With my stay in Paris coming to an end I decided it was time to revisit old favorites. Relaxing in parks and gardens that took complete control of my senses, walking the streets that I fell in love with, going to that local café or creperie that made me feel at home, and of course drinking the wine that expanded my palate. Taking chances is what wine is about. You won’t know unless you try it once. I can certainly say that there are wines I would be reluctant to try again, but of course I will because who knows, I might have caught it on a bad day. A bad day can happen to even the best wine…

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I recently traveled to Reims, Champagne and to Dijon and Beaune in Burgundy. Reims and Epernay are the two big cities in Champagne that attract tourists. Reims was an enjoyable city to walk the streets with cafes lining pedestrian only walkways and a glass of Champagne in hand. The cellars were informative but you certainly don’t have to continue from one house to another, you will be receiving the same information at all. For most houses you need an appointment, which gave me the feeling of not being welcomed. Wine should not just be for a certain group of people that can fit the schedule. We were able though to get an appointment at Pommery and then we continued to Taittinger where there were no appointments necessary.The two tours if combined would have been spectacular, but where one lacked energy the other lacked information. After the tour you are given a glass of Champagne, well actually you paid for it with admission. Most houses are 10 euros, so put a few tours together in one day that will tell you the same information, then you have just wasted a lot of money. Instead I would recommend going to one house and then heading over to a café and popping a bottle and just enjoy your surroundings.

The next stop on the trip was Dijon in Burgundy…
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White Zinfandel has certainly ruined many opportunities for rosés in the United States. Slowly they are appearing in restaurants and at wine bars, yet, it is only the brave that are drinking this pink sensation. The rest of us, myself included until recently, don’t want people to believe that we might be drinking White Zinfandel. In reality, the only person that will care, and should care, what you are drinking is you, unless someone else is buying your drink, but that is more geared for the topic of economics, which I won’t be covering here.

I was recently at a wine bar in Paris with friends for dinner. When it came time to order our wine, I was looking at the reds, and by accident I ordered a Cotes-du-Provence thinking it was red. The server came back with our drinks. We had a rainbow of wines sitting on our table, one ordered white, another red, and apparently I ordered a rosé. A bit reluctant at first, I considered sending it back, but quickly remembered the French customer service policy…

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The Rhône Valley.

That’s all I have to say, it is a region that does not need a proper introduction. South of Burgundy, here is where we start to leave the Pinot Noir, Gamay, Cabernet Franc dominated reds and move into deeper Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre and Carignan.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the big stand out in this region, as well as the way to my heart. Of course such quality and recognition is also accompanied by a prestigious price. If you are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy this treat of a wine on a regular basis, then give me a call and we’ll start hanging out. To the rest of us, there are great alternatives within the Rhône without going into debt.

Côtes du Rhône is the most popular of these alternatives and is available at a great value. A typical bottle will range form $12 to $20. A Côtes du Rhône is, generally speaking, a blend of Syrah, Grenache, and then sometimes Mouvedre and/or Carignan, but Grenache is the dominant force here. It’s centralized within the Rhône, displaying characteristics of the North and the South. Côtes du Rhône Villages are within Côtes du Rhône, but a bit more specific. French wine can never be simple; there always has to be a break down and then possibly two or three more after that.

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To kick-start my new program I enjoyed the 2006 Gadais Pére et Fils Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from the Loire Valley. Something interesting was happening here, there was a sweetness on the nose of vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough. When I tasted it though, there was a slight sweetness upfront, but then the dryness came out with a mild effervescence. On the palate I was picking up a gummy bear fruit flavor ending with sugar cookies. Sounds delicious, well it was, and this certainly has Wine Your Diet written all over it.

For those of you not familiar with Muscadet, it is a region within the Loire Valley in North West France. The grape is Muscadet, but if outside of this area will go by Melon, such as Melon de Bourgogne. This wine can be both white and red. Though the name is similar to Muscat, it is not related.

If you are looking to eat something with this, I would go with something light such as seafood. This is great wine with Read the rest of this entry »