Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France

Paris Wine Bars : Le Bistrot des Halles

The Bistrot des Halles , conveniently located 15 rue des Halles in the 1st arrondissement (phone 01 42 36 91 69 , open 7 am-8.30pm , closed sun.) is the true "bistrot parisien" as well as a wine bar with a sizable wine list .
"Les Halles" were in the past the huge central market in the middle of Paris , dubbed "belly of Paris", and where individuals and restaurateurs came early in the morning to buy vegetables , fish , meat , flowers... for their household or their business . It was an architectural marvel wich was destroyed in the 70's and replaced by a commercial and shopping complex . The Halles neighbourhood had a high concentration of very professional brasseries and restaurants to serve these demanding customers . After the market moved elsewhere ( in far away suburbs ), it changed . But some of the restaurants and bistrots that catered for all these food professionals survived . Like this Bistrot wich outlived the neighbourhood transformations .
Jean Pierre Breud, who previously worked in a cafe near Beaubourg , bought the place 5 1/2 years ago and preserved its style & authenticity : Mosaic floor , real period bistrot chairs, copper on the counter and tin & wood on the work side .
He works with his wife Isabelle who does wonders at the kitchen .

The place is very busy for lunch , with usually two "plats du jour" , plus the menu list . The cuisine like the bistrot, have been the object of several articles in the printed media . Her foie gras , bought in southwestern France and prepared and cooked here , is a must , we were told . Two other persons work here .
Wines by the glass are either whites or reds . When we visited , 14 whites and 20 reds were on the list , from different french regions , plus 3 different Champagnes . Small producers have the big share . Some other wines can be had only by the bottle , to drink with friends or to eat with : A Saint Joseph 2000 , Fronsac 1999, Mercurey 1998 , Cote de Nuits 1999 (22 Euro), for example . The wine cellar of the Bistrot has 50 appellations, wich allows a regular change of the wine list

Sept. Wine Fairs in French Supermarkets

In the wine aisles of Carrefour

If you happen to be in France around september or october , be sure to check about the "Foires aux Vins" in french supermarkets .
These annual wine fairs are held at the wine section of most major french supermarket chains , all over France .
They last one to two weeks , attract a lot of wine lovers as at this occasion , the supermarkets offer a larger than usual selection of wines , with renowned Chateaus as well as small producers'wines, at bargain prices . Plus , they hire for the occasion additional sommeliers to help the customers . Usually , the special selection is available in all the supermarkets of each chain in France , with maybe better selection in some regions . Different supermarket chains offer different wines , and different bargains .

There's no age for learning about wines...

Dates for the fairs for each chain, as well as the best deals in each of them can be usually found in advance in french magazines end of august or early september in special issues called "Special Vin" or "Special Foire aux Vins" . 10 000 different wines can be found in these fairs , wines from all french wine regions . But this year again , Bordeaux wines have an important share .
I used to be a fan of these Foires , and still am, until I discovered the november and april " Salon des Producteurs Independants" in which hundreds of producers gather in Paris to offer free tasting of their wines and sell bottles . This is an event about wich I'll write an article when time comes .

Wine Bar in Wroclaw

Jolanta Urbanska , the owner

While on assignment in Poland I managed to look for wine bars there .
It is only the beginning of the interest for wine in Poland and it will take another 10 years maybe before the wine bar phenomenon takes pace .
After failing to find one in Warsaw ( The one supposedly wine bar on Rynek is a tourist restaurant happening to serve wine with meals ) , I found out that another listed in Poznan ( on zydowska st.) had disappeared , that another in Poznan on a side alley from Franciszka Ratajczaka street seemed to be still there , but did not show signs of life when I visited . In Krakow I saw at last a wine bar operating with a store in the back : The Bodega Marques on ulitsa slawkowska is a real wine bar with good selection of wines . It is not far from Rynek (the central square ) . I did'nt stop for a glass though , weather was rather warm and I was tired of my day .

In Wroclaw ( former german town of Breslau ) I visited a wine bar named : Flowers , wine and coffee . This was just a week after the inauguration evening of the place .
The place is managed by Jolanta Urbanska , from Warsaw , and her companion Davide Gambula from Italy . He is born in Sardignia but lived most of his life in Rome where he learned the wine bar culture .
This wine bar has also this cozy central european atmosphere and serves pastries & coffee wich allows a wider customer base . Comfortable armchairs add to this cozy touch .
The wine selection is : 9 whites , 1 rosé , and 16 reds by the glass or by the bottle , and additional wines by the bottle only . All are from Italy . The place has a special relation with an italian body named IEI , for Istituto Enologico Italiano , wich helps small producers in Italy have a window to sell their wines , in Italy and abroad . This is a good idea France should follow . Sounds like a sort of extention of the " Maison des Vins" system to make access easier to wines for potential wine bars in the rest of the world .

Valencay Celebration

The Chateau de Valencay , home of Talleyrand (Napoleon's minister), wich retains most of its period furniture, interior decoration and paintings .

This weekend was "jour de fete" in Valencay . The Valencay wine world held two days of festivities to celebrate the access to the new Valencay AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlée) label officially obtained in march 2004) . The Valencay wines are : Reds_Gamay Noir majority , Pinot Noir ,Cot(Malbec), Pineau d'Aunis . Whites_Sauvignon majority , Chardonnay . Rosés_ Pineau d'Aunis , Pinot Noir . The Valencay Appellation, named from the small town of Valencay (map), is one of the Loire Valley wine Appellations, and makes a total of 200 hectares on a global surface of 2400 hectares spread between 14 communes (villages) of the Indre departement, and 1 commune in the Loir et Cher departement (Selles sur Cher). Total production : 8000 hectoliters . 60% Valencay red , 30% Valencay whites, the rest in Valencay rosé . These are little known wines wich are very good value and reserve many surprises , especially for their whites (and also their reds that I have been buying directly at the domaines for several years) . Where can you find a good wine for 3,5 Euro a bottle , wich is the usual price around here ?
All day in the central square of the town , tastings and music [Picture upper left : female singer-musician of the "Dine et Deon" trio] with the presence of local and regional officials , and the Secretaire d'Etat à l'Agriculture Nicolas Forissier , and of course of all the concerned wine producers , Francis Jourdain , Hubert sinson , Jean Francois Roy , Regis mandard , M. Vaillant of the Coop , and many others...

Holding glass: left, in orange: Francis Jourdain . Right with hat , Hubert sinson. Background with big glass : N. Forissier . Holding bottle: Claude Doucet, mayor of Valencay
After a grey , chilly, and sometimes wet august, this early september is sunny, with temperatures even warmer than usual (30-31° C)
To familiarize the visitors with the vineyard, a free bus takes them every 1/2 hour from Valencay central square to the middle of the vineyard where a winegrower explains the local grape varieties, the soil and many other things . After this educational visit done along 1 1/2 km walk among the vineyard ranks, you reach a "loge de vigne", one of these shelters commonly built at the beginning of the century in the region to accommodate 2 horses and about 10 workers . There, in this small house sitting in the middle of the vineyard far from the villages , the workers and horses of that time rested and took shelter from the rain . Today, the "loge" , wich has been restored, hosts a free tasting of the different types of Valencay wines , selected from their different soils : "les graves", les cosses", les silex" . No producer name for these demonstration white wines that are selected for their strong terroir characterisics . Excellent whites, by the way . Majority Sauvignon , 10% Chardonnay in the first 2 , 20% in the last . Picture on right : An italian amateur enjoying the day .