And, of course, the S is pronounced in Petrus, too.
It’s pronounced in Calvados, as well, isn’t it?
If Caymus doesn’t put people off, why would others.
I’ve heard people order Caymus as though they are naming a famous author.
I’ve also heard them pronounce it like they think it’s named for their favorite host on NPR’s “Marketplace.”
If the wine is regarded as desirable, people can catch on.
Look how many civilians are now smart enough to leave the “T” off the end of pinot, merlot, and cabnernet!
Is TomHill pronounced as ‘Tam Heel’???
Yes, proper names are a bitch. But really, the word clos, among numberless others has a silent s. Indeed, one could say j’en ai le dos plein et aussi le ras le bol des s silents.
And, that is the problem.
Isn’t that Tar Heel?
Blaufränkisch?
Could not agree more. When I do tastings with non-wine geeks and I’m pouring, say, a grenache, a mourvedre, a cinsaut and a syrah, over 95% will ask for the syrah because (1) they can pronounce it easier and (2) they are ‘more familiar’ with it. Period.
I always have fun with my Mourvedre. I first explain that it’s originally a Spanish variety, giving them the two common Spanish names that seem to be much more easy to pronounce. I then explain that the French word can be pronounced in a variety of ways . . . but then I mention that Ken Volk always refers to this as ‘Move Over Dear’ in larger crowds, and I applaud him for that! ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Also Gewurz is held back from being popular because it is disgusting.
Well . . . I think that there are a lot of ‘bad’ Gewurtztraminer’s out there - and most CA versions have given the grape a bad reputation as a ‘gateway’ wine. The aromatics also can be ‘quite aggressive’ and over the top.
That said, I’ve made the grape in the past - and instead of calling it a Gewurz, I actually call it The Outlier - to avoid all of the stuff mentioned above . . . and it works 
Cheers!
I know you are probably being tongue in cheek here, but it really is a problem with the majority of ‘average’ wine consumers out there. Period . . .
Actually, it’s a literal translation of one word into English and one into French. A strict English translation would be “blue Frankish,” so he cheated.
But we don’t hear much about the Franks these days, so it sounds odd. (They were a Germanic tribe that migrated into what’s now France. They gave their name to Frankfurt-am-Main and to France and the French. But it’s best not to remind the French of that.)
That’s amazing!
And that is also the way I would’ve pronounced it as well. That is because the name is in Gascon, not in French. I’ve heard some French pronounce it the French way - with silent s’s - but I am told it is wrong.
The Provencal and Gascon languages are both quite heavy with s’s compared to French, because they are very closely related - both are dialects of the Occitan language.
A propos, I’ve also heard a hybrid version of the name, where only the final s in Cos is pronounced
Actually, it’s a literal translation of one word into English and one into French. A strict English translation would be “blue Frankish,” so he cheated.
But we don’t hear much about the Franks these days, so it sounds odd. (They were a Germanic tribe that migrated into what’s now France. They gave their name to Frankfurt-am-Main and to France and the French. But it’s best not to remind the French of that.)
Yes, although if we’re going with the Germanic heritage, we may want to call France Frankreich, for the portion of the Kingdom of the Franks, or Frankenreich, that became France. I’m sure they’d love that suggestion!
Or probably easier to take, as the first major king of the Franks, or at least the one who united many of them and converted them to Christianity would have been Clovis, who was the grandson of Merovech, maybe we could call them Merovingian? Might be an option in light of the current trend to be more sensitive regarding past slights. We should send a not to Macron!
As far as the “s” in Cos d’Estournel, I’ve heard it pronounced both ways. Whatever the origin, I figure since it’s in Bordeaux, you should probably say it the way they would say it in Bordeaux as they’ve probably gone native by now.
True there is a more general point to be made. For me though a big Gewurz is really challenging to drink - oily, overtly fragrant, heavy, … Much more of a problem than say a really big Shiraz or Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc. Literally the difference between a sip and a glass being tolerable/enjoyable.
Pegau has been up for debate as well. Figured I’d let Laurence tell me the correct way.
She said both “pe-gow” and “pe-go” are correct depending on dialect.
Jordan,
Specifically,
Laurence says Peg O… she is and that is French.
Her father Paul says Peg OW… he is and that is Provencal.
Yes, Cos d’Estournel is something of a brain-teaser.
COSS DESS tour KNELL.
Otto,
Thanks for the explanation, not sure it’s completely correct, would be happy to learn your sources, this may be a gray area?
I was taught in a linguistics class that Occitan, Catalan and Provencal are related languages that grew up together in the same general neighborhood. Gascon is a dialect of Occitan. I think Provencal is its own language, not a dialect of Occitan, but far from sure here. Is Lladoner Pelut a grape variety, or a variety of Grenache Noir?
Dan Kravitz
Do you pronounce the K?
Occitan, or lenga d’òc, is like Catalan, a Gallo-Roman language. Provençal is a dialect of that. There are some others that I can’t remember right now except for Gascon.
Spanish would be an Iberian-Roman language, and that may be why they claim not to understand the Catalans.
Not sure about Gascon, but Piedmontese is in the same subgroup as Catalan and Provençal.
Or there might be other reasons.
(I’m reminded of a Spaniard we know who claimed he couldn’t read the back of a Priorat bottle because it was in Catalan. I don’t speak Spanish or Catalan and even I could more or less figure out what it said based on French and Italian!)