Friday 16 September 2016

'Picardie'.



French Duralex 'Picardie' glasses must be the most common in all the world.

In the picture above, the 16 cl one on the left is my normal every-day wine glass. The 36 cl one on the right is my lunchtime water glass. And the small 9 cl one's in the middle, I have just bought; I thought they might be good for Whisky or Port.

Looking at the back of the pack, I see that they make 8 different sizes; my tiny new 9 cl one's being the smallest.

I love the Picardie design, I love the throw-away quality, and I also love the fact that they (almost always) bounce when dropped. They are the preferred glass of the paysan kitchen, the school canteen, and the sylvan picnic. They are unpretentious and sturdy.

Once again I have bought myself a good bottle of Single Malt Whisky to fend off the ills of the oncoming Winter, and I intend to use my new 9 cl glasses for the occasional tasting. I think they'll be perfect. 

Cheers!




40 comments:

  1. Which single malt..... don't keep us in suspenders!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aberlour 15 year old Highland Single Malt. I'm no expert, but I had one before and it was pure nectar.

      Delete
    2. p.s. I should add that I'm not at all a 'spirits' drinker, I much prefer wine. But I drink such tiny amounts of Whisky that it becomes almost a pilgrimage at each sip. A thimble-full at each tasting is plenty.

      Delete
  2. Simply the best. Let us leave it at that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They are also children safe. If dropped and breaks, the glass goes into little square pieces; no sharp edges.
    Greetings Maria x

    ReplyDelete
  4. A timeless design, my parents had these glasses 50 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely; and I hope they don't change in the future.

      Delete
  5. These look the same as those we had in my childhood. They lasted for years and years. But I have not seen them for sale down in our area (65700) but then I haven't looked! Will keep an eye out for them in the future though...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are the same. I remember them too from when I was small.

      Delete
  6. I had not heard of the word 'Picardie' in this context before Cro. But it did bring back to mind my mother singing 'Roses are Blooming in Picardie' - she had a lovely voice and it was her favourite song.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I expect we all used to sing that song. Probably a Vera Lynn number.

      Delete
  7. The other design I like is the ones that look like mini pudding basins with a stripe around. We were served rosé in them with our saucisse et frites at a brocante recently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know the ones you mean; but I find these more 'stylish'.

      Delete
  8. Their ability to survive being dropped onto a hard surface is probably the thing I dislike the most about them. The world has too many of them as it is, but they are still in production whilst charity shop shelves are overcrowded with the things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were designed to haunt you.

      Delete
    2. I used to have loads of them - it was like drinking wine from a jam-jar - but, being unable to smash them, I gave them all away to charity shops.

      Delete
    3. P.S. - my favourite quote from a book about antique glasses, on a ridiculously ornate, filligree Venetian wine glass: "Its survival is testimony to the sobriety of the owner."

      Delete
    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  9. The first time I saw them was when David and I were driving around the Vendee just seeing where we landed. We stopped for a meal and a a glass of vin de paye (?) and it was served in such glasses. We liked the fact that they were difficult to knock over!. Back in blighty I find that Ikea (yes I know, but I'm no purist!) sell a range that is similar. I use the small medium and large tumblers everyday now for all kinds of drinks, only getting out the stem jobbies very occasionally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like us. Our good, or antique, glasses appear very rarely these days.

      Delete
  10. Can you please tell me what the cl means in 16cl ? I guess it is a measurement of size but have no idea. We would use millilitres ( ml ) or in the old days ounces (oz).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Centilitres. A bottle of wine is (usually) 75 cl. i.e. three quarters of a litre.

      Delete
  11. Have you encountered the stupid fad of drinking from a " mason " jar ? They serve desserts in them too. ...and salads to take to work for lunch. Stupid mindless practices like this drive me crazy and the thought of drinking out of a jam jar instead of a nice glass is lunacy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On a holiday in Holland many years ago we were served drinks in terracotta pots, plant pots without the holes in the bottom.
      Horrid.

      Delete
    2. I've seen pictures of Americans drinking from all sorts of strange jars. I wonder what they have against proper glasses? As you say, it looks ridiculous.

      Delete
  12. You always have a very nice way to look at simple things as very special ,i wish i have that point of view .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a very optimistic view of everything. Even tiny insignificant things can give me great pleasure.

      Delete
  13. Similar to the classic Greek wine glass which you may remember. They've been around forever. Cheap copies of yours . Ours shatter into a thousand nasty little pieces.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought it was these that I'd seen in Greece, but my last visit was a long time ago.

      Delete
  14. My complaint has been that inspite of decent glasses being so available and inexpensive some holiday accomodation cannot provide sets of good sized wine, beer and water glasses for their guests. We have had to go shopping straight away to get a couple of wine glasses - often three - that are large enough. Glasses are important to the experience of drinking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My favourite wine drinking glasses are very large and very heavy antique ones. There's no question that they make a difference to the enjoyment.

      Delete
  15. Reminds me of school/hospital glasses but I like the idea that they bounce when you drop them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some might say they don't break easily enough. There must be trillions of them around the world.

      Delete
  16. We have a few of those glasses, but never knew the name was Picardie, yes they are the non-pretentious everyday glass. An older Italian couple we knew when young, who returned to Italy to retire, always served home made wine in those glasses.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the 'poorer' farming families around here use them firstly for wine, and then for coffee later. Dual purpose.

      Delete
  17. I have some of those glasses, too. The standard size I use for iced coffee/tea. The slightly smaller size is good for orange juice.
    I have a collection of mis-matched wine glasses for wines and little crystal sherry glasses for liqueurs, and some heavier crystal glasses for single malts. (Mind you, not all these glasses get constant use!)

    ReplyDelete
  18. We have a huge array of glasses, most of which have never been used. However, in the evening, I always return to my 'Picardie' for my glass of wine.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have one at the side of my bed as I type this.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...