Aperitif – I Love the Tradition of the French Apéro
Ah, the apéritif tradition of France! This is one of my favorite times with friends. You can have as few or as many in your group that you want but you can be sure it will be a time to kick back, unwind and catch up with one another.
After an intensive look into apéro traditions with a group of Francophile friends I decided I needed to share my first experience with you. I remember it with a multitude of emotions: enjoyment, trepidation, embarrassment (after the fact)…. Let me share a bit of that with you.
First, a tiny morsel of history.
What exactly is this tradition of the apéritif, or l’apéro? The apéritif is a long established tradition in France that extends back to the middle ages. The word apéro is just a truncated version for apéritif which comes from the latin verb apertivus, “to open”. An apéritif was designed “to open” one’s appetite, i.e. stimulate the appetite.
When friends gather for an apéro, it consists of just one drink, or maybe two (it doesn’t necessarily have to be alcoholic) and there will be a few munchies. The idea is to have just enough snacks to tempt or “open” the appetite, but not to satisfy it. Remember as a child when you were told ” don’t want to spoil your dinner” ?
I clearly remember our first apéro invitation!
We had rented a gite, a holiday house, in the Burgundy region. At that point, I spoke no French except for a few polite words of bonjour, au revoir, merci, etc. Thankfully our future son-in-law did have more French to rely on! The house we rented was across the lane from the owners so they invited us for an apéro one evening.
Looking through our window across the little path to the owner’s home.
It was a lovely, albeit extremely hot July evening and we were to arrive at 19h (7:00 pm) The learning curve was steep and we had no idea as to what to do or expect.
Did I say it was hot?
France saw high temperatures near 99 degrees Fahrenheit that year. Just look how the sunflower fields suffered! Normally they are verdant and dense with flowers.
Summer heat wave 2006
It was stifling hot that summer eve and to see alcohol appear in front of me with no water was disconcerting. We had only walked across a one-lane road but already I was parched.
First apéro experience in France 15 years ago
In the large green bottle is Cremant de Bourgogne which, along with the Crème de Cassis (center bottle) were used to make a kir royale. The far left bottle was another type of alcohol that I have forgotten.
The munchies you see are very fairly typical for an apéro : small crackers, olive, saucisson, and small slices of baguette (although this is the only time I’ve seen sliced baguette at an apéro).
The conversation was one-sided for the most part with lots of hand gestures on our part. However, we had a good time and they made us feel very welcome. Since that first apéro we have had numerous occasions to experience different apértif traditions with different groups of friends.
Traditions of Conviviality and Friendship
Our experience with l’apéro traditions have definitely been ones of conviviality and friendship. Our hosts have invariably used them as a time to welcome and introduce us to either other family members or close friends. These have generally been times to break the ice, briser la glace, before we all gathered around the dinner table.
One memorable apéritif introduced us to our host’s parents, aunts and uncles and the experience will always stick with me. We got to hear the two elderly brothers talk of their experiences during World War II.
They were in their early teens when the Americans came through their village during the liberation. Their memories shared, with tears in their eyes, moved us all. They described the joy felt by their family upon seeing the Americans arrive in their village, knowing that when the war ended they would still be French citizens. It was an unforgettable experience to hear their stories.
Want to know more?
If you want to Enjoy l’Apéritif The French Way , I suggest heading over to French Girl in Seattle Takes France. Véro has all the details!
You can also find more of what she shares at https://linktr.ee/Francewithvero
Why was the first experience embarrassing?
If you have read the post to the end, you deserve to know why that first experience was embarrassing! As I said, I spoke no French at the time. Somewhere during the course of conversation and hand motions, we got the idea that our hosts planned a trip to the US. Naturally, we invited them to come stay with us!
When we arrived home, I rushed to the Languages department in search of a French exchange student to help me get started on learning French….QUICKLY before these guests arrived in October.
By the first of October, with no arrival date in site, I tried to pinpoint when our French guests planned to arrive (with the help of the exchange student). She and I discovered that they had only been joking about a trip to the states. What an embarrassment for me! It made me all the more determined to learn the language and learn it well!
Three of My Favorite Places in Burgundy
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