[Catfish]

I had asked in a recent thread about books to learn more
about the French culture and the people, in general.

These are a few of the questions that I was hoping to find
the answers to in various books:

Do the French really drink wine everyday? If they do,
how many times a day?

Do the French look at food and eating differently than Americans?
Americans tend to snack and the French believe that
the atmosphere and good food motivate people to share
a delicious prepared meal.

Again, thanks so much for any and all of your thoughts.

[guignol]

many frenchmen (but almost no frenchwomen) still drink wine every day (a glass or two with meals), but in general the french are drinking less and less alcohol altogether and the drunkenness that is so rife in england (and growing in spain italy and other countries) is rare here... the french don't consider a hangover a good time!

but while drinking less in quantity they still appreciate quality, and being able to converse intelligently about food and wine is as de rigueur as being able to talk about... football

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by guignol

many frenchmen (but almost no frenchwomen) still drink wine every day (a glass or two with meals), but in general the french are drinking less and less alcohol altogether and the drunkenness that is so rife in england (and growing in spain italy and other countries) is rare here... the french don't consider a hangover a good time!

but while drinking less in quantity they still appreciate quality, and being able to converse intelligently about food and wine is as de rigueur as being able to talk about... football

That's what I thought. Enough wine to enjoy one's self, but not get
hammered.
I usually have 1-2 glasses of vino a day.

[Catel]

Originally Posted by Catfish

the French believe that
the atmosphere and good food motivate people to share
a delicious prepared meal.

This is absolutely true.

So bad you can't be invited by a family of ch'timi (in the North of France) foR a Sunday lunch. The pre-dinner drink is served at 1 P.M. and coffee at 6 P.M.

[guignol]

Originally Posted by Catfish

...the French believe that
the atmosphere and good food motivate people to share
a delicious prepared meal...

and what do they discuss while eating and drinking that delicious food and wine? more food and wine!

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by guignol

and what do they discuss while eating and drinking that delicious food and wine? more food and wine!

DAMN! Where do I sign up? I think great conversations with good food
are some of the most amazing experiences. You really find out who
people are and also who you are.

[Douai]

What do you guys think of Côtes du Rhône?

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Douai

What do you guys think of Côtes du Rhône?

Is that a type of wine? Please explain.

Thanks.

[Douai]

Originally Posted by Catfish

Is that a type of wine? Please explain.

Thanks.

It's a wine-growing AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée). Basically, you have to meet certain criteria to say that you are a part of this designation. Côtes du Rhône is the AOC designation for the Rhône wine region.

Appelation of Controlled Origin. A French system initiated in 1935 to safeguard the highest quality producers of various food products, such as cheese, meat and wine, providing a designation that could be used if the producer achieved specific standards and met certain criteria in order to be assigned this designation, also known as AOC.

For cheese producers, four categories were created for the production of the product. If the cheese was made with raw milk from the "home farm" dairy, mountain chalet or hut dairy, and it did not include milk from other sources or farms, the cheese was labeled as a Fermier cheese. The next category is the Artisanal cheese that is produced from milk that may be from either the home farm or farms within the region, but produced into cheese by the home farm dairy. Cooperative cheese is the third category of AOC production designation, which includes all cheese made from only one dairy using the milk of the cooperative members. This designation is also known as the Fruitières. The fourth category is the Industrial (Industriel) designation which includes cheeses made from milk that is purchased from a variety of areas and produced in a commercial environment with larger production facilities.

For wine producers, the designation criteria focuses on such aspects as land, grape varietal, vitacultural practices, amount of yields, alcohol content, winemaking practices, and official tastings. The AOC designation is used to eliminate winemakers and vineyards producing low quality products from using the names of the higher quality vineyards on their labels.

The designation of AOC is the highest classification given to a food product. The other classifications are (from top to bottom): vin délimité de qualité supérierure, vin de pays, and vin de table.

AOC, AC, Appelation d’Origine Contrôlée

http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-t...B4l%C3%A9e.asp

EDIT: I forgot to add

Côtes du Rhône AOC is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée that covers both the northern and southern sections of the valley.

http://www.answers.com/Rh%C3%B4ne%20wine

[McFly31400]

LOL you think in France we live on another planet or what ?
Basically life here isn't different from life in america from what I know... on an average week day we dont take more than 15 minutes to eat lol... and I dont drink wine and dont know anybody in my entourage who does true story.
France is very americanized, I dont know if its good or bad but it is like it is...
And the way you say "the french" is weird because the country is really diverse you got french arabs, french africans, french asians, french italians there are a lot of different cultures here... just to let you know