It is 6 o’clock in the morning when the alarm rings, 25 grape-pickers are still snoring in the dorms dreaming of their vendanges ‘baptism of fire’. I am already thinking of how many jars of coffee I will have to be pouring before 7. This is when the young crowd reaches the dining room, half awake and still not fully comprehending what is waiting for them in the fields. We are at Domaine Monrozier – Château des Moriers in the Beaujolais region of France, a family vineyard owned since 1850. The domaine makes Fleurie and Moulin à Vent, red wines and precious juice from the Gamay grapes – the 2 most famous Crus in the region. From the domaine’s garden...
Daniel Rose sounds French – Old Fashioned French – but it is the name of an American that is revolutionizing the French Cuisine at Spring since 2006 – a Modern Times’ Hero. Who could have thought that a young man from Chicago would have ever been capable of such an accomplishment? Not even Parisian! I have spent half of my summer in Paris, rediscovering the city’s romantic sights, ambient wines and how beautiful people live. Next door from where I live was ‘Spring’, a tiny restaurant one could pass in front of every day without noticing. As soon as the name has buzzed into your ears it could take you up to 2 months before entering Daniel’s small world –...
The “Ile de Beauté” (“Beautiful Island”) multiple differences of soils and grapes make wines for every palate but also for every moment: Muscat for the aperitif, red with the famous wild boar and white with goat cheese, mostly to be drunk young and fresh. This is also the island I have spent many of my summer holidays as a kid. In the middle of mountains and grapes, I was able to experiment the Corsican culture and unique food tradition but haven't been allowed to sip a single drop of their wonderful wines. Luckily, there are a few Corsicans in Paris that like to share their passion for wine, so I can take revenge on my very frustrating childhood. The wonderful...
It sometimes seems like being a rosé lover is a sin and makes you look like an amateur. As amateur as I may be, I think rosé is a wine that deserves to be considered as a contender. Maybe it is because rosé is pink, and pink is associated with women, and women drinking wine cannot be taken seriously. So therefore, rosé can’t be taken seriously - it's our unconscious talking to us! Thankfully, women can drink now, they are also more and more accepted in the wine business and, according to studies have a much better nose than men. Pink is also becoming an increasingly masculine color and it will soon become chic to have a glass of wine...
In comparison to beer, wine is often seen in people’s mind as a drink to go with fine food, interesting conversations, romantic settings, complex debates or chic dinners. I won’t try to prove the opposite but this very perception that some people have of wine drinkers is probably one of the reasons why more and more youngsters are turning to beer. It seems sometimes that you have to be highly educated to drink wine and that if you can’t talk properly about it you are screwed, especially in front of a sexy crowd. Elitist verbage and sophistication are things that are important in the wine culture but not the only road to go down. What’s more, it turns off some...