Paris round up

Chapitre 20, that's our big news from Paris. A truly lovely wine and book shop in the Marais, opened some two years ago. The books are about wine by the way. We thought the combination was a marvellous one. Why is Chapitre 20 the only one of its kind to our knowledge at least? The academic air pervades the choice of wines. The gentleman in attendance is also scholarly and courteous.

It's worth mentioning that the shop had the only example of Galet's 'Dictionnaire encyclopedique des cepages' on which we had ever set eyes. Inevitably it was not for sale. There were also many wine maps and a series of post cards of the different French wine regions.

Wine discoveries were also not lacking:

an organic Nantais Gros Plant (sadly found to be corked but in principle interesting), a nice Cremant de Bourgogne and best of all a marvellous Chenin Noir (aka Pineau d'Aunis as everyone knows), mouthfillingly glorious but only 9.5% alcohol, proving once again that a low Abv. level doesn't preclude ample flavour.

We drank the bottle the same night and returned to buy two more to take back to London. the price was under E.10 if memory serves. Amazingly we found not only Gourdon's Chenin Noir at Astor Wines in New York but also their Chenin Blanc with an equally tasteful label.

A visit to a neighbourhood wine merchant, Balthazar unearthed another treasure; a Persan by Adrien Berlioz. We knew about Gilles Berlioz - nice to see the name is more widespread even if  not in the musical world.

Persan was brought back from the dead by Grisard in Freterive and another less impressive example has emerged meantime. We have great hopes for this new emanation. Balthazar is not one of the most outstanding cavistes of Paris but they have some nice things. On a previous occasion we found a lovely 100% Negrette.

At the Marche des Enfants Rouges back in the Marais we discovered a new venture BiBoViNo which looked interesting. It is a sort of up-market attempt to popularise wine in a box. As can be seen even from our horrible photography, the shopfitting and styling is tasteful.

Grape varieties are not adventurous but if the venture is successful, who knows? We wish them well.

Meanwhile the girls at the Natural Wine booth-come-bar continue to have fun with this own-label offering of Pineau d'Aunis

Clos Montmartre

We love the idea of vines growing in the centre of big cities, in gardens, terraces and rooftops. We have mentioned Chateau Tooting, the Association des Vignerons de Paris who make the wine from vines grown on the window boxes and balconies of Paris apartments and the tiny vineyards in the middle of Berlin.

Not long ago we read about an actually commercial venture in New York growing vines on a Brooklyn rooftop (above).

Then there is the famous Clos Montmartre, a vineyard planted with Gamay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling in 1933 on the site of a 16th century vineyard on the same site. Nowadays the wine sells for over E.40 a 50cl bottle. The wine itself is not terrible but its price has nothing whatever to do with the quality and everything to do with the fact it is grown in the middle of Paris.

For the sake of seeing for ourselves we actually made the pilgrimage up to the top of the hill of Montmartre and bought a bottle. We did it so you, dear Slotovino reader, don't have to.

Cadiz and Jerez

Strange place, Cadiz. It has the feeling of having been a backwater ever since the King of Spain's beard was singed there. Long and thin, the old town lies at the very end.

The streets are narrow and sometimes gloomy but it has an undeniable atmosphere and some rather beautiful parts.

 We were on a quest for the wines of the Condado de Huelva, an even more remote area beyond Cadiz towards the Portuguese frontier. We called in on Bodega Magerit which seemed to be the best wine shop in town. There was hardly a Condado de Huelva to be seen. Perhaps they agreed with our initial impression of these wines made from the (white) Zulema grape in an old fashioned oxydised style?

In our experience the regions of Spain are notoriously secretive about their treasures. Optimists that we are, we are sure there are some discoveries to be made in the far South West of the country. We will have to make another trip one day, this time going beyond Cadiz and actually entering the Condado de Huelva.

Jerez was our next stop and we hadn't reckoned with the sheer impossibility of finding a wine shop as opposed to ones selling Sherry. This really is a one trick pony of a town and proud of it. The great Sherry houses have the place sewn up. 

Even some of the hotels are in old Bodegas.

In town they sell Sherry Cosmetics. Admittedly cosmetics made from grape seeds are becoming big business now but this was the first we has seen of it. 

Walking around town trying to find a wine shop we came on a very handsome covered market' Jerez is a prosperous place thanks to guess what even if sales are not what they used to be and there are terrific bargains to be had.

In the end, the only wine we could find was in supermarkets and guess what, there was a small selection of Condado de Huelva wines. We bought 100% Zalema and a blend of Zalema and Moscatel. The latter was much improved by the combination.

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Catching up

There is always a delay in actually tasting the wines we collect on our travels and actually drinking them. Some bottles turn out to be more interesting than others. Here's a round up of some which have been particularly enjoyable or surprising.

Forlorn Hope Kirschenmann Pinot Gris

Any reader of this blog will know our admiration for the wines of Matthew Rorick, Forlorn Hope. Our enthusiasm is partly based on his use of grape varieties not associated with California so when a bottle of Pinot Gris crept in to our collection it languished until all the Alvarelhaos, Trousseau Gris, Valdiguies etc. had been necked. Hauling out this bottle without much enthusiasm, we were soon reminded of just how innovative this winemaker is.

Yes, Orange is the colour and Orange was the taste of this marvellous interpretation of that most hackneyed Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio/Grauburgunder/Ruhlander grape. It quite restored our faith in it.

Bella New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Not actually a bottle we had bought but a stand-out from a New Zealand show in London. Actually a marketing concoction (note 30% less calories stamp on the label) this wine weighs in at only 9.5% alcohol - a record low for a NZ Sauvignon Blanc in our experience. Despite the name and flim-flam this was a delicious wine. Ever on the look-out for lighter wines this met all our criteria and if we have to join Ladies who Lunch at whom it is so obviously aimed, so much the better.

La Sabbiona 'Divo' Extra Dry Spumante

Firm fans of the rarissimo 'Famoso' grape promulgated by La Sabbiona of Ravenna, we obtained a bottle of their Spumante and were very glad we did. We would like to know if there is a Prosecco to equal it.

Tesco sparkling Pignoletto

Almost as good is Tesco's sparkling Pignoletto from Emilia Romagna. We had enjoyed Tedeschi's Natural Wine take on this type but here was a more conventional version. Again, Prosecco will have to look to its laurels to equal this. Admittedly the Prosecco brand is now so mighty that we doubt that Glera producers will be quaking in their boots but we hope the word will come out one day that there are often better alternatives, even from Tesco.

Tamburlaine Organic Chambourcin, Hunter Valley, Australia

We pounced on this Organic Chambourcin at Tamburlaine's cellar door on our trip to Australia last year and were hugely glad we did. This is a winner in every respect; one to put alongside the lovely Frappatis we have discovered recently. Someone please import this delicious wine to Europe, America and wherever!

Last but not least,

Zarate, Espadeiro, Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain

A lovely surprise from this White Wine region. The rare Espadeiro grape needs to be much better known. On this showing it was curiously like the Australian Chambourcin in its lightness and freshness.11.8%. Not long ago we approached a gentleman at the Rias Baixas stand at the LIWF Excel Wine Fair and asked him about the red wines of the region. He looked puzzled and said he wasn't aware there were any.

Now wine from every US state

Having heard that wine is now made in every US state we thought it would be interesting to try a local one on a trip to Florida earlier this year.

Wine is made mostly in the north and unsurprisingly is difficult to find in southern Florida. We suspect the same is true even in the north; typically such produce is often only be bought from cellar doors.

Vinifera varieties are grown but old-fashioned Muscadine wines are still produced and that was the only type on offer at the large Miami wine outlet we called on.

We acquired this bottle together with a Norton from Virginia. We had read encouraging words about Norton. Not something we would want to repeat in a hurry but  intriguing in a way.

The Florida Muscadine left us wondering who actually likes this stuff. Answers on a postcard, please.

I Wei Wei exhibit at Miami's wonderful new Perez Museum.
Possible use for a bottle of Muscadine wine?