Naturellement, wine is a big part of life in and around Lyon, as the city is located between two of France's most productive wine regions - Burgundy and the Rhône valley. This cave (cellar) shows barrels of Beaujolais being aged, and the vigneron (winemaker) tasting a barrel sample, just to see how the wine is progressing (which he needs to do quite frequently, of course!)
Jack and I have met many such characters over the years - passionate about their wines and willing to share them with anyone who is likely to appreciate them. We have passed many happy hours in conversation with red-nosed and -cheeked winemakers, tasting samples from their barrels as early in the day as breakfast. Imagine - this is what they do every day!
For the story in the murals, I imagine that this winemaker is a family friend of Philippe's, and wears his PB Boulangerie Bistro apron with pride and great memories of his trip to Cape Cod.
Jack and I have met many such characters over the years - passionate about their wines and willing to share them with anyone who is likely to appreciate them. We have passed many happy hours in conversation with red-nosed and -cheeked winemakers, tasting samples from their barrels as early in the day as breakfast. Imagine - this is what they do every day!
For the story in the murals, I imagine that this winemaker is a family friend of Philippe's, and wears his PB Boulangerie Bistro apron with pride and great memories of his trip to Cape Cod.
The wooden cases of wine in front of the cave represent a variety of French wines, including some of France’s most highly prized selections. The Pétrus is from Bordeaux in western France, but the Louis Jadot and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are from Burgundy, north of Lyon, while Châteauneuf-du-Pape is from the Rhône valley, south of Lyon.
I have had the good fortune to have tasted all of these wines, over the years, at various different meals. I was once served a Château Pétrus from 1955. (Our host had wanted to serve something from my birth year, but 1956 was a lousy year for French wines, and he had no wines from that year in his cellar...I reminded him that I had been conceived in 1955!) Known as the world's most expensive wine, I like to think I really did enjoy it for all it was worth.
The antique bottle of crème de Cassis is here because this wonderful black currant liqueur comes from Dijon, just North of Lyon. This is the special ingredient in a Kir cocktail, which also originated in this area. I adore crème de Cassis liqueur, and have made it several times at home. In fact, for many years, I had a black lab named Kir.
The very elegant mademoiselle can be clearly identified as a Parisienne, by her chic Chanel style clothing, Hermès birkin handbag and impossibly high heels. She is walking Chef Philippe’s dog, Krusty, a French black cocker spaniel.
The real Krusty (above) is totally adorable!
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