Tasting - Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris

Held at the restaurant that Wine Spec recently named Paris' best, Les Climats (Paris' 7th arr), this tasting showcased gorgeous Burgundian wines that often don't get enough attention...

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

I'm talking Irancy, Saint-Bris, Chitry, Epineuil, Coulanges-la-Vineuse, Tonnerre, Aligoté and Irancy. 

These are delightful drinking wines and I especially found the Chitry (white) to be the kind of wine to serve when you are welcoming guests for brunch, lunch, an early supper or simply getting together with a few girlfriends to enjoy some wine and cheese and good company. It is light, refreshing and ever so drinkable. 

For the reds, the Coulanges-la-Vineuse (which is also produced as a rosé and as white) is all Pinot Noir, true to its Burgundian roots. But its taste profile offers softer tannins. A good find and one worth discovering. It's also worth keeping in mind that the crémant de Bourgogne is a top-notch product in terms of bubbly and offers a wonderful alternative to its more famous cousin. 

In these photos you will see a few of the hard-working wine producers from these relatvely unsung parts of Burgundy which, are, nonetheless, only an hour and a half from Paris. A good point to keep in mind when planning your next wine escapade. 

More INFO here Vins-Bourgogne.fr

 

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

Le Grand Auxerrois à Paris, held at Les Climats Restaurant photo copyright Paris Food And Wine

 

LISTEN TO Archived Episodes of Paris GOODfood+wine HERE https://soundcloud.com/paigedonner

 

FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Listen On SoundCloud

Episode 10 Paris GOODfood+wine - The Halloween Special

Episode 10 Paris GOODfood+wine - The Halloween Special

Airing on World Radio Paris

Paris GOODfood+wine on WorldRadioParis

October 2015 and here we are on our second episode in our second season of Paris GOODfood+wine.

Jack o'Lantern - Happy Halloween

This being the month of Halloween, a beloved North American holiday, we have a couple of our youngster expats ringing in on what they remember and love the most about celebrating Halloween back home.

Autumn also means cosy evenings by the fireplace. And what's a better companion to that than a glass of fine Port Wine. Mr. Manuel Cabral joins us for this segment to give us hints and suggestions of what pairs nicely with that glass of Tawny or Ruby port wine. He's the Executive Director of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro et do Porto of Portugal.

Port Wine Pairs Well With Chocolate and Cosy Evenings By the Fireplace

 Gilles Pudlowski, restaurant critic and food writerAnd for this season, we're spicing up our restaurant reviews by adding yet another voice, namely Gilles Pudlowski who is a renown French restaurant critic specialized in Paris restaurants. For this episode, he'll be introducing us to Chef Jean- François Piège's new restaurant just opened in September here in Paris called Le Grand Restaurant.

Halloween Special 8' 55

Manuel Cabral Porto Douro 6' 54

Gilles Pudlowski 8' 45 

LISTEN TO Archived Episodes HERE https://soundcloud.com/paigedonner

 

FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Listen On SoundCloud

Episode 9 - Paris GOODfood+wine Season Two Launch Show

posted by Paige Donner

Paris GOODfood+wine 9 – Season 2 / 2015 September

Paris GOODfood+wine airing on World Radio Paris

For season Two's kick off of Paris GOODfood+wine we'll be hearing from Sylvie Cazes, the civic-minded Bordealaise who is now the proud owner of her very own wine estate. She purchased Chateau Chauvin, a beautiful 15 hectares piece of St. Émilion terroir, that sits in the upper part of the appellation, just near Pomerol.

Sylvie Cazes, of St. Emilion Wine Estate, Chateau Chauvin, photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015

She purchased this Grand Cru Classé vineyard from two sisters a bit over a year ago. 2014 is her first vintage release from the estate and one she is rightfully proud of. If you pay any attention at all to French wine critics, you'll be eager to not just taste this excellent Merlot -Cabernet Franc blend, but also buy a few cases to cellar for future enjoyment.

Sylvie Cazes being interviewed by Paige Donner at Chapon Fin, Bordeaux photo by Gene Donner

**

Next up we'll be hearing from the creative, talented, artistic, human, charming, 3-Michelin starred chef Alain Passard, direct from his kitchens at Arpège, the famed Paris restaurant in the 7^th arrondissement. I caught up with the legendary Chef Alain Passard of Paris' 3-Michelin-starred Arpège earlier in the summer, just before he was heading off to Bordeaux where he was the executive chef of the summertime Jurade festivities in St. Émilion.

Chef Alain Passard of Arpège Restaurant Paris photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015

Coincidentally, it was at this year's St. Émilion Jurade ceremonies in June that Sylvie Cazes was inducted, along with a few other celebrated personalities, into this exclusive brother/sisterhood of winemakers and wine industry experts and enthusiasts.

Music by Sting, Desert Rose

**

For our restaurant review we have a band of filles, - filles meaning, of course, in French, girls. This segment is called Les Filles Qui Mangent (Girls who eat) and for this piece we have two previously featured guests on last season's shows, Lindsey Tramuta and Margaret Kemp, weighing in on two of their favorite Parisian eateries.

**

For those of you visiting Paris in September and for those of us living here, September is always a busy month in the city with lots of events for the rentrée, what the French call the time of year when they are back from their July and August summer vacations.

This season, a few highlights having to do with food and wine are:

The Street Food Temple. For its second year running, the event space, Carreau du Temple, is hosting a weekend long event, from the 25^th - 27^th September, featuring street food from all over the world. This year, South Korea holds the place of honor and all are welcome to stop by and feast of these delightful tastes and aromas. The Carreau du Temple is in the 3^rd arrondissement, very close, in fact, to Paris's oldest covered market, the Marché des Enfants Rouges.

Another culinary highlight this month is the Floating Market or Marché Flottantes that is taking place September 18^th to 20^th in the 5^th arrondissement. Here, along the quais Montebello and de la Tournelle you will find boats, skiffs and barges all filled with small-artisanal producers of food gems from the Southwest of France such as foie gras, wines full of sunshine, fattened duck and other delectables.

And just a head's up to mark on your calendar for October is the festive and favorite annual Vendanges de Montmartre where the entire village of Montmartre and much of Paris, too, celebrate the harvest of the small vineyard that graces the sloping hill which descends from just behind the Musée de Montmartre. These 4 days of festivities are filled with parades, song and dance and, of course, quite a lot of wine drinking. Definitely not to miss especially if you've never been. The dates for this year, the 82^nd annual, are October 7^th – 11^th.

For more information about these and other Paris happenings go to Paris.fr

This show has been brought to you in part by the generous sponsorship of FUSAC.fr and by Paris Food And Wine.

And a Grand Merci! to our Paris GOODfood+wine team.



FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Listen On SoundCloud

Episode 8 GOODfood+wine on World Radio Paris

Episode 8 of  Paris GOODfood+wine

by Host-Producer Paige Donner

In tribute to last month's announcement that both Burgundy and Champagne are now included as UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites, I am running interviews on this topic that previously aired on this show and its predecessor, World of Wine.

Burgundy's Climats are now UNESCO World Heritage. Listen to Paige Donner's interview on GOODfood+wine on WRP

Each interview is with key proponents of these initiatives from each region. The first segment is a rebroadcast from my World of Wine show featuring two spokesmen from Champagne, discussing their region's UNESCO World Heritage site inclusion. That first aired in the Fall of 2013

The second is with Guillaume D'Angerville who worked closely with Aubert de Villaine and the rest of their team to accomplish this welcomed news for Burgundy, namely their inclusion as a recognized World Heritage Cultural site by UNESCO.

 

Gontran Cherrier, France's celebrity baker, takes Asia. Listen to Paige Donner's interview on GOODfood+wine airing on World Radio Paris.

Next, we'll be hearing a bit of a business slant to being a successful boulanger here in France. Cult baker Gontran Cherrier's team speaks to us about exporting their bakery concept to Asia. Gontran Cherrier is a regular on the popular French TV show, Best Baker of France on the M6 channel.

L'Abeille Restaurant, Paris, 16th Arrondissement. Review by Alec Lobrano

 

And, to round off, Alec Lobrano joins us again to talk about Shangri-La's gastronomic French dining restaurant, L'Abeille. The Shangri-La, located in the 16th arrondissement, is one of Paris's exquisite palace hotels.

(Music J by Domestic Pressures)

So stay with us for this latest episode of GOODfood+wine.

FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Listen On SoundCloud

LOUIS ROEDERER INTERNATIONAL WINE WRITERS AWARDS 2015 SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

Re-posted from press release

On Thursday 9^th July the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers Awards judging panel met at Maisons Marques et Domaines headquarters in London to determine the shortlists of the entries in the eleventh Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards.

The five judges, among them three previous LRIWWA winners, discussed at length the merits of the entries, and judged on style, content and how well they suited their category. After many difficult decisions with much debate, they agreed on the shortlisted entries for the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards 2015.

Charles Metcalfe, Chairman of the judges, commented, "It was a fascinating selection of entries this year, and really good to see some new names doing really well. In some categories, the overall quality was the highest in the history's competition, and made for a really interesting judging session.

"It's always a pleasure to be involved and see the scale and scope of wine communication, which is forever evolving."

Gabriel Stone, editor of The Drinks Business magazine, added: "It was overwhelming to see the volume and international spread of entries on such a thrilling range of subjects: surely a sign that wine writing today is in vigorous health."

A sentiment that was echoed by 2014 winner Nina Caplan, "It's heartening to see how many people are trying to broaden the world's understanding of wine and how much passion and talent some of them bring to that thoroughly worthwhile project."

"I was thrilled by how much I learnt", added Jancis Robinson, one of the judges and past winner.

Champagne Louis Roederer and the 2015 judges are delighted to announce this year's shortlist as follows:

CHAMPAGNE LOUIS ROEDERER ARTISTRY OF WINE AWARD 2015

–          Andrew Barrow

–          Thierry Gaudillère

–          Michel Joly

–          Adrian Lander

–          Steven Morris

–          Mick Rock

–          Jon Wyand

CHAMPAGNE LOUIS ROEDERER EMERGING WINE WRITER OF THE YEAR 2015

–          Mark Andrew

–          Dan Keeling

–          Rupert Millar

–          Emily O'Hare

–          Lucy Shaw

–          Hamish Smith

–          Cathrine Todd

RAMOS PINTO ONLINE COMMUNICATOR 2015

–          Jane Anson

–          Tim Atkin MW

–          Joss Fowler

–          Michael Fridjhon

–          Andrea Frost

–          Jamie Goode

–          W. Blake Gray

–          Victoria Moore

–          Alder Yarrow

DOMAINE FAIVELEY INTERNATIONAL WINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015

–          Barolo & Barbaresco – Kerin O'Keefe

–          Native Grapes of Italy – Ian D'Agata

–          Natural Wine – Isabelle Legeron MW

–          The Essence of Wine: Celebrating the Delights of the Palate – Alder Yarrow

DOMAINES OTT INTERNATIONAL FEATURE WRITER OF THE YEAR 2015

–          Jane Anson

–          Tim Atkin MW

–          Michael Edwards

–          Richard Hemming

–          Anne Krebiehl MW

–          Margaret Rand

CHAMPAGNE LOUIS ROEDERER INTERNATIONAL WINE COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015

–          Tim Atkin MW

–          Michael Fridjhon

–          Will Lyons

–          Victoria Moore

–          Anthony Rose

PIO CESARE FOOD AND WINE WRITER OF THE YEAR 2015

–          Natasha Hughes MW

–          Victoria Moore

–          Francis Percival
 The judges

CHARLES METCALFE – CHAIRMAN OF THE JUDGES
Author of numerous books including the Award-winning Wine and Food Lover's Guide to Portugal, Wine Writer, Presenter, Co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge, and occasional blogger.
thewinesinger.blog.co.uk

NINA CAPLAN
Nina Caplan is the New Statesman's wine columnist and a freelance arts, travel and food and drink journalist for publications including the Sunday Telegraph, the Financial Times, Conde Nast Traveller and Square Meal. She has been Guides Editor of The Guardian, Features Editor of Time Out and Editor of Metropolitan, the trilingual Eurostar magazine. Last year she won both the Roederers Wine Columnist of the Year and Fortnum & Mason's Drink Writer of the Year. She tweets @ninacaplan and blogs, when she remembers, at www.ninacaplan.com.

DR NEIL BECKETT
Dr Neil Beckett began his career as an academic historian. But equally interested in wine, he soon wanted to spend more time down in the cellar than up in the ivory tower. In 2004 he became the first editor of The World of Fine Wine, an award-winning quarterly review on which he works with Hugh Johnson and Andrew Jefford. He was also the general editor of the award-winning Finest Wines series of wine guides, published in association with Aurum and University of California Press. He has won prizes for his writing on wine, is one of the two UK tasters on the Grand Jury Européen, and serves on the advisory board of the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers.

JANCIS ROBINSON OBE MW
Described by Decanter magazine as 'the most respected wine critic and journalist in the world', Jancis writes daily for JancisRobinson.com (voted first-ever Wine Website of the Year in the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers Awards 2010), weekly for The Financial Times, and bi-monthly for a column that is syndicated around the world. She is also editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, co-author with Hugh Johnson ofThe World Atlas of Wine and co-author of Wine Grapes – A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours, each of these books recognised as a standard reference worldwide.

An award-winning TV presenter, she travels all over the world to conduct wine events and act as a wine judge. In 1984 she was the first person outside the wine trade to pass the rigorous Master of Wine exams and in 2003 she was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen, on whose cellar she now advises.

She loves and lives for wine in all its glorious diversity, generally favouring balance and subtlety over sheer mass.

GABRIEL STONE
Editor of international trade title The Drinks Business, Gabriel Stone joined the magazine after a degree in Classics, interspersed with work in various UK wine bars and a handful of South African wine estates, as well as being president of the Oxford University Wine Circle. Her work for db has taken her all over the wine and spirits world, and in 2011 she won the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year award.

FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Major League Kale - Baseball Stadiums' Rooftop Gardens

Mashup posted by Paige Donner

At the beginning of the 2015 season, Fenway opened a 5,000-square foot rooftop farm along a previously unused stretch of roof behind Gate A, dubbing the area "Fenway Farms." The impetus for the farm came from Linda Pizzuti Henry, wife of Red Sox co-owner John Henry. Linda had long been interested in figuring out a way to bring a focus on sustainability and healthy eating to the ballpark, and in the summer of 2014, Linda serendipitously crossed paths with Green City Growers, a Boston-based company that had been awarded a Social Impact Prize from Henry's foundation for its work in creating urban garden and farms.

Read More HERE on ThinkProgress.org

The overlap of more sustainable food options and the evolution of consumer interest is a tremendous business opportunity for the sports industry.

"The reaction is incredibly positive," Jessie Banhazl, founder Green City Growers, told ThinkProgress. "People are really excited to see this particular area of the park that was not being used for anything all of the sudden being a thriving farm."

And from the NY Times...

"This is great because although a lot of people love to come to Fenway and eat a hot dog, some people don't want to eat a hot dog, they want to eat something else — maybe a salad or a wrap with vegetables in it," Bunker said.

Growers use intensive methods, including drip irrigation and planting fresh crops right after others are harvested. That has enabled the garden to yield more than 2,000 pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, rosemary, basil, dill, parsley, tarragon and kale in the first three months, Banhazl said.

"So we're growing a little bit of everything," she said. "It's our first year doing the farm, and so we thought we'd try out a bunch of different varieties to see what the kitchens were using and also to just kind of experiment with what people liked."

Read MORE...

FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Listen to GOODfood+wine On The Radio

Episode 7 GOODfood+Wine on World Radio Paris

by Host-Producer Paige Donner

In our July episode of Paris GOODfood+wine for this season one, we bring you a nice medley of food, wine and the luxury lifestyle.

Paris GOODfood+wine airing on World Radio Paris

First up, I sit down with Thomas Lignier, Brand Ambassador for the renowned champagne house Perrier-Jouët. Two hundred years into their history and the house is still going strong. He speaks to us about the house's close relationship with the world of fine art.

photo by Paige Donner copyright

Attention fine art and rare wine collectors – Thomas lets us in on a little insider tip – namely the two luxury collection items the house offers to serious connoisseurs – the first is their By and For Cuvée where you have the opportunity to consult with their winemaker to have a bespoke Perrier-Jouët champagne made just to your taste. The second is their Bicentennial Legacy Art Sculpture. This offers the purchaser two magnums of blanc de blancs encased in signed sculpture pieces. One bottle is to enjoy now, and the second magnum, is for you to store in the Perrier-Jouët cellars in Champagne for up to 100 years, to be collected by your designated heir. Prices for these programs upon request.

Next we'll touch base with fellow blogger and journalist, Lindsay Tramuta, founder of Lost In Cheeseland, the blog about all things Parisian. She talks to us about her love for this city now that she's made it her home and how food helped her forge that friendship.

Then, fresh from the Bordeaux Vinexpo exhibition halls, you'll hear an interview with Master of Wine Charles Curtis who recently was tapped to climb on board as one of Le Pan Magazine's senior editors. Le Pan is Jeannie Cho Lee's new Art of Fine Wine Living magazine. This glossy is based in Hong Kong and publishes in both English and Chinese catering to that burgeoning audience who embraces the chateau lifestyle.

Alec Lobrano, author of Hungry for Paris

To cap our program Alec Lobrano is back in the studio with us and tells us about Paris' cult fish restaurant, Le Duc. This restaurant offers not just superlative fresh line-caught fish but is also one of the city's shush power tables. Which explains their wine list – it's not every day you see Romanée Conti on a wine list, even here in Paris.

So stay tuned, with me, Paige Donner your host, as Paris GOODfood+wine takes you on another delicious whirl through the Paris food+wine landscape.

Paris GOODfood+wine is brought to you in part by the generous support of FUSAC, Paris' English language website and community resource since 1988, visit www.fusac.fr"

The show is also brought to you with the support of Paris Food And Wine, visit us at ParisFoodAndWine.net

And in case you're wondering who the chanteuse is, featured in this episode's musical interludes, it's Melody Gardot.

FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

♥Chérie Du Vin

Wildebeest Announces Executive Chef Pekka Tavela

​ ​ "New dishes will stay true to the protein-focused Wildebeest framework. I would love to feature more game birds, and I won't just stick with meats," says Chef Pekka. "I'm looking forward to raising the profile of our vegetables too."​ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 26, 2015, Vancouver, BC—Long-time industry stalwart Pekka Tavela has been named Executive Chef of Vancouver's award-winning Wildebeest. Chef Pekka got his start as a pastry chef, and has worked in many of Vancouver's top kitchens, including Chambar, Boneta, and Pourhouse. With a precision that comes from his years of training in pastry, and a modernist French style that was honed behind the stove under some of the city's best chefs, Chef Pekka had held the position of Chef de Cuisine at Wildebeest for a year. Over the next few months, watch for him to put his own stamp on the menu. ​​ "New dishes will stay true to the protein-focused Wildebeest framework. I would love to feature more game birds, and I won't just stick with meats," says Chef Pekka. "I'm looking forward to raising the profile of our vegetables too." Trained at the Northwest Culinary Academy, Chef Pekka entered the industry as a pastry chef, but was later drawn to cooking, encouraged by mentors including Chefs Lee Humphries, and Ciaran Chung. Chef Pekka draws from a diverse range of influences; his family's background is Finnish, and he spent much of his childhood in Singapore. He's also inspired by more recent travels in Europe and the US, and Vancouver's Asian cuisines. Chef Pekka will host his first special event dinner at Wildebeest on June 30th with Westbier Imports. Tickets for the multi-course beer pairing dinner 'Beest Meets West are on sale now. Go here to purchase tickets. ABOUT WILDEBEEST Located at 120 West Hastings St. in Gastown, Wildebeest is open daily from 5pm to 12am, and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Reservations can be made by phoning the restaurant at 604-687-6880 or online. For more information visit www.wildebeest.ca. ​louis-roederer.com Merci Beaucoup Vinexpo Bordeaux 2015! FOLLOW US ON TUMBLR * FOLLOW US ON TWITTER * LIKE US ON FACEBOOK ♥Chérie Du Vin​