Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Posted by Andrew Scott on Wine Asylum:
Jeebus, we love it!
Sounding almost religious, indeed Homeresque, the word has quickly come to embody all that is joyous and good about drinking too much wine with your friends. At first only a verb but, after numerous private emails from such esteemed board members as Kay Bixler, Joyce En, and--coming off hiatus--Bruce Fogelberg, it has since been granted usage as a noun. Example: That was one hell of a jeebus last night.
But is there only one kind of jeebus?
The answer is a resounding no. There are three different levels of jeebus, and, depending on who you ask, possibly 4 or even 5. It's complicated. I will now do my best to lay the basic groundwork for understanding this elusive term, jeebus.
The three major jeebus, in descending order are:
Grand Cru Jeebus:
The Grand Cru Jeebus usually involves considerable preplanning, arranging of schedules, and the consumption of a large cross section of one type of wine or particular producers work, as well as huge amounts of food prepared especially for the occasion. These types of jeebus generally last 6 to eight hours--though time is not a critical element in the determining what type of jeebus you are experiencing--have coffee in the middle, and are usually held in the homes of private individuals.
Premier Cru Jeebus:
Generally held in restaurants, a Premier Cru Jeebus is often called in the honor of a visiting winelover (drunk). These types of jeebus require some semi-serious preplanning but often lack the structure of a Grand Cru Jeebus. This is not always a bad thing. A Premier Cru Jeebus often involves good food prepared by someone else, a variety of wines, and coffee at the end accompanied by a bill or fee. Average time is four to 6 hours.
Village Jeebus:
The most open of the three, a Village Jeebus can be quite charming with its unpredictability, coffee, for instance, can appear at any time. Requiring little planning a Village Jeebus will often spark up in an afternoon with a simple phone call "Hey, why don't you come over for dinner tonight" and can grow to enormous proportions or remain intimate. Although usually held in private homes a Village Jeebus can also occur in a restaurant. On average they last from two to 6 hours.
Some will claim the existence of a Jeebus Grand Ordinaire but honestly I don't think a nice dinner with your own wife counts as a jeebus. I mean usually there isn't even coffee.
So there you have it.
It's a loose set of guidelines for sure. There's no telling when a common Village Jeebus may turn into a Grand Cru Jeebus. Say several attendees happen to bring along various vintages of spectacular wine and you find yourself in quiet contemplation for many hours after the coffee has come and gone, mentally exhausted, physically tired, but unable to stop. Well my friend you are indeed having the Grand Cru experience!
There are so many points I could cover but I think this gives a basic idea of what a jeebus is and can be.
Enjoy, and a happy jeebus to all of you.
Jeebus, we love it!
Sounding almost religious, indeed Homeresque, the word has quickly come to embody all that is joyous and good about drinking too much wine with your friends. At first only a verb but, after numerous private emails from such esteemed board members as Kay Bixler, Joyce En, and--coming off hiatus--Bruce Fogelberg, it has since been granted usage as a noun. Example: That was one hell of a jeebus last night.
But is there only one kind of jeebus?
The answer is a resounding no. There are three different levels of jeebus, and, depending on who you ask, possibly 4 or even 5. It's complicated. I will now do my best to lay the basic groundwork for understanding this elusive term, jeebus.
The three major jeebus, in descending order are:
Grand Cru Jeebus:
The Grand Cru Jeebus usually involves considerable preplanning, arranging of schedules, and the consumption of a large cross section of one type of wine or particular producers work, as well as huge amounts of food prepared especially for the occasion. These types of jeebus generally last 6 to eight hours--though time is not a critical element in the determining what type of jeebus you are experiencing--have coffee in the middle, and are usually held in the homes of private individuals.
Premier Cru Jeebus:
Generally held in restaurants, a Premier Cru Jeebus is often called in the honor of a visiting winelover (drunk). These types of jeebus require some semi-serious preplanning but often lack the structure of a Grand Cru Jeebus. This is not always a bad thing. A Premier Cru Jeebus often involves good food prepared by someone else, a variety of wines, and coffee at the end accompanied by a bill or fee. Average time is four to 6 hours.
Village Jeebus:
The most open of the three, a Village Jeebus can be quite charming with its unpredictability, coffee, for instance, can appear at any time. Requiring little planning a Village Jeebus will often spark up in an afternoon with a simple phone call "Hey, why don't you come over for dinner tonight" and can grow to enormous proportions or remain intimate. Although usually held in private homes a Village Jeebus can also occur in a restaurant. On average they last from two to 6 hours.
Some will claim the existence of a Jeebus Grand Ordinaire but honestly I don't think a nice dinner with your own wife counts as a jeebus. I mean usually there isn't even coffee.
So there you have it.
It's a loose set of guidelines for sure. There's no telling when a common Village Jeebus may turn into a Grand Cru Jeebus. Say several attendees happen to bring along various vintages of spectacular wine and you find yourself in quiet contemplation for many hours after the coffee has come and gone, mentally exhausted, physically tired, but unable to stop. Well my friend you are indeed having the Grand Cru experience!
There are so many points I could cover but I think this gives a basic idea of what a jeebus is and can be.
Enjoy, and a happy jeebus to all of you.