Those wildflower seeds loved the terroir in Sainte Cécile, where we lived for a time.
TODAY'S WORD: "terroir"
: soil, region; "somewhereness"
FRENCH SOUND FILE: Click the link to hear Jean-Marc pronounce the French words in today's post. Then scroll down to the vocabulary section to check your French comprehension.
Listen closely to the vocabulary list
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
You have probably stumbled across the word terroir (especially if you are a wine lover) and have a notion as to what it means. But, lately, this earthy term is taking on even more significance, helping to clarify just what it is I love about France. And it’s more than the food, more than the architecture, more than French dirt!
A synonym for terroir is "somewhereness". J'aime ça. My husband, a former vigneron, says a complete definition of terroir (beyond the region in which the grapes are grown and the soil) would include the history of a place and even the winemaker. Mais bien sûr!
It is also le facteur humain that describes our strong attraction to France. I love the way French women of all ages stroll arm-in-arm, or "bras dessus bras dessous". At a time when adolescents are awkward about everything, you’ll still see girls walking, les bras entrelacés. Throwing their heads back, laughing and chatting, it’s the most natural thing in the world. I’ve been honoured by such arm-hugging tenderness which, culturally, is a little less natural to me. Slightly embarrassed, I will gradually – so as not to make things even more awkward – let my arm slip away until, ahhh, I’m more in my comfort zone. But I will always appreciate the endearing moment a friend reaches for my arm while out on a stroll.
Speaking of endearing: I love the affectionate way the French acknowledge a kindness. “Vous êtes adorable!” they’ll gush. Where else on the planet will a perfect stranger say, in so many words, you are worthy of love and adoration? You will hear this phrase while serving an impromptu coffee (our plumber said it to me the other day, as I added a lump of sugar to his espresso). The compliment can be used anywhere, anytime. “Vous êtes adorable!” I thanked the cashier who left his register to help me carry a heavy cagette of patates and melons to my car.
One may have sinned a thousand times but, for a moment in time, in a stranger’s eyes, we are worthy of veneration. There is something else I enjoy here in France, though not every foreigner will agree: it’s the way a clerk will honour your place.
C’est-à-dire, when it is finally your turn at the counter you will be given the time you need and then some. Never mind the long queue behind you. When it is your moment to do business at the post office or the pharmacy or at the art supply store, you can linger with your needs, your unending questions, and your doubts. I am still not comfortable doing this – no matter how many times the postal worker says “Ils peuvent attendre”. There is time. Perhaps le temps is yet another element here?
Terroir… It could unlock the mystery of why so many of us feel an attraction magnétique towards France. It’s visceral, it’s minéral, it’s surréaliste. We feel we have, at some other point in time, been a part of this somewhereness. We walked along the salty shores or inhaled the mineral scent of the earth as we strolled arm-in-arm in the countryside with a soulmate… our endearing âme sœur, La France.
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Jean-Marc, harvesting at Mas des Brun in 2016. See une coquille, or “a little mistake”, anywhere in today’s post? Thank you for letting me know and I will fix it illico!
FRENCH VOCABULARY
le terroir = soil, region
j'aime ça = I love that
un vigneron = winemaker
un bras = arm
bras dessus bras dessous = arm-in-arm
entrelacer = intertwine
une cagette = crate
une patate = potato, spud
une queue = line, queue
c'est-à-dire = that is to say
ils peuvent attendre = they can wait
âme soeur = soulmate
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Dear Kristi,
Thank you for another instructive and entertaining blog (and I love the photos of the wild-flower meadows).
You have set me thinking … when to use “patate” and when “pomme de terre”? Is there a distinction? are individual tubers “patates” and the crop in general “pomme de terre”?
Or is it simply (as in the old song) “you say pot-ay-toes and I say “pot-aa-toes”?
Best wishes
Truly one of your best posts.
I agree with John! One of your best posts. Makes me so happy to have a trip scheduled for this summer, else I’d be pining away. I think I loved how you captured that aspect of French spirit that I love the most, the walking arm in arm, the patience of the clerks when it’s your turn, the love of terroir. Perfect!
Yes, that pull to France is strong. I love your idea of somewhereness. There are many reasons I love France but there is something beyond reason that pulls at the heart. Thank you for a lovely post. I’m counting the days until my return to Antibes in September.
Kristi, I liked your post today and particularly your discussion of “adorable.” I’ve heard it used in the fashion you mentioned. Are there circumstances where it just wouldn’t be appropriate for me (76 y/o man) to use it with ladies? With other men?
—Marshall
Ah, so well explained, Kristi. It’s got the same type of meaning as the Welsh word “hiraeth”
One attempt to describe hiraeth in English says that it is “a longing to be where your spirit lives.” The place where your spirit feels most at home. This could be a physical location that you can return to at any time, or it could be more of the nostalgia for a home. It may not be attached to a place, but a time from the past that you can only return to by revisiting old memories.
I felt this during my recent stay in Paris. You have the shop keeper’s full attention and are never rushed. I love being in Paris and reconnecting with friends but your post made me miss the countryside. Maybe next time a trip to Provence and La Ciotat.
One of the loveliest posts you’ve ever posted… Wish I was living there. America has so much to learn.
“Terroir” doesn’t mean the same thing, but does evoke the German “Sehnsucht” a bit.
I haven’t spent much total time in France, and haven’t been there in years. I was born there while my diplomat father was stationed in Paris, and because of that, have had a lifelong interest in, and affection for, France. I truly hope to make a trip there within the next few years – and if possible, would love to visit les Espinasse.
What a beautiful post and it makes a lovely start to my day. Would love to live there. Happy weekend.
What a delightful post! You have captured so many of the feelings that I experience during each of my visits to France. When I look at the people, the beauty, the history and culture, I feel as if I were French in another life. I am really drawn to the French people’s reverence for and pride in their long history. As an American, I think this is missing in our country–even though we are much younger. I can’t wait to experience again the “magnetic pull” I will feel again when Kevin and I return to France this September!
When in France, I try to collect instances of someone saying to me “Vous êtes très gentil.” Now I am crushed to learn that there is a level of compliment above that–“Vous êtes adorable”–that I have never received. Perhaps that is a compliment reserved for women? Or do I need to be trying harder?
France, always. Always, France.
I can’t wait to be in France again. We will be there in September. It is just a different way of life from the US. and we shall slow down and enjoy the terroir. Thank you for the lovely blog today. 🥰
Peace, Kathleen
I just booked at trip to France and this post reinforces all the feelings of my “âme soeur…La France” that I have experienced for decades. My traveling companion is a friend I met in the1960s and here we are in our 60s! The magnetic pull that you mentioned hit me on my first visit to France in 1974, when I had just flunked French in high school. The trip changed my outlook completely and I now have a Masters of French. The friend I am traveling with helped tutor me in high school French and we have traveled there together a few times! That pull just becomes stronger and stronger. Thank you, Kristi, for so eloquently explaining the draw and longing we have to be there.
I have been to many countries, however……. la france a une place spéciale dans mon coeur
Haha! You will get there, Gary. Il faut persévérer. Then again, it may be as Marshall pointed out: a question of whether the expression is directed as often toward men.
There appears to be congenial agreement that this is one of your most touching, beautiful posts! Some day, I will see one of those offers to travel in short order and I will be packed in an hour…to France!
I would add to les bras entrelacés, the bisous bestowed on either cheek upon greeting friends. I think I’ll adopt here the phrase Vous êtes adorable! – it should translate well enough, and I love the concept.
And you’re absolutely right about the terroir of France.
Kristi,
I love this post so much! I often speak to my friends about the appeal of the terroir and that in Provence, it feels magical because the special location of Provence creates a unique experience influenced by the terroir, the sun, and the sea. The products of the earth that we use in daily life for so many different purposes are gifts, e.g., olives, olive oils, olive wood products. The vineyards, lavender, herbs, sunflowers, poppies…..The way the light reflects from the sea that has influenced so many artists is unique. A bounty for the senses…….truly magnetique et surrealiste!
Thank you for this special post.
Beautiful. Merci!
A particularly charming entry which I enjoyed very much. C’est même poétique! Merci beaucoup!
Do doctors in France feel the same way? “I will give you all the time you need”.
Beautifully written and your words capture the magic of France and le terroir. You have a infectious “Joie de vivre”
Merci et un bon week-end
Kristi , merci pour vos souvenirs- vous êtes vraiment adorable!
I love arm in arm and often walk with Don’s ex in Rome. So sweet. Plus we are helping one another to not fall over, haha.
The humanity and consistent kindness I’ve experienced everywhere in France matches no other in the world.
Sincerely, a grateful American
A lovely post – thank you!
But a little quibble. Does not “ils peuvent attendre” mean they can wait rather than there is time? That is a gentler way of saying it to be sure but I have this vision of the postal worker, ruler of his own domain, apportioning his tending to the customers.
Great, touched me very much.
This post reminds me why we(those of us who don’t live there) keep returning to France. Some people ask me why I am not going some place “new” instead of France AGAIN. It is like building a relationship instead of having a bunch of flings. It is a different way to travel, and feed the soul.
Hi Kristi,
Beautiful post! Hard to believe that you have been writing your blog for 19 years!
I really had fun saying one patate!
I had a hard time with pronouncing dessus and dessous….I could hear the difference when JM said the words but mine sounded the same!
Have a lovely weekend!
I echo the sentiments of your other readers, Kristi! This is a rather deceptively profound blog post inasmuch as your observation of the seemingly casual custom of touching another while walking actually goes to the heart of what it means
to be a civilized, caring human being. To value individual human life is such an important necessity in a world threatened by many, many monstrous practices, particularly, genocide. Thank you for your astute commentary.
Amitiés, Joanne
Hey Kristi!
Iv here from In The Mediterranean. We actually just wrote an article about French wine; and one about 4 of the best French Vineyards or terroirs that are a must visit in the provence.
https://in-the-mediterranean.com/grapes-of-the-mediterranean-french-wine/
https://in-the-mediterranean.com/4-vineyards-in-the-provence-that-are-a-must-visit/
If you like them, please add them to your article or give us insights into what you would like your readers to read!
Have a good weekend,
A plus, Iv
Bien dit! Merci, Kristi.