Life is such (or is it business?) that cooperatives often have difficulties aiming for top quality. The small cooperative Champagne Mailly, based in the Grand Cru village Mailly of course, is one that succeeds in
La Vigne Assassinée – l’Avenir du Vin By: Christian R. Saint-Roche CIDE ISBN 2-9525036-1-3 The title reads ”the assassinated vine” but it’s not a crime novel even if it is a thriller of sorts. How
Wine tourism is en vogue and the wine co-operative in Florensac in the Languedoc has made some big investments to become more welcoming to passing tourists. It is located near the motorway between Montpellier and
Marjorie Gallet was only 23 when she in 2001, without a penny in her pocket, decided to settle in Roussillon to become winegrower. She had an opportunity to buy an old property of 10 ha
Coume del Mas is close to the village Cousprou, between Collioure and Banyuls. The soil is poor, dominated by slate that gives a strong backbone and fresh acidity to the wines. The main grape variety
Strolling along the river on the Ile Saint-Louis is something that both tourists and Parisians love to do. A relatively new restaurant on the main street (almost the only street…) is Sorza. It is not
Cave d’Embres et Castelmaure, Corbières, Languedoc To reach the village of Embres et Castelmaure (yes, that’s how its called) you have to follow narrow, winding roads, beautiful and remote and full of game hunters in
A small wine bar in one of the old ‘passages’ (indoor shopping gallery) close to the big boulevards. The peculiarity with this wine bar is that all wines are organic, many are even biodynamic and
Aux Plaisir des Halles, Nîmes Very ambitious kitchen, perhaps the best in Nîmes. A small dining room decorated in quite modern style, avoiding the over-heavy classic French attributes that you sometimes see, in particular in
Uruguay is a comparatively small country in South America with many small family run vineyards and a climate that is similar to that of Bordeaux. There are many interesting wine producers in the country and
Philippe Viret and his father Alain has been practising something called “cosmoculture” since the early 1990s – a form of organic and bio-dynamic method of cultivation where they fetch inspiration from both Maya and Inca
Newly opened wine bar and bistro in a renovated traditional café. Original tables made from old champagne “pupitres”. Very good value menu with starter, main course and dessert from 21 euro. I had an excellent
Domaine de la Prose is beautifully located on a hilltop with a view both over the Mediterranean, the Pic St Loup mountains and Montpellier. Alexandre de Mortillet and his wife had a “coup de foudre”
Mas Montel makes both Vin de Pays d’Oc and AC Coteaux du Languedoc. It is very nice and good value for money wines, for example the Cuvée Jéricho, a Vin de Pays made from 80%
Valerie and Philippe Riboud bought the beautiful Château Roubine with the adjoining 75 hectares of vineyard in 1994. Neither of them had much experience of wine growing at that time. Valerie had been working in
A nice wine bar and wine shop in the centre of the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter). It just opened in February (2005). Nicely decorated with a dominant red that contrasts with the old wooden beams.
Unpretentious and nice – if you happen to be close to Saint-Sulpice and Bon Marché. Try their crème brûlée au Roquefort for a starter… Lunch menu for 15-18 euro.
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 56, boulevard Saint-Vencent, 49400 Varrains, tel 02 41 52 94 02 Red Loire wine is often made from Cabernet Franc, an aromatic and appealing grape variety. But it is
Domaine des 2 Ânes, Corbières Pech Narbonnais 11440 Peyriac de Mer, tel 04 68 41 67 79 Corbières is the biggest appellation in Languedoc. It is dominated by mountains and can be very remote and
A charming brasserie with an interesting design made by the sculptor Armand Joncker. Well made French-Belgian food and an interesting and good-value wine list. Brasserie Toucan, avenue Louis Lepoutre 1 (corner of chaussée de Waterloo),
For almost ten years Jean-Guy Loustau’s basque restaurant has maintained it’s position as one of Paris’s most popular wine restaurants. Start with a sweet Jurançon for aperitif and try a full bodied Madiran or Irouléguy
You can still find some good value Bordeaux wines! Château Fourcas-Dupré in Listrac has made a very good 2000. You can find it at Systembolaget (in Sweden) for the modest sum of 158 kr (~16€),
Behind Bandol and Cassis, almost in the mountains, you find this producer where the vines grow on red clay soil mixed with limestone. It is managed with great care by Raimond de Villeneuve. He took
The brothers Vincent and Victor Lebreton in Juigné-sur-Loire makes some incredibly good-value wines, both red, dry white and sweet white. My favorite red is Anjou Village Brissac 1998, with one year’s oak aging – very
Enjoy a good lunch in a relaxed atmosphere (makes a change from the boulevard outside) upstairs in one of Paris’ biggest wine shops, and you’ll have a view over their enormous assortment of spirits. You
Classic French cuisine – very well made and nicely presented by la patronne or her staff. As the name suggests, also a good wine list. L’AOC, 14 r Fossés St Bernard 75005 Paris, +33 (0)1
One of the ”new wave” of biodynamic producers. Makes several different cuvees of excellent wines, e.g. two full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc wines with lots of citrus freshness: ‘Agathe’ (12.60€) and ‘Plume d’Ange’ (13.80€), available at Lafayette
Well made and interesting wines. Several different cuvees, for example their base wine sold in one-litre bottles and very good value. Price: €4-15 depending on cuvee. For example, the Cuvee Orience, full of fruit made
A very interesting and ambitious producer who is not relying on bland rosés to make its reputation. A good range of wines with particularly interesting whites. And actually a good rosé made from Tibouren grapes.
Life is such (or is it business?) that cooperatives often have difficulties aiming for top quality. The small cooperative Champagne Mailly, based in the Grand
La Vigne Assassinée – l’Avenir du Vin By: Christian R. Saint-Roche CIDE ISBN 2-9525036-1-3 The title reads ”the assassinated vine” but it’s not a crime
Wine tourism is en vogue and the wine co-operative in Florensac in the Languedoc has made some big investments to become more welcoming to passing
Marjorie Gallet was only 23 when she in 2001, without a penny in her pocket, decided to settle in Roussillon to become winegrower. She had
Coume del Mas is close to the village Cousprou, between Collioure and Banyuls. The soil is poor, dominated by slate that gives a strong backbone
Strolling along the river on the Ile Saint-Louis is something that both tourists and Parisians love to do. A relatively new restaurant on the main
Cave d’Embres et Castelmaure, Corbières, Languedoc To reach the village of Embres et Castelmaure (yes, that’s how its called) you have to follow narrow, winding
A small wine bar in one of the old ‘passages’ (indoor shopping gallery) close to the big boulevards. The peculiarity with this wine bar is
Aux Plaisir des Halles, Nîmes Very ambitious kitchen, perhaps the best in Nîmes. A small dining room decorated in quite modern style, avoiding the over-heavy
Uruguay is a comparatively small country in South America with many small family run vineyards and a climate that is similar to that of Bordeaux.
Philippe Viret and his father Alain has been practising something called “cosmoculture” since the early 1990s – a form of organic and bio-dynamic method of
Newly opened wine bar and bistro in a renovated traditional café. Original tables made from old champagne “pupitres”. Very good value menu with starter, main
Domaine de la Prose is beautifully located on a hilltop with a view both over the Mediterranean, the Pic St Loup mountains and Montpellier. Alexandre
Mas Montel makes both Vin de Pays d’Oc and AC Coteaux du Languedoc. It is very nice and good value for money wines, for example
Valerie and Philippe Riboud bought the beautiful Château Roubine with the adjoining 75 hectares of vineyard in 1994. Neither of them had much experience of
A nice wine bar and wine shop in the centre of the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter). It just opened in February (2005). Nicely decorated with
Unpretentious and nice – if you happen to be close to Saint-Sulpice and Bon Marché. Try their crème brûlée au Roquefort for a starter… Lunch
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 56, boulevard Saint-Vencent, 49400 Varrains, tel 02 41 52 94 02 Red Loire wine is often made from Cabernet
Domaine des 2 Ânes, Corbières Pech Narbonnais 11440 Peyriac de Mer, tel 04 68 41 67 79 Corbières is the biggest appellation in Languedoc. It
A charming brasserie with an interesting design made by the sculptor Armand Joncker. Well made French-Belgian food and an interesting and good-value wine list. Brasserie
For almost ten years Jean-Guy Loustau’s basque restaurant has maintained it’s position as one of Paris’s most popular wine restaurants. Start with a sweet Jurançon
You can still find some good value Bordeaux wines! Château Fourcas-Dupré in Listrac has made a very good 2000. You can find it at Systembolaget
Behind Bandol and Cassis, almost in the mountains, you find this producer where the vines grow on red clay soil mixed with limestone. It is
The brothers Vincent and Victor Lebreton in Juigné-sur-Loire makes some incredibly good-value wines, both red, dry white and sweet white. My favorite red is Anjou
Enjoy a good lunch in a relaxed atmosphere (makes a change from the boulevard outside) upstairs in one of Paris’ biggest wine shops, and you’ll
Classic French cuisine – very well made and nicely presented by la patronne or her staff. As the name suggests, also a good wine list.
One of the ”new wave” of biodynamic producers. Makes several different cuvees of excellent wines, e.g. two full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc wines with lots of citrus
Well made and interesting wines. Several different cuvees, for example their base wine sold in one-litre bottles and very good value. Price: €4-15 depending on
A very interesting and ambitious producer who is not relying on bland rosés to make its reputation. A good range of wines with particularly interesting
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