TODAY’S WORD: tchin-tchin : cheers (a toast)
PRONUNCIATION: [tchin-tchin]
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Au Domaine du Banneret, tout le monde a levé son verre de vin—tchin-tchin!
At Domaine du Banneret everyone raised their wine glasses, tchin-tchin!
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
At the historic Château de Mille, I’m standing in a stately garden, amidst a fragrant roseraie, encouraging a convivial group from Atlanta to smile for a photo.
“Now say ‘Ouistiti’…” My command is met with curious glances. “It means cheese in French. Well, it actually means monkey, but the French say it when posing for photos—to show your pearly whites!”
“Wisty sea!” the women reply, les dents gleaming in the Southern French sun.
“Almost… ouistiti!”
“Whiskey tea!” the ladies sing, followed by a burst of giggles.
I pause to appreciate the sheer genius of this accidental cheese. “Who came up with that?Paula, was it you?”
Paula sends me a guilty oui.
“You know that from here on out, it’s gonna be whiskey tea. I’m adopting that phrase for future photo shoots!” Now if only this group would adopt us—I’m sad we’re about to say goodbye to these fun-loving Georgians.
We met the Georgians three weeks earlier when a longtime reader, Alice, contacted us about a vineyard tour. Her friend Judy had rented a house in Maubec—and this was a special occasion: Judy was celebrating her 81st birthday. Soon more of Judy’s friends from her Atlanta neighborhood and beyond would arrive, taking turns coming and going.
For our first meeting, Jean-Marc and I rented a big car and drove from La Ciotat to Maubec to pick up Alice, Judy, Jennifer, Kathy, and Marshall. Jennifer and I took the fold-out seats in the back. It was a tight fit, but by the end of the day we were as flexible as rubberbands! From Maubec we headed north to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, to visit Domaine du Banneret. We were lucky to find Uncle Jean-Claude, Aunt Marie-Françoise, and Cousin Audrey present. After a personalized tasting of their award-winning wines (and a few more “Whiskey Teas”) we lunched in the village before heading to our afternoon dégustation at the beautiful and serene Château Maucoil, overlooking the Rhône Valley. (It is their vines you see when driving up to the famous chateau ruins, as we did earlier.)
Week two, a new group of Judy’s friends arrived. We had two cars this time, and the pleasure of meeting Sally, Marnie, Cathy, Al, and Ruth. Together we explored the treasures of les Dentelles de Montmirail terroir, which we first glimpsed from up high in the picturesque village of Séguret.
After a stroll through the narrow calades we got back into our cars, direction Ingrid and Jean-Philippe’s. We gathered beneath the wisteria at their generational vineyard Clos des Mourres, where our group sampled the biodynamic wines of this cozy domain before a three-course lunch at Côteaux et Fourchettes.
No matter how full we were, we bypassed the afternoon sieste, and soldiered on to Domaine des Bosquets to meet with owner Julien Bréchet, who graciously toured us around the property and cellar.
Judy’s next group of friends arrived week three, for a final tour that began at Vignobles Chasson, a stunning estate not far from the colorful ochre trails of Roussillon, where we strolled before lunch in the village, and now–here we were at the glorious Chateau de Milles!
As the final wave of friends—Paula, Cathy, Jean, Joe, Susan, and Doug—prepare to return home, I’m left inspired by them all but most-especially Judy—our birthday girl—who skillfully navigated a rental car through the narrow streets of Roussillon, confidently leading us up to the hilltop village and back down to the sinuous country roads. I hope I’ll be chiche to drive in a foreign country when I reach that milestone.
For now, I have many charming souvenirs from our time together with the Georgians—not least of which “whiskey tea!” Who knows, dear reader, maybe one day you’ll be saying it with us here in Provence. And this time, we will adopt you.
Tchin-tchin and whiskey tea, I’ll be back next week… with an exciting story from Pah-ree!
P.S. This edition needs your eagle eye. Would you please play “Seek & Find” with me now and report any typos or mistakes in the comments at the end of this post or send to Kristin.espinasse@gmail.com Mille mercis!
FRENCH VOCABULARY
tchin-tchin = cheers
le château = castle
la roseraie = rose garden
ouistiti = cheese (word used when posing for photos; literally “monkey”)
les dents = teeth
les Dentelles de Montmirail = lace-like mountain range in the Vaucluse region of Provence
le terroir = terrain, the environmental factors that affect a crop’s qualities
oui = yes
Maubec = a village in Provence
la dégustation = tasting
le Rhône = the Rhône River
les calades = steep, cobbled streets
le domaine = estate, vineyard
Clos des Mourres = name of a vineyard (clos means “enclosed vineyard”)
les Côteaux et Fourchettes = name of a restaurant (côteaux = hillsides, fourchettes = forks)
Vignobles Chasson = name of a vineyard (vignobles = vineyards)
les sentiers des ocres = ochre trails
Roussillon = village known for its ochre cliffs and trails
Provençal = from Provence
REMERCIEMENTS
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Merci! You brought a smile to my face this morning!
Bonjour Kristi, I would like to order your new book signed if possible…. Merci Sharon
What a great idea….renting something and having your friends come…AND extra special having Jean-Marc and Kristin for “wine” days. As I lived for several years in O-range, your village visits were also where we took our visitors…ate in the same restaurants. Tchintchin-tchin!
Whiskey tea!! Love it 😄
Oh, Kristi, thank you so much for telling the story of Judy’s fabulous French odyssey! You and Jean-Marc added so much to our enjoyment and knowledge. Sweet, sweet memories. A bientôt. Alice
Sounds like everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the different vineyards. What a memorable and delightful way to celebrate a birthday! Happy you had such a knowledgeable and genial guide. A truly lovely way to get to know a group of people and then become friends. Thanks for sharing the journey and photos.
Dear Kristi,
Thank you for taking us along on these
wine tours. Alas it’s the only way I will now be able experience one of your adventures, but between the narrative and photos, it almost feels like being there. Jean-Marc seems to be compiling quite a group of vineyards for these tours!
And thanks to him I have come to appreciate what goes into producing a good wine…
How blessed is Judy to be able to celebrate her 81st in this way!
Our dear Kristi,
Once again(as always!) Such a wonderful post,beautiful pictures,and terrific vocabulary.Thank you for the privilege of allowing us to share this with you.I feel like we there celebrating and enjoying every minute.Truly a fairy tale setting,made even better with congenial relatives and friends!
Wow!
Arms tight around all of you.
Blessings always
Love
Natalia
Ahhhhhhh! Brings back such great memories! What a lovely tour you and JM hosted! We are indebted to Jean Marc for recommending Domaine de Banneret, Jean Claude and Audrey to us many years ago. We even helped with labeling and corking!
Another favorite of ours during our 17 year stay, was Domaine de Bosquets. Manifique! I’m disappointed we never visited Clos des Mourres, which is so close to our home. Next time! We were lucky enough to source Chateaux Maucoil at a store by our house in California. Thanks for the beautiful photos.
Oh, Kristi! Your post today took me back to the two times I visited Rousillon. The first time was with Mom and Margaret and the second time RoseAnn was with us. We have some lovely platters and bowls from the local potters and even some stylish cats made from the local clay. Your photo of the Bistrot de Rousillon brought back so many many memories. Have eaten there twice. Excellent.
Love the video of the tasting!! Great blog!
I truly don’t know which of us is correct or incorrect, but … I have always seen your opening toast spelled “Tschin-tschin.”
Delightful tour! And you look fabulous! Regarding corrections, I would not presume to correct your prose, but I did see several punctuation mistakes! No big deal! Now I have to wait a week for more!
What a wonderful tour that must have been, and it was full of Provencal sunshine, as well. Thank you!
I’m “chiche”to celebrate my 81st birthday with friends who join me in France! Quelle bonne idée!
Reading about the tour was fascinating: vineyards, cities, restaurants, gardens. So many people, so much fun. And the guest of honor was octogenarian Judy?? Wow! She was “chiche” for everything. Loved the photos, Kristi. I think you deserve a week’s rest.
Looked like so much fun. I loved all the pics.
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Hello dear Kristi! This is an inspirational story set in the most beautiful locations! I love Judy’s idea of celebrating her birthday in such a grand fashion! You and Jean-Marc certainly made the occasion extra memorable. May we all remember to cherish and celebrate our milestones, whether they be large or small!