Even if you missed it, it is never too late for an apéro! (But go for a real one! Not the sugary fizzy-drinks version spritz.)
Where did that classic French aperitif go? Byrrh, Noilly Prat, Dubonnet, l’Ambassadeur, St Raphaël, Kina Karo, Lillet and more. All of them are based on wine to which spices, fruits or aromatic plants have been added, often also quinine for its beneficial effects.
Aperitif wines have a long tradition, but they experienced their greatest success in France in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The memory of some of them has faded, but in fact, most of them are alive and kicking and now there is a reawakened interest in the classic aperitif.
The Fédération Française des Vins d’Apéritif is doing its best to spread the word about these historic aperitifs and on September 16, 17 and 18 it is organizing the “Apéritif du Patrimoine” to make people discover or rediscover these more than 100-year-old wines, forever associated with the French towns where they are made:
- Noilly Prat in Marseillan (Languedoc),
- Byrrh in Thuir (Roussillon),
- St Raphaël in Saint-Raphaël (Provence),
- Dolin in Chambéry (Savoie),
- Lillet in Podensac (Bordeaux),
- Kina Karo in Lagrasse (Languedoc)
- and more.
Read more ffva
Read more on Dolin in this article.
Read more on other classic aperitifs in this article.
