costs.) être nombreux / être nombreuses: to be numerous. Compare the adjective être amoureux / être amoureuse (to be in love) to the adverb en amoureux: (to do something as lovers). Of course, if you don t want to put the emphasis on the love, you can say en couple. There is also the expression être en couple, which means, to be attached, to be seeing or living with someone. The speaker says finirez à but finirez par would have been correct in this case. Compare finir de (To finish doing something) to finir par (to end up doing something.) Regarding this expression, one of our translators remembered an old song: Boire un petit coup c est agréable, boire un petit coup c est doux! Mais il ne faut pas rouler dessous la table, boire un petit coup c est agréable, boire un petit coup c est doux.
www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France convives. Et puis ça va dépendre aussi si vous mangez guests. And then it is going also to depend on if you are eating à prix très, très raisonnables et quand je dis "très at very, very reasonable prices and when I say very en entrée du caviar et qu'ensuite vous faites... as a first course, some caviar and then you (serve) raisonnable", c'est autour de, euros la bouteille, reasonable, it is around or euros per bottle, un pigeon à la marocaine, je [ne] peux pas vous conseiller a moroccan-style pigeon, I am not able to recommend to you 7 qui sont de très jolis vins, techniquement bien faits, et, which are very fine wines, technically well-made, and un seul vin pour ces deux plats : ça n'existe pas. Je only one wine for these two dishes: that doesn t exist. I 8 ensuite, qui sont voilà : qui donnent beaucoup de plaisir, then, which are there : which give a lot of pleasure, 7 Alors soit on choisit un plat qu'on veut privilégier. So, either you choose a dish that you want to privilege. 9 qui ont une complexité, de la longueur en bouche, which have a complexity, a long finish, 8 Parfois on peut faire, si on veut, des demi-bouteilles. Sometimes, you can do, if you wish, half bottles. 0 une palette aromatique, qui sont suffisants an aromatic palette which are sufficient 9 On peut trouver de très jolis vins en demi-bouteilles. You can find some very fine wines in half bottles. pour se faire vraiment plaisir. for true enjoyment. 0 Ça, ça peut être aussi très agréable. That, that can also be very pleasant. Ça veut dire que le prix d une bouteille de vin That means that the price of a bottle of wine Et puis, bien sûr, après, si on peut prendre plusieurs And also, of course, afterwards, if you are able to get several n est pas forcément la garantie de sa qualité? is not necessarily the guaranty of its quality? vins ou si on veut, et bien, je demande le budget et c'est wines or if you wish, well, I ask what the budget is and it is le budget global qui va aussi décider de quel vin on choisit. the overall budget that will also determine which wine you choose. On peut trouver, en France, maintenant, des vins One can find, in France, now, wines Ça n existe pas: literally, that does not exist. The speaker is saying that such a wine, one that could go with both of these dishes, doesn t exist. Note that the French express either... or... with soit... soit... So then, you might ask, Why don t I see the second soit here? Simply because the speaker introduced the alternative (two different half-bottles) with parfois instead of the expected soit. To better understand soit... soit..., see the example on page 9. Notice that our translation includes the word per; but in French, euros la bouteille is correct. une palette aromatique: to confirm that palette here has the meaning you are thinking of, yes, this is like the painter s palette. We could have translated this also as, an aromatic range. We stray from the literal translation here to express what we think was in the mind of the speaker: that the bottle is going to be enjoyed among friends. Compare se faire plaisir (to do something to give oneself pleasure) with faire plaisir à quelqu un (to cause pleasure; to do something that will give pleasure to someone else.). If someone likes the gift you gave them, they might say, Ça me fait très plaisir. Sometimes you will hear someone talk about a purchase that is more expensive than what they SHOULD have spent saying, Oui, je me suis fait plasir. vouloir dire = to mean, literally, to want to say. vouloir = to want. dire = to say
www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 7 On peut trouver des vins pas chers et très bons. One is able to find wines (that are) inexpensive (yet) very good. le Château Pétrus est un bon vin. Voilà. Château Pétrus is a good wine. That's it. Oui, définitivement, on peut! Voilà. C est justement Yes, definitely, one is able to! That s it. This is precisely Moi, mon travail, comme je le vois, c'est, Me, my work, as I see it, it is, l intérêt de mon métier : c est de savoir. the interesting part of my job: it is knowing effectivement, d être capable d'aller dénicher des vins à tous indeed, to be able to go and find wines at all 7 C est ce que je dis toujours quand les clients This is what I always say when the customers les prix donc aussi des petit prix, mais qui [ne] sont pas prices therefore also at small prices, but (wines) which are not 8 me demandent si j'ai les célébrissimes Château Margaux ou ask me if I have the very famous Château Margaux or 7 forcément très connus et qui offrent pourtant, voilà, necessarily very well-known and that offer all the same, that s it, 9 Château Pétrus outre que la clientèle Château Pétrus aside from the fact that the clientele 8 une richesse aromatique, de matière, une capacité à vieillir, a richness of aromas, of texture, an ability to age 0 n est quand même pas courante au prix où sont is nevertheless not common at the prices of (see note) 9 qui soient de qualité. that are of (good) quality. ce genre de bouteilles! Mais qu en plus this type of bottles! But in addition, personne n a besoin d un caviste pour savoir que nobody has the need of a wine merchant to know that l intérêt de mon métier. Note that l intérêt can mean the interest or the reason for or the utility of. An oft-heard expression is Ça n a aucun intérêt. (There is no advantage to that. There is no reason for doing that.) célèbrissime: even more well-known and celebrated than célébre. A similar example: if something is rarissime, it is super rare. la clientèle... n est pas courante. The speaker means that there aren t many people who can afford these wines. courant: everyday, standard, ordinary. au prix où sont...: literally, at the price where (are found) these wines. Personne n a besoin de combination of personne ne (no one, nobody) and avoir besoin de (to have need of). So to understand better, compare personne n a besoin de... (nobody needs...) to tout le monde a besoin de... (everyone needs...) Another example of effectivement used to mean, indeed, in point of fact, as was mentioned previously. See other examples on pages 0 and 9. D être capable de literally, to be capable of Note that we did not translate this literally, because we worried that capable might have mislead you into thinking that the speaker doesn t necessary go to the vineyards. She is saying that she does do this because she is able. connu: well-known. From connaître (to know, to be familiar with). une capacité de veillir: not all customers are looking for a bottle to drink with tonight s meal. Others want to be prepared for future occasions; and a wine that won t age well and therefore needs to be drunk very soon can t be kept in the cellar for years until the right occasion presents itself. soient: an example of the subjunctive form of être (to be).
8 www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 9 TRACK 9 on va pouvoir avoir des champagnes qui sont très secs avec, one is going to be able to have champagnes that are very dry with, Et concernant le champagne : souvent And concerning champagne: often 0 souvent, une bulle très fine. Là, c'est souvent le chardonnay often, very fine bubbles. Then, it is often Chardonnay on nous dit : «Le champagne en apéritif ou people tell us : Champagne as an apéritif or qui domine, quelque chose de très léger, très aérien, that dominates, something (that is) very light, very aerial le champagne avec un dessert.» D'autres disent : champagne with a dessert. Others say: qui est forcément très facile en apéritif, puisqu'il est léger. which is necessarily very easy as an apéritif, since it is light. «Ah, mais c'est très difficile de marier le champagne et Ah, but it is very difficult to pair champagne with Et puis les champagnes où le pinot noir domine, qui And then also champagnes where Pinot Noir dominates, which le sucré.» Qu'en pensez-vous? sweet taste. What do you think? va être à cent pour cent, qui va être beaucoup plus charnu, is going to be one hundred per cent, which will be much fleshier, Ça dépend et de l'encépagement et du dosage That depends both upon the grape variety and upon the dosage beaucoup plus lourd, beaucoup plus... voilà. Et qui much heavier, much more That s it. And which 7 du champagne. Ce serait un peu long à expliquer parce que... of the champagne. It would be a little long to explain because vont mieux aller soit sur des desserts, mais des desserts... are going to go better either with desserts, but desserts 8 suivant la façon dont le champagne est fait, based on the way in which the champagne is made, 7 comme un gâteau au chocolat, par exemple, soit alors, même like a chocolate cake, for instance, or then even 8 pour manger, le célèbre Clos des Goisses, qui est un très (with the meal), the famous Clos des Goisses which is a very l apéritif (l apéro for short) is an important social custom. This is the time before a meal when one sits down away from the table and has something to drink and some small finger foods. After this snack has been finished, the family and guests move to the table to eat. You are more likely to be invited to a French person's house for a long apéritif than for a sit-down meal. Qu en pensez-vous? Similar to saying, Que pensez vous de cela? To replace de + something, you can use en. et et = both and... l encépagement: the mix of different varieties of grape vine planted on the different parcels. This word is related to le cépage (the vine stock variety (see the footnote on page.)) le dosage: the balance, the mix of the different grapes going in to the Champagne. suivant = according to; depending upon. Literally, following. suivre = to follow. See another example on page 0. 9 0 grand champagne, du côté de Mareuil-sur-Ay et qui great champagne, in the area of Mareuil-sur-Ay and which se met même en carafe c est pas courant de mettre can even be put in a caraf it is not common to put charnu: fleshy, thick. Related to la chair (the flesh). See another example on page 0. Note that the soit here and the soit on the next line go together. soit... soit = either or. soit is a subjunctive form of être (to be), so this is like saying, be it X or be it Y. du côté de = over towards, over by. le côté = the side. se mettre: literally, to put itself, to put oneself. Saying that that this champagne puts itself into a caraf is a way of saying that one can do it.
0 www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France un champagne en carafe, mais il y en a évidemment son prix a champagne in a carafe, but there are some of course its price partout en France? everywhere in France? est aussi dithyrambique. Et lui, par exemple, on le trouve is also extravagant. And it, for example one finds it Tout à fait. Ça fait partie des plaisirs aussi du Absolutely. It is one of the pleasures also of je l ai vu proposer je ne sais pas s il l est encore, I have seen it proposed I don t know if it still is, du métier. Et en plus, c'est vraiment en rencontrant le of the profession. And what s more, it is truly in meeting the je l ai vu proposer en accompagnement d un plat d agneau, I saw it offered as accompaniment of a lamb dish, vigneron et en voyant comment il travaille chez lui qu'on vine grower and in seeing how he works in his vineyard that we voilà, au George V. that s it, at the George V. arrive vraiment à trouver des vignerons avec lesquels really succeed in finding some vine growers with whom Donc, vous voyez que le champagne, après, So, you can see that champagne, (the next subject is), 7 on peut travailler plusieurs années. we are able to work (for) several years. 7 c est vraiment affaire de il faut le connaître, c est comme it is really a matter of one has to know it, it is like 8 Parce que ben, il y a des années plus ou moins Because well, the are years (that are) more or less 8 un vin, le champagne. Au départ c est du vin et donc a wine, champagne is. In the beginning, it is wine and so 9 bonnes. Alors, une très grande année, tous les vignerons sont good. So (in) a very great year, all the vine growers are 9 il doit être appréhendé pour le mariage comme on appréhende it must be approached for pairing as one approaches 0 capables de faire du bon vin ; une année moyenne, capable of making good wine; (in) an average year, 0 un vin. Et il y en a pour tout le repas, de l apéritif au dessert. a wine. And there are some for the whole meal, from apéritif to dessert. c[e n ]est pas forcément le cas. it is not necessarily the case. Donc, c est aussi important, comme ça demande So, it is also important, as that requires TRACK beaucoup de temps de sélectionner des vins, c est aussi a lot of time to select wines, it is also Vous partez donc à la recherche de vin You go out looking then for wine important de pouvoir trouver un certain nombre de vignerons important to be able to find a certain number of wine growers faire partie de quelque chose = to be a part of something. dithyrambique: laudatory, eulogistic, extravagant. In case you are wondering, this is a rarely-used word in French. après (after) is being used here to express, the next thing to know is that une partie = a part. arriver à trouver: to succeed in finding, literally, to arrive to find. Arriver à faire quelque chose = to succeed in doing something, to manage to do something.
www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France avec lesquels on re-goûte tous les ans, bien sûr, with whom we taste again every year, of course C'est en nouant la relation avec le client, en le faisant parler It is by building a relationship with the customer, by getting him to talk le millésime, mais, on sait qu en général, les vignerons the vintage, but we know that in general, the wine growers sur ce qu'il aime, ce qu'il veut, ce qu'il cherche, le budget about what he likes, what he wants, what he is looking for, his budget 7 vont produire un vin de qualité tous les ans. are going to produce a quality wine every year. 7 Il faut savoir sentir si on peut proposer un peu plus. You need to know how to feel whether you are able to propose a little more. 8 Quand vous conseillez vos clients dans votre When you advise your customers in your 8 Parfois, je peux lui demander ouvertement, est-ce que c'est Sometimes, I am able to ask him openly, is it that it is 9 boutique, est-ce que, parfois, store, is it that, sometimes, 9 pour, voilà c est ce que je vous expliquais tout à l heure, for, so there it is that which I was explaining to you earlier, 0 vous faites preuve d'audace? Ou est-ce que vous you are daring? Or is it that you 0 quand c est pour recevoir le patron when it is for entertaining the boss restez prudente? Parce que les gens qui viennent remain cautious? Because the people who come pour demander une augmentation, c[e n ]est pas le moment to request a raise, it is not the (right) time chez vous n'y connaissent rien, donc peut-être to your shop don t know anything (about wine), so perhaps de faire dans l'original. Mais, il vaut mieux, dans ces cas-là, to try to be original. But it is better in those cases, ils n'ont pas envie d'être surpris. they do not wish to be surprised. faire un grand classique : on prend un Saint-Estèphe, to (choose) a great classic : you take a Saint-Estèphe, Alors, ça, c'est c est ben c est l'art de mon métier! Well, that, it is well, it s it s the art of my trade! le millésime: year, date. In wine conversations, the vintage, the year of production. Faire preuve de quelque chose: literally, to make (or give) proof of something. Generally translated as, to show. So faire prevue d audace, is literally, to show proof of daring. Ils n y connaissent rien: They have no familiarity with the thing. S y connaître en quelque chose = to know a lot about something. avoir envie de quelque chose = to want something, to have a desire for something. ben, an informal, spoken version of bien. nouer: to tie. Related to the word un noeud (a knot.) Nouer une relation = to build a relationship. The idea is that forming a relation or friendship implies a link (a knot.) le faisant parler: in getting him to talk; by getting him to talk. This is another example of the construction used to express that you get someone else to do something: faire faire quelque chose à quelqu un. See the footnote on page 0 for faire situer. recevoir des invités: to receive guests; to entertain. Compare to recevoir des clients (to greet, to see, to help the customers, the clients). The French also use recevoir if somone gets hit with something. Example: recevoir un balon de foot dans la tête (to get hit in the head with a soccer ball.) il vaut mieux = it is better...; one is better off... From valoir (to be worth) and mieux (better).
www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France en Bordeaux, ou bien un Saint-émilion grand cru, voilà. in a Bordeaux, or either a Saint-émilion grand cru. That s it. TRACK 7 Ou bien alors un beau Bourgogne. Or else then a good Burgundy. Est-ce que ça vous arrive d'être collée? Does it happen to you to be stumped? Et puis parfois, et bien, il faut sentir que les gens And then, sometimes, well, you have to sense that people De ne pas savoir quel vin conseiller? Not to know which wine to recommend? 7 aiment des choses plus originales. Parfois même les clients like things (that are) more original. Sometimes, even, the customers Je crois que les choses où j'ai le plus tâtonné, c'est I think that the things where I most hesitated, were 8 peuvent le demander : «Ben, je voudrais que vous may ask for it: Okay, I would like that you j'ai eu toute une une bande, on peut dire parce qu'ils I had a whole a gang, we can say because they 9 me surpreniez!» Voilà : ils veulent découvrir. Or, en France, surprise me! That s it: they want to discover. And in France, se connaissaient, de clients japonais et notamment avec knew one another, of Japanese customers, and specifically (pairing) with 0 on a une telle richesse et ça, ça reste notre we have such a wealth and that, that remains our les poissons crus. Donc on a vraiment tâtonné pour voir quel raw fish. So we really looked around to see which point le plus fort, on a une richesse et une diversité, strongest point we have a wealth and a diversity, 7 vin pouvait le mieux aller avec tout ça. wine would be able to go best with all that. qui sont dues à la diversité des sols et à la diversité that are due to the diversity of soils and to the diversity 8 Mais on a fini par trouver. Donc j'ai relevé tous les défis But we ended up finding. So I have met every challenge des climats. Donc on a une telle richesse de vins qu on of climates. So we have such a wealth of wines that we 9 jusqu'à ce jour! up to this day! peut toujours surprendre quelqu un. are able always to surprise someone. 0 Alors avec les sushis, c'est quoi? So with sushi, what is it? Est-ce que ça vous arrive: literally, Is it that that to you arrives Note that arriver means to arrive; to happen. So arriver à quelqu un means, to happen to someone. Example: Ça m est déjà arrivé. (I have already had that happen to me.) See another example of arriver on page 8. être collé(e): to be stumped, lost for an answer. From coller (to stick on, to stick together, to glue together). tâtonner: to grope around, as if in the dark. relever un défi: to take up a challenge; to accept a Or: yet; whereas; but, now. challenge.
www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 7 Et bien, il faut partir sur les vins du Jura, parce qu'ils Well, you have to go to Jura wines, because they en ce moment? Quel est votre votre coup de cœur? at this time? What is your your favorite? ont une certaine ils ont beaucoup de fraîcheur, ils sont have a certain they have a lot of freshness, they are Alors, c'est difficile, parce que mes coups de cœur, Okay, this is difficult, because my favorites puissants, et ils ont cette espèce d'amertume qui tient strong, and they have this sort of bitterness that maintains ils varient tous les jours, c'est évident. they vary every day, it s obvious. le goût très iodé du poisson cru. the very iodized taste of raw fish. J'aurai toujours un amour très particulier pour I will always have a very special love for Ou alors, le Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. C'est un vin Or else, Pacherenc du Vic-Bihl. It is a wine (which is) les vins du Languedoc, vu mes origines. the wines of Languedoc, given my origins. peu connu qui vient du Sud-ouest. On est sur little known, which comes from the Southwest. We are into 7 J'ai un minervois qui est tout à fait intéressant. I have a minervois that is quite remarkable. 7 des cépages originaux qui s'appellent le petit manseng et some unusual grape varieties that are called petit manseng and 8 On est à Caunes, en Minervois, à côté d'une (For this one) We are in Caunes, in the Minervois region, next to a 8 le petit courbu dans lesquels on va retrouver cette légère petit courbu in which we are going to find this slight 9 carrière de marbre, qui existe depuis très longtemps, marble quarry, which has been in existence for a very long time, 9 amertume marquée par le côté champignon et noix. bitterness marked by the mushroom and nut taste. 0 puisqu on s'en était servi pour le Petit Trianon. since they used it for the Petit Trianon. 0 Quel est votre touche personnelle? What is your personal touch? Alors ce qui est intéressant, c'est que des bancs de Okay, what is interesting, is that outcroppings of Est-ce qu'il y a un vin que vous préférez dans votre cave Is it that there is a wine that you prefer in your cellar marbre vont affleurer jusque dans les vignes. Le vigneron marble will surface all the way into the vines. The wine grower une espèce de = ) a species of; ) a sort of, a kind of, a type of. tenir = to hold. iodé: literally, iodized. If a French person talks about a smell or taste of iodine, they are referring to the ocean, ocean air, the smell of the sea retrouver (literally, "to re-find") is often used to express that something that was seen earlier is showing up again. le côté = the side; the aspect. un coup de cœur = a favorite, something one is really taken by, very impressed with. From le coup (the strike, the blow) and le cœur (the heart.) vu: given. Literally, seen from voir (to see). Compare to vu que (seeing as; considering that) and au vu de... (considering... Literally, "at the sight of...") le vu = the sight. se servir de quelque chose = to make use of something. affleurer = to surface, to show. affleurer gives the idea of something being flush with a surface. Compare to à fleur de peau (at skin level) and à fleur de terre (barely above the ground).
8 www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 9 se rappelle même son grand-père en train de even remembers his grandfather in the process of qui se mêle de cuir. C'est, pour moi, un très grand cru. which is mixed with leather. It is, to me, a very great wine. C était à la barre à mine qu il fallait casser le marbre It was with a crowbar that one had to break the marble pour planter les pieds de vigne. Et ça se mêle aux in order to plant vines. And that mingles with the TRACK 8 sols de schiste qui sont les plus courants dans la région. Et shale-rich soils that are the most common in the area. And Et vous conseillez aussi des bouteilles And you recommend also bottles 7 ça oblige la vigne qui est une plante qui peut creuser très that forces the vine which is a plant that is able to dig very pour offrir, j'imagine. Ça s'offre beaucoup! to give as presents, I imagine. (Wine) is given as a gift a lot! 8 profond, qui peut avoir des racines jusqu'à deep, which is able to have roots of up to Oui, c'est même un très joli cadeau. On est... là, Yes, it is even a very lovely gift. We are now, 9 une vingtaine de mètres ça va lui permettre elle creuse about twenty meters that is going to allow it it digs on arrive sur les fêtes et j'ai, effectivement, we are approaching the holidays and I have, indeed, 0 dans le marbre, et ça lui permet de se nourrir de tous into the marble, and that allows it to feed itself from all beaucoup de clients qui viennent choisir pour offrir soit à many customers who come to select (wines) to offer either to les éléments minéraux qu elle trouve. the mineral elements which it finds. des grands amateurs et amatrices. Et puis, c'est vrai que great wine lovers (male and female). And also, it is true that Et ça donne à ce vin une élégance et une structure And that gives to this wine an elegance and a structure 7 les hommes étant très amateurs de vins et qu'on a... men being big wine lovers and that we have tout à fait particulières (that are) quite special 8 nous, les femmes, souvent, des difficultés à leur trouver we, women, often, (have) difficulty in finding for them c est très petits fruits rouges confiturés, très suaves, (the wine is) very small red fruits, jellified very soft, 9 des cadeaux qui conviennent, et bien, c'est toujours gifts that are appropriate, well, it is always épicés, poivrés, une finale légèrement fumée spicy, peppery, a finish (that is) slightly smoked Compare une dizaine (about 0) to une douzaine (a dozen) and to une vingtaine (about 0). se nourrir: to feed itself, to nourish itself. fruit rouges: the red fruits are strawberries, raspberries, red currants... convenir = to suit, to be suitable. This is a rare case of convenir all alone, without an à or a de. The version you will see most often in French is convenir à quelqu un (to suit someone, to be suitable for someone. An example: Dix heures jeudi matin ; est-ce que ça te convient? (Ten AM Thursday morning, does that suit you?) Compare to convenir de quelque chose (to agree to something, to admit something, to acknowledge something.)
0 www.fl uentfrench.com Real French interviews since 00 Buying Wine in France 0 un cadeau très apprécié. a much-appreciated gift. vous organisez quelque chose dans votre boutique. you organize something in your store. Alors j'ai des clientes, par exemple, qui ont qui sont So I have lady customers, for example, who have who are Oui, c'est toujours un moment agréable parce que Yes, it is always a pleasant time because des femmes d âge mûr et qui ont des fils mais aussi, en plus, middle-aged ladies and who have sons, but also, in addition, ça permet des rencontres puisque les clients it allows people to meet each other since the customers des gendres et des neveux. Alors, voilà : on choisit sons-in-law and nephews. So that s it: we choose vont prendre le temps. are going to take the time. un certain nombre de bouteilles suivant le budget a certain number of bottles according to the budget Un samedi par mois, je fais déguster cinq ou six vins One Saturday each month, I have them taste five or six wines qu'on veut consacrer à chacun. that they want to spend for each. 7 sur un thème donné. Alors ça peut être le bordeaux on a given theme. Well, that can be Bordeaux (wines) Et, voilà : je fais des coffrets cadeau et je marque So there: I make gift boxes and I write 8 en général, mais ça peut être aussi, par exemple, le pinot noir in general, but that can also be, for example, Pinot Noir 7 «Pour Pierre» en dessous, «Pour Jean», «Pour Jacques», For Pierre below, For Jean, For Jacques, 9 qui est un cépage, donc. Le pinot noir à travers les terroirs, which is a grape variety. Pinot Noir throughout the regions 8 «Pour André». Et c'est très... c'est une façon très agréable For André. And it is very it is a very pleasant way 0 puisqu on le trouve dans le bourgogne c'est là son... since one finds it in Burgundy That is its 9 de faire des cadeaux. of offering gifts. son grand honneur, mais aussi en Loire, mais aussi its great honor, but also in the Loire Valley, but also en Alsace. in Alsace. TRACK 9 Voilà. Donc on fait... on offre à ce moment-là That s it. So we make we offer at that time Pour initier vos clients, une fois par mois, To educate your customers, once a month, une dégustation. C'est gratuit. Ça se passe autour du tonneau. a wine tasting. It is free. It takes place around the barrel. d âge mûr: of a mature age. mûr: ripe; mature. Do not confuse with mur (without the circumflex accent), which mean wall but sounds the same. suivant = according to; depending upon. Literally, following. suivre = to follow. See another example on page 8. On essaie d'expliquer un peu les vins, comment ils sont faits, We try to explain a little the wines, how they are made, les cépages, les sols, avec quoi ils peuvent se marier. the grape varieties, the soils, with what they can be paired.