Written on 22/12/2020
Flowery language and staining red
Wine can make a boor poet, and vice versa. For centuries, men and women - seated around a bottle or leaning against a counter - have been competing inventively to talk about their beverage. From the terraces of Marseille to the sidewalks of Bellevillois, from Alsatian winstubs to Basque trinquets, wine is the subject of many a good word and nickname. Here's a small selection to memorize as a conversation starter in the bistros where you drink alone...
To order a glass of red wine without further explanation, you can ask for a "lait soviétique", a "chasse-cafard" (if it's raining), a "douze degrés" or, my favorite, a "jus de bois tordu "!
Do you prefer white wine? Are you the kind of person who likes to make out with blondes? Then beg for a "pivois savonneux", a "pierrot" or a "blanchouillard".
The bottle opens, the glass fills, the first sip goes down. If it's good, you can admire aloud this "liqueur de treille", this "petit-velours", what a "gourd "! what a "huré "!
If, on the other hand, it burns your palate and raps your tongue, you'll complain about the "chasse-cousin ", the "vin de cocher" or the "vin d'accessoire" (the kind of wine you'd just give an actor to drink on stage)! If you've been served a big, cheap red, you'll call it a "thigh opener", a "picrate", a "pousse-au-crime" or a "barbed wire"!
Now let's broaden our vocabulary when it comes to quantities. For a single glass, you'll speak of a "one-way", for a small glass order a gorgeron. Thirsty? For a half-liter, ask for "absinthe de vidangeur"; for a liter, order a "légionnaire" . To talk about the dose ingurgitated by a drunkard, speak of his "piolée". Vin en cercles" refers to wine still in the barrel, and "coup d'après" is the half-glass after soup (a tradition that's fading, I agree).
The more adventurous will order a "état major" (white wine/lemon syrup), a "communard" or a "cardinal" (red wine and blackcurrant liqueur).
You'll be armed with the right words to make your friends laugh at your next dinner party or survive a trip back to the 60s!
