Pascal and I have just returned from a little get-away, where we were recovering from the Valentine’s Day rush.  Christmas is pretty predictable; it’s a time of merriment and joy and happy expectation.  But for some reason, with Valentine’s Day, we’re never sure what to expect.  The tone of the season feels a bit different each year.  It seems that Valentine’s Day is a holiday that brings out different things in different people.  Some people turn all mushy and sappy; some people turn angry and bitter; and some people turn into thieves!

That’s exactly what happened to one of our (normally) angelic customers, who felt so guilty about her transgression, she had to confess.  Here is the email she sent so that we would absolve her of her sin:

What about you?  Do you have a bon bon-related confession?  We have taken a vow of chocolate-covered secrecy and we promise not to reveal your identity should you decide it’s time for your own true confession!

you place creative orders; and you bring us cool stuff! But for Pascal, who dreams of being a serious "cave man", this reason may be his favorite reason yet:

#346: You Know How to Make a Frenchman’s Day
And that’s no easy feat! It all started when a charming, new-to-the area couple discovered South ‘n France in December 2008. They dropped in to buy bon bons for the holidays and started talking to Pascal about French wines. The monsieur is a serious wine collector with a very impressive cellar, and Pascal thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue. A few months later, this couple joined us for Dinner and a Movie when we featured our favorite French comedy, The Dinner Game (Le Dîner de Cons).

In the movie, the lead character, a wealthy publishing executive, suddenly has to open a bottle of wine for a tax inspector who is coming over to his luxury apartment. He fears that the tax collector will want to audit him when he sees his impressive wine collection, so he opens a 1978 bottle of Château Lafite (one of the most famous and expensive wines in the world) and pours vinegar into the bottle in order to mask its quality.

This couple joined us again recently at the launch for our new Wine & Dine Party. When they walked in the door, much to our shock (and Pascal’s incredible delight), they presented us with a most extraordinary gift – you guessed it! - a bottle of 1978 Château Lafite from the monsieur’s collection. This generous, thoughtful, and humorous gift made Pascal’s day, his week, his month, and quite possibly his year. As soon as we were finished working for the evening, he sat down to admire his new bottle, a new crown jewel in his own collection. You can be sure that we won’t be adding vinegar to that Château Lafite, no matter who’s coming to dinner! In fact, I suspect that it will be many years before Pascal even lets us get close to that bottle with a cork screw. Thank you, Dan and Pat, for making Pascal a very happy "cave man". You can bet he’ll be proudly displaying that bottle of Château Lafite for all to see at our next showing of The Dinner Game!