It’s a smooth evening in the lounge-bar at the Hotel Lutetia. Pianist Daniel Roca wends his way through jazz standards at the center of a well-oiled trio. Head bartender Gilles Guyomarch supplies a harmony of cocktails, swaying lyrical conversation from the crowd. And the author is getting a drink named after himself.
France’s once-vibrant beer brewing tradition lost its way in the 20th century. But now the beer drought is over. The craft of brewing fine beer is back and with it the art of enjoying it, as Kate Robinson reports from La Fine Mousse, the first bar in Paris to seriously specialize in craft beer.
I love the atmosphere in the bars of Paris on the third Thursday of November when the Beaujoulais Nouveau is officially released. Gathering around an inexpensive wine just when it becomes available makes for a [...]
In which the author takes a tasting class at Wine University (Université du Vin) in the medieval castle of Suze-la-Rousse, reflects on whether or not he’s a wine enthusiast, and wonders if it’s true that [...]
France Revisited meets with Jeanne Bernard, an American from Louisiana living in Paris, to discuss her documentary “New Wine From France,” an examination of the world of biodynamic wines, to learn how she got involved with biodynamics and filmmaking, and to discover her favorite shops and bars selling organic and biodynamic wines in Paris.
At the bar of the 5-star Hotel Fouquet’s Barriere, just off the Champs-Elysees, I met Stephane Ginouves, winner of the first Meilleur
Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) competition for bartenders, and got his recipe for mixing with Singles.
Lunches at Le Bistrot du Sommelier in Paris and at the Trianon Palace in Versailles weren’t only occasions to eat and drink well but also opportunities to meet historical wine producer Isabelle Orliac, gold-medalist sommelier Philippe Faur-Brac, and gastronomic chef Simone Zanoni.
Montmartre celebrated its annual Grape Harvest Festival (Fête des Vendanges) in early October with a series of joyful community events including lectures, concerts, tasting events, a parade, and more in a local celebration of an [...]
A man with a passion will view the entire world though the optic of that passion. Whatever it may be—wine, women, motorcycles, baseball, Egyptology, fishing, or chess—he is capable of seeing in his passion every [...]
