Guest Post By:
Augustine Blaisdell
French wine—never has there been a more daunting subject. Sure they’ve got some staple names: Merlot, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, but the amount of others, the list could go on for miles. One of the keys to understanding French wine is that the name derives from the region in France where the grape is grown. Sounds simple enough, the next key is to determine what you like, the hard part is of course learning to describe that in French.
The first time I fell in love with a French wine was with a glass of St. Emilion, of which is was so good that I may have had another at a café called Le Luctrece, near the very touristy area of the St. Michel fountain. What made this wine so special, I can barely say, perfectly smooth on the palate perhaps, but like all first times you strive for that same exhilaration again and again to match that first discovery.
St. Emilion is nothing new. It’s a grand name and the makers of such know that it is, as it is usually, unfortunately, one of the more expensive bottles of wine on a wine list as well as in the stores. To have the illustrious title of a St. Emilion, it must be from the region of Bordeaux. It is blended from different grape varieties, the three main ones being Merlot (60% of the blend), Cabernet Franc (nearly 30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (around 10%).
I cannot begin to be the sommelier that I would like to be but it’s okay because I know what I like. And what I like is another wine called a Pic St. Loup. This was another joyous discovery made at one of my absolute favorite wine bars in Paris, Le Comptoir du Relais. The comptoir, French word for counter, is exactly that, a small wine bar, with no chairs, writing on the walls of how much everyone adores the place, and laminated pictures of the tapas menu items hanging from the ceiling. It’s a place that if you go to enough, you can discover the joys of being considered a regular.
The last time I went in late May the Pic St. Loup was not available as apparently that wine has a season, which is winter and not spring into summer, so instead we were recommended a St. Chinian, a combination of Syrah and Mourvedre coming from the Mediterranean coast. It went
perfectly with the quick grilled foie gras with red peppers and equally as well with the large hunk of ahi tuna with onions. This wine was a bio wine, which has become increasingly more and more popular as France starts to accept the trend of organically grown food and wine. To have the stamp of approval for a bio wine, the vineyard must be certified, and a long list of other requirements- while one may rejoice in drinking an organic wine, sometimes the taste can be slightly more earthy, which is not necessarily a good thing, luckily this was not the case with this wine. And with your Cheers like status where the men behind the bar know your name, they are happy to let you help yourself to another half bottle gratuit, which is to say for free, and that tastes pretty good as well!
Augustine Blaisdell
French wine—never has there been a more daunting subject. Sure they’ve got some staple names: Merlot, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, but the amount of others, the list could go on for miles. One of the keys to understanding French wine is that the name derives from the region in France where the grape is grown. Sounds simple enough, the next key is to determine what you like, the hard part is of course learning to describe that in French.
The first time I fell in love with a French wine was with a glass of St. Emilion, of which is was so good that I may have had another at a café called Le Luctrece, near the very touristy area of the St. Michel fountain. What made this wine so special, I can barely say, perfectly smooth on the palate perhaps, but like all first times you strive for that same exhilaration again and again to match that first discovery.
St. Emilion is nothing new. It’s a grand name and the makers of such know that it is, as it is usually, unfortunately, one of the more expensive bottles of wine on a wine list as well as in the stores. To have the illustrious title of a St. Emilion, it must be from the region of Bordeaux. It is blended from different grape varieties, the three main ones being Merlot (60% of the blend), Cabernet Franc (nearly 30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (around 10%).
I cannot begin to be the sommelier that I would like to be but it’s okay because I know what I like. And what I like is another wine called a Pic St. Loup. This was another joyous discovery made at one of my absolute favorite wine bars in Paris, Le Comptoir du Relais. The comptoir, French word for counter, is exactly that, a small wine bar, with no chairs, writing on the walls of how much everyone adores the place, and laminated pictures of the tapas menu items hanging from the ceiling. It’s a place that if you go to enough, you can discover the joys of being considered a regular.
The last time I went in late May the Pic St. Loup was not available as apparently that wine has a season, which is winter and not spring into summer, so instead we were recommended a St. Chinian, a combination of Syrah and Mourvedre coming from the Mediterranean coast. It went
perfectly with the quick grilled foie gras with red peppers and equally as well with the large hunk of ahi tuna with onions. This wine was a bio wine, which has become increasingly more and more popular as France starts to accept the trend of organically grown food and wine. To have the stamp of approval for a bio wine, the vineyard must be certified, and a long list of other requirements- while one may rejoice in drinking an organic wine, sometimes the taste can be slightly more earthy, which is not necessarily a good thing, luckily this was not the case with this wine. And with your Cheers like status where the men behind the bar know your name, they are happy to let you help yourself to another half bottle gratuit, which is to say for free, and that tastes pretty good as well! 
Great French wine experience. I love St Emilion too :)
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Rocket French
grt
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