Well my time here in Paris is over and what better may to go than with sparkling wine, a Cremant d’Alsace. Cremant goes through the same process, as Champagne except there is one difference, location. In France and all of Europe for that matter, wine cannot be legally called Champagne unless it is in fact from Champagne. Sparkling wines from outside Champagne in France will usually go by Cremant. Of course there are going to be slight differences in taste due to the terrior. Sparkling wine is popped during times of celebration. This is the end of a great three months and the start of something new as I move to Long Island’s wine country.

I chose this wine because with the unofficial start of summer Alsace is perfect. The white wines here are well known with the Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, and their sparkling wines prosper as well. Another key point is these wines are not expensive at all. Alsace is respected but it doesn’t have the same prestige as Champagne, Burgundy, or Bordeaux. This is great for you. In the US a typical bottle will be between $12 to $20.

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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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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 »