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An
ÔChateau Wine Tasting Evening
Wine tastings in France are a well known past
time, current time and any time journey of appreciation!
If venturing out to the vineyards is not on
your itinerary, you can at least have a good time in Paris tasting the
fruits of the French vine.
Starting your trip with a visit to the
Ô Chateau loft may even help you in choosing wines during your
Paris dining experiences.
How does one decide where and with whom to
do a tasting? You might want to start with a sommelier's
own
roots and
reputation.
The Paris-born, sommelier, Olivier Magny, comes from
a Beaujolais family winery background. His reputation has been built
upon after appearing on television and in print in at least three
countries (USA, Britain, and France).
My husband and I took the opportunity to
enhance our wine palates at Ô Chateau with an evening "Grand 7"
tasting. The "Grand
7" is one of several tasting categories from which to choose. The
tasting consists of "seven remarkable French wines during a two-hour
period". We shared questions, photos and a nice evening with an
international group of, coincidentally, seven participants, plus
Olivier.
Personalized Attention
Olivier began our journey that evening with a
Tour de France on the map - locating the various wine regions. He
touched on many topics and did country comparisons.
For
example, he described the quantity of Australian and
US wines grown, compared with France. He also told us about artisan
subsidies given not to grow grapes and to remove the vineyards.
And by way, how do you read a French label?
A question such as that is easiest answered in
a private setting for just that reason: Your questions
are personally answered.
Everyone in our
group had a
basic knowledge of wine, but when asked Olivier was happy to expand that knowledge.
In answer to
one question, Olivier told us the story of how America saved European
wines (1) and to another,
why Americans buy
wine by the grape type; while Europeans in general choose wine by the
region.
Thus the
question: "How do you read a French wine label?".
Olivier
indicated that the labels make it more difficult to buy French wines because
you have to be more familiar with the region,
i.e., you cannot just pick the grape variety. The regions of origin are
Burgundy,
Loire Valley,
Côtes du Rhône,
Bordeaux, etc.
The French wines
are more subtle and complex and require more work to understand. One
possible guide is a system called AOC (Appellation d'Origin Controlée) which regulates the wine production for each region.
But the AOC label should not scare one away from trying other regional
wines. For information on classification, make a note and ask Olivier....
The main
information to guide consumers on American wine bottles, is the variety
of the grape: Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Cabernet, Shiraz/Syrah, etc. This is also
true for so-called New World wines from South Africa, Australia and
South America.
In most
regions the wines are blends. Bordeaux wines, for example: are a blend of
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Côtes du Rhône is a blend of
Shiraz,
Grenache,
Mourvèdre, etc.
In France, a huge number of small wine producers
provide only a few thousand bottles a year.
American wine
is dominated by huge industrial wine makers -- Gallo and Mondavi for
example.
Although I
enjoy small wine tastings, I find that driving through the wine
regions lets me discover history and nature, enjoy meetings with the
locals and experience the regional dishes. However you do it is, wine
tasting is a wonderful journey
of discovery.
Of course, if
you are not leaving Paris, this is the next best tour.
Olivier's
guest
You will leave the loft with a good memory.
After all, you are coming into his home to sit at the kitchen counter or at
a table and talk and enjoy this passion with him.
In case your wine memory eludes you after your
visit, every one of Olivier’s “guests” leaves with an “ÔChateau Cheat
Sheet” describing technique, balance, regions, how to read a French label
and useful tips and probably some excellent wine.
It makes for a fun evening because his tastings
are not intimidating.
Additional
information
Books
ÔChateau recommends books by
Oz
Clarke for a beginner and to give a general overview of wines.
ÔChateau's offerings
Wine, Two, Three!
Taste three remarkable
French wines, one-hour presentation.
Grand 7
Taste seven
remarkable French wines, two-hour presentation
Wine & Cheese
Tasting Lunch
Taste One Champagne, 4 Wines, Five Cheeses for a memorable Tasting lunch
Corporate
events and Wine tasting dinners
ÔChateau has
designed a variety of wine tasting packages for incentive groups,
corporate hospitality, client entertainment, staff teambuilding or
simply for a group of friends.
Ô Chateau
Paris Wine
Tasting
100 rue de la
Folie Méricourt 75011
Telephone: 331
44 739 780; in Paris 01 44 63 97 80
e-mail:
contact@o-chateau.com
(1)
Briefly,
in late 1800 a bug called
phylloxera
decimated European wine stocks. It was discovered that American vines
were immune to this bug which attacked the roots. European vines were
grafted on to the American roots.
Other Paris wine tasting ideas
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May 2008
