OK. Besides traveling with Einfahrt, and dropping the good name Lynch (of Lynch-Bages fame) , what's the best way to enjoy a nice glass of French wine in Paris?
Surely the esteemed blogosphere (not be be confused with an Illinois Governor) have some pointers for some neophytes?
6 comments:
There are a million and one ways to enjoy a glass of wine in Paris. Situations from congratulatory to conciliatory to comforting all call for a little wine. However, there are moments in life that are made for certain types of wine. It is important to know the ABC’s of how to enjoy a glass of wine, so you can savor it at its best whenever you choose to.
The Right Choice
Strategically choose the type of wine for the feeling, mood and circumstances of the moment. Obviously champagne and sparkling wines are best suited to celebrations and happy times. Light wines like Rieslings are wonderful when it is hot outside or you are just looking for something fresh and lively. Reds tend to be more romantic and some of them are even just perfect for sitting beside the fire on a cold winter night. Whites like Sauvignon Blanc are elegant and a great choice for a more formal feel. However, what makes the right choice the best choice is you. Guidelines are helpful, but by keeping a wine diary tracking likes, dislikes, food pairings and the setting you enjoyed them in, you can be sure to make the best choice for you and your wine moments in life.
The Right Temperature
Be sure that the wines you serve yourself and others are served at the temperature that best shows off their qualities. Sparkling wines and champagnes must be served cold, as should white wine. Red wines and dessert wines are much better at room temperature – providing your rooms are a moderate temperature, neither freezing nor hot. The right temperature for the wine enhances the aroma of it, which is one of the major components in your wine enjoyment.
The Right Accessories
Nothing dulls the moment of enjoying a nice glass of wine as much as struggling with a difficult to use wine opener or swirling your wine in a cloudy water-spotted wineglass. You must have the right accessories to accentuate your enjoyment. Personally I love the wine opener I have. It is a two-motion screw pull type of opener that is virtually impossible to mess up. After years of brutalizing corks, they now come out effortlessly every time. Hand washing in hot water and drying with a lint-free cloth will ensure sparkling glasses to enjoy your wines from. For an even heightened experience, experiment with tasting your favorite white from a white wineglass versus a regular wineglass. You may just be surprised at the difference the glass itself makes.
The Right Food
Choose your wine based on the food you are planning to enjoy with it. Be cautious to balance them carefully. An overpowering wine will diminish the enjoyment you get from light meals and even mask the taste of certain foods. The opposite is also true; wines that are not hearty enough for heavier meals will be practically eliminated by the taste of the food. Strive for balance to enhance the taste of the wine and your meal together.
I prefer enjoying wine in Paris with an attractive woman.
I will be doing that, John! ;-)
Barbus... thanks for the pointers. I was hoping for a more pedestrian answer like "Where should I go? What types of wine are good in paris (don't say French)?"
Any reasonable upscale cafe, almost any upscale restaurant, and wine bars, sometimes called caves (cah-ves), will offer good french wines.
As Barbus says - choose what you want for the occasion and taste.
The good news: a great, and large Bordeaux, costing well over $100 here, will cost less than 20e there - depending on the venue, it'll be marked up - double or so, but wine store price will be 1/5 US pricing for the same thing.
Further, you can get vintages not available here, as well as reserves and vintner's choice selections.
It might be good to go to a couple of wine stores to see what is available. It might be good, from here, to go to a few (french store) web sites to check selections there before you go.
My taste, when indulged, is towards big Bordeaux. A wine store in the Latin Quarter (don't remember the name, but near La Familia hotel) had shelves of Bordeaux ranging from '85s to '08s from multiple vintners and of multiple quality selections - costing from 4e to about 25e.
Cote de Rhones were popular and very reasonably priced - 3 to 8e for a bottle.
On more simple days, a carafe of house Cote du Rhone from a sidewalk cafe will set you back for less than the price of a simple meal.
Most of those I couldn't get here; wish I had a few shipped back.
More info: Paris, outside of the city center (Louvre, Chammp d'Elysee, Notre Dame) and touristy areas (Sacre Cour, Eiffel Tour, Pigale) is made up of hundreds of neigborhoods. Each has housing, groceries, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, wine shops, etc. The intent is that the locals are able to walk to almost anything they need right there in their neighborhoods. I don't know where you are staying, but every neighborhood has its little wine stores, and probably a cave within walking distance. These places will have good selections at local (good) prices. Grab a bottle, go back to your hotel, have the hotel get out wine service, and enjoy the wine in your hotel lobby - with that attractive woman - before you head out, or after you get back, from an evening on the town.
Near the Louvre, there's a place called Soufle Soufle. It serves: soufles. For appetizer, entre, and desert - soufles. My opinion, best in Paris. A ham and cheese (fromage e jambon) soufle with a sauvignon blanc, say a 2002. Mmm.
Or up by Port Maillot there's a place called Relais de Venice - it is a steak/frites place - you have no choices other than wine. You walk in, sit down, they'll ask you how you like it: you say "a point" (ah pwont) for medium rare, select a big Bordeaux from their wine list - Mmm. My opinion, one of the top steak/frite places in Paris.
During walks during the day - a light lunch at a sidewalk cafe, some monsiuer croc (melted cheese on toast with thin sliced ham, and an egg) and a half carafe of Cote de Rhone. Mmm. An alternative, some steamed mussels in garlic, butter and oil, with a crisp sauvignon blanc. Mmm.
Damn! I'm getting hungry.
BTW, the picture (of me in this and other posts) is of me at Place du Tetre, next to sacre Cour, enjoying mussels and beer.
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