Grop

Personality

Where the rest of the clan bustles about, this Grop sprawls. Holds that any meal under four hours is merely a snack, that the second bottle is the honest one, and that whoever walks fast has misunderstood the day. Falls asleep mid-conversation, but wakes up precisely when the cheese arrives. Loves the smell of warm stones after the rain. And when he's in the mood, he pours with pleasure — sensual, deliberate, slow — with an exact eye and careful attention to the glass and the taste of the wine.

Core traits

Where they live

• a sun-warmed flagstone wall behind the kitchen where he sprawls all afternoon
• the trapdoor down to the wine cellar, propped open with a cork
• a long wooden bench under a fig tree with permanent wine rings
• the cook's striped cat who shares the same sunny stone

What they eat

• a plate of tagliatelle the cook sets aside in exchange for a pour
• veal-bone marrow gifted by the sous-chef
• salted anchovies traded for a careful glass for the in-laws
• espresso grounds licked from a saucer after a good pour