Advent Day Nineteen, Troussepinète

White Troussepinète Château de Javarzay

Advent Day Nineteen

We had a panicked moment this morning that saw us scuttling off to the shops, worried we hadn’t done enough Christmas shopping. It isn’t unusual for me to find myself in a December funk where the whole prospect of Christmas feels overwhelming, however getting out on the bike and keeping preparations low-key normally helps. Yesterday, I admitted to feeling better for having cycled twenty-six kilometres, following a week of no cycling that had left me angsty. Well, guess what – I also slept much better last night too, in fact I almost didn’t wake up early enough to get the head start on the chores like I’d planned.

 

I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover, or choose a bottle of wine for its label, but in the run-up to Christmas, I’m a sucker for a marketing gimmick. As soon as I saw this local aperitif, in a bottle with my the Château de Javarzay on the label, I knew I had to buy it, but what is Troussepinète?

 

Troussepinète

Thought to date from the 19^th century, troussepinète it is a wine-based aperitif drink that was commonly made in the Poitou region of France, although how exactly it came about remains a mystery. It is made by macerating young shoots from the blackthorn (épines noires), picked by hand in springtime, with sugar and white or red wine, and sometimes Cognac or eau-de-vie, but this very much depends on which area you buy it from. The blackthorn is a type of wild plum, and the drink has a fruity/almondy aroma to it. At 14% it has slightly less alcohol than the Pineau des Charentes (17.5%) which is usually our local aperitif of choice. Pineau is made by combining unfermented grape juice, or must, with Cognac that is then aged in oak barrels for around eighteen months to give a rich and flavoursome drink. It too can be made with red or white grapes.

Red Troussepinète Château de Javarzay

 

As well as every method and recipe being slightly different, I’ve also discovered there are many ways to spell troussepinète too. I’ve seen troussepinète, trouspinètte, troussepinètte and any other combination of single and/or double s’s or t’s. I’m sticking to two s’s and one t, as that is what is on my Château de Javarzay label. I won’t be opening my bottle tonight, but I will look forward to enjoying it over Christmas. 

Cheers.