BonjourParis

"Based on a true story of love, victory and fermentation." Oh? Movies are notoriously bad at history, no matter how much the producers spend on artificial verisimilitude. When they spend zilch, it's embarrassing. No location shots in Paris, just three or four period Citroens to represent for "France," a yellow Gremlin for California. Everything's shot in telephoto so you can't see modern-day backgrounds, except for endless helicopter shots over lush vineyards (impossibly lush, given that the story takes place in early spring) Last Updated ( Sunday, 31 August 2008 )

The French Embassy in Washington recently hosted the well organized 2008 French Wine Roadshow, whose purpose was to introduce some new and innovative French winemakers to the American market, and to secure importers here for their wines. Last Updated ( Sunday, 31 August 2008 )

I recently gave a talk on great French wines at a Virginia wine festival. The association is a natural one - after all, Thomas Jefferson, or “Mr. Jefferson” as they still call him in Charlottesville (as though the third President might stroll down the street at any moment), was a great connoisseur of fine wines who tried to grow an assortment of French grapes at Monticello without much success. Last Updated ( Sunday, 14 September 2008 )

For years, Bordeaux’s Vin Expo, held every other year for wine professionals, including importers, restaurant professionals, and the wine writing press, has been the highlight of the wine year. It features many tastings, highlighted by a Grand Cru dinner, and an opportunity to compare different vintages in considerable depth. I greatly enjoyed VinExpo in Bordeaux when I lived there in 1985. That tradition not only continues, it has been expanded. I enjoyed attending a VinExpo in New York in 2002, and another one has since been held in Asia. Meanwhile, some jealousy has ben engendered by success, as rumors persist of a pullout by some wine makers over charges that Bordeaux favors its own wines. Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 July 2008 )

This is my one hundredth wine column for Bonjour Paris, and although prices have skyrocketed, it is still as much fun as when we first started together. For a wine lover, beginner or expert, it is now time for a seasonal, very pleasurable chore. Go to your wine retailer, and lay in a case of reasonably priced French wines that will go perfectly with your summer dinners. Make sure that they are good wines, and that you don’t spend over $125.00, taxes included. Last Updated ( Friday, 01 August 2008 )

A “Rhone Renaissance” wine tasting at the French Embassy in Washington recently featured fine wines from throughout the Northern and Southern Rhone. This column treats those from the Southern Rhone. While we were tasting the wines, Pope Benedict XVI was visiting Washington. Therefore, we must start with Chateauneuf du Pape! This storied southern Rhone appellation takes its name from the removal of the papacy to Avignon in the fourteenth century. Chateauneuf du Pape became the papal summer residence, and there the vineyards grow today. The region has long produced sturdy, flavorful wines, and the appellation was formally created in 1936.

Last Updated ( Friday, 01 August 2008 )

A pleasant and thorough introduction to the wines of the Rhone Valley, both North and South, was recently held at the French Embassy in Washington. The tasting featured fine wines, well displayed by their knowledgeable distributors. The able wine missionary work of the French Wine Society, which helped organize the event and publicize it, deserves particular note. It was suggested that these wines are now being “rediscovered”: hence the title for the tasting. Whether that is entirely the case or not, it is certainly true that with a few well-known exceptions, such as Châteauneuf du Pape (CDP), these wines deserve to be better known.

Last Updated ( Friday, 01 August 2008 )