Category: wine business

Bilingual Story, Friends, Jean-Marc, Marseilles, wine business

A Fun Word for Wine + Jean-Marc’s Epic Farewell at Chateau Beaupin

Jean-Marc and Kristi, center, surrounded by longtime friends. Tuesday Night was my husband's big night and this was no time to stress. So I took a deep breath, asked readers for ideas about how to chill before a social event when you are an introvert and you don’t drink, and received some excellent tips in return. Next, I dressed to the nines and headed to … Continue reading A Fun Word for Wine + Jean-Marc’s Epic Farewell at Chateau Beaupin

Kristin Espinasse19 Comments
wine business, wine maker, Wineries

Grele: Solidarity during a devastating hailstorm at winemaker Raimond de Villeneuve’s vineyard

Un vrai bonnard. Don't miss this inspiring story about a winemaker's comeback following a devastating storm. Pictured: Raimond de Villeneuve. Photo montage from Google images. la grêle (grel)     : hail Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc: Download MP3 or Wav file Un orage de grêle détruit en deux minutes deux années de récolte de raisins. A hail storm destroys in two minutes two years worth of grapes. … Continue reading Grele: Solidarity during a devastating hailstorm at winemaker Raimond de Villeneuve’s vineyard

Kristin Espinasse92 Comments
Health, wine business

la goutte

Beauty in abandoned places. Beside the bricked-in, condemned windows, a random poppy bouquet, born in the cracks of concrete. Photo taken in Bollène (Vaucluse) (with a handy pocket camera I'm using a lot these days (click here for more info).  la goutte (goot)     : gout Note: our family is about to begin bottling wine now (see story, below)… no time to go on… … Continue reading la goutte

Kristin Espinasse54 Comments
French Women, Money, wine business

caissier

When vines talk… the "Eagle" (left) is being told by the "Shusher" (right, finger on "mouth") to be quiet, "It's not the end of winter yet… nature is still sleepy." And you, do you believe that vines are more than wood stalks? The characters in today's story do… and they make wine according to the moon! le caissier (kay-syeh)     : cashier, teller feminine: la … Continue reading caissier

45 Comments
Following One's Dream, wine business

la veuve de la vendange

Photo of a modern cabanon with its carpet of white mustard flowers. Don't you just want to lose yourself in it? la veuve de la vendange (lah vuv deuh lah von danzh)     : crush widoww A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse I learned a new term last fall, while guiding yet another enthusiastic and brave bénévole out to the vine fields to help … Continue reading la veuve de la vendange

20 Comments
wine business

foire

On Day One we peddled our wines (meeting with an importer) at the Piccadilly Market in London… ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Language Learning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Oxford Take Off In French: (CD-ROM): Follow an integrating course including activities and dialogues with native speakers so you can feel confident in day-to-day conversation. foire (fwar) noun, feminine    : fair    : trade fair [from the Latin "feriae" = holidays) Note: this seems to be … Continue reading foire

Kristin Espinasse17 Comments
Jean-Marc, wine business

la mère porteuse

Jean-Marc who earned the title "Chief Grape" after years of caring for his precious "babies". Read about them, in the following story.  la mère porteuse (mair-por-tuhz) n.f.   : surrogate mother (One who carries a child for a couple or for a single person is also called "une mère accoucheuse") Click on the following French sentence to hear it spoken by Jean-Marc: La législation concernant … Continue reading la mère porteuse

Kristin Espinasse7 Comments