Paris wine shops and vinous things

B

BJ

BJ
We're back first week of July to visit a friend...

I saw the thread on wine bars...

What wine shops? Esp. older vintage stuff? I recall there is a Loire oriented place over by the Bastille?

Cool bistrots/restaurants?

Feel free to PM if you're trying to preserve preciousness.
 
originally posted by BJ:
Paris wine shops and vinous thingsWe're back first week of July to visit a friend...

I saw the thread on wine bars...

What wine shops? Esp. older vintage stuff? I recall there is a Loire oriented place over by the Bastille?

Cool bistrots/restaurants?

Feel free to PM if you're trying to preserve preciousness.
Click to expand...

the first week of april i ate at and can highly reccomend, les papilles, la (le?) cantine de troquet, violin des ingres. cantine is alot of fun, menu and carte des vins on a blackboard. food is excellent at all 3. drank lots of lapierre morgon cantine and ingres.
oh, and the butter, essentially carved off a large block left on the waiters station, at violin des ingres is superb.

sorry in advance for any errors in the restaurants names.
 
Over by the Bastille is Les Caprices de L'Instant at 4 rue Jacques-Cur. They show a small selection in the store, but have a binder with laminated pages listing many, many back vintages of Burgundy and Rhne wines, mainly, but also some older Loires. One of the guys who works there is American and is really great to chat with. I always know if I'm going there, I need to plan to have the time.

Obviously a great wine store overall is Aug, 116 bd Haussmann. Again, many, many great bottles on display, but also ask for a catalogue for what isn't out on the shelves. If you're in town on July 11th, they're doing one of their celebrated tastings, with the theme "Bulle"bubbles of different regions.

Legrand Filles & Fils on rue de la Banque has some older vintages. Caves Taillevent does well in that department, as well. I found something I was told was "impossible to find" there. Also, they sometimes get things from the Taillevent list.

All of these places have impeccable storage, btw. Though one time last winter, a friend and I found the temperature inside Legrand too high. (Some of the stock is with the store, the rest down in a cellar.)

For natural wines, check out Les Papilles on the rue Daguerre in the 14th (not to be confused with the excellent restaurant/wine bar Les Papilles on the rue Gay-Lussac in the 5th, which is also a destination to hit; it's delicious and the wine selection is great).

Bacchus & Ariane is another favorite wine store of mine, rue Lobineau in the St-Germain covered market in the 6th. And there's Caves du Panthon in the 5th. These two don't have older vintages, but the current selection is full of things you'd like to drink.

Other places to eat might, for instance, include Chez Michel in the 10th (rue de Belzunce) or Willi's Wine Bar in the 1sttotal classics, and for good reason. They're both "old school," so I wouldn't use the descriptor "cool," which I will write about next.

Check out tasty food and great wines at Chapeau Melon in the 19th, with a young vibe. Or Le Verre Vol, of course. Or Paul Bert. Or restaurant row over on the rue de Cotte near the March d'Aligre (a great little neighborhood to check out): several great places there (Le Cotte Rti, La Gazzetta, etc.). The old-school working-class Baron Rouge wine bar is amusing, and if the wines are seriously hit-or-miss, they're only like 2.50 a glass and the crowd is joyous and eclectic: hipsters and old lushes and locals.

Also, if you're not doing picnics, you're not doing it right. Get some good cheese and charcut' and a couple of bottles and head to the Buttes-Chaumont park, or the Bois de Vincennes, or the banks of the Seine or the tip of the Ile de la Cit.
 
To supplement what Sharon wrote, the wine store I liked the most, at least in atmosphere and authenticity, was the funky La Cave de lInsolite, not far from Verre Vol.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman: Bacchus & Ariane is another favorite wine store of mine, rue Lobineau in the St-Germain covered market in the 6th. And there's Caves du Panthon in the 5th. These two don't have older vintages, but the current selection is full of things you'd like to drink.
Click to expand...

And if I'm not mistaken, the owner of Bacchus and Ariane saves some bottles to sell several years down the line when he feels they are ready to drink and will be more interesting to consumers' eyes. (I.E. everyone had 2005 Roilette when it was released but he'll put it up for sale 5 years later and stand out that way).

I like his style.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
To supplement what Sharon wrote, the wine store I liked the most, at least in atmosphere and authenticity, was the funky La Cave de lInsolite, not far from Verre Vol.
Click to expand...

Have you ever been on a Friday? Last I went, the whole neighborhood was in there. It was a blast.
 
originally posted by Nicolas Mestre:
Sharon, have you eaten at La Cremerie (9 rue des Quatre Vents)?

How is it?
Click to expand...

I haven't. It used to be Pierre Jancou, before he did Racines (which he's also left), but don't know what the people who run it now are doing, foodwise. The wine selection is still tasty, always good for a bottle of Brin de Chvre or Foillard.

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
...the wine store I liked the most, at least in atmosphere and authenticity, was the funky La Cave de lInsolite...
Click to expand...

Yes! How could I forget that one? And Michel Moulherat, the owner, is awesome. A big garrulous guy who speaks English with a Mancunian accent and loves rugby. And has exciting stuff to try.

originally posted by Cliff:
Have you ever been on a Friday? Last I went, the whole neighborhood was in there. It was a blast.
Click to expand...

That's what I love about that atmosphere; a certain conviviality and neighborhoodliness reigns. People wander in and ask for a taste of vieille prune or Cour-Cheverny, and an army of open bottles with corks stuck back in them crowds the front desk.

originally posted by Rahsaan:
And if I'm not mistaken, the owner of Bacchus and Ariane saves some bottles to sell several years down the line when he feels they are ready to drink and will be more interesting to consumers' eyes. (I.E. everyone had 2005 Roilette when it was released but he'll put it up for sale 5 years later and stand out that way).

I like his style.
Click to expand...

Fully agree. Georges is a great caviste: open, curious, generous, has a genius selection with no tics. And keeps older vintages (but the rub is that he does not announce, print or catalog as much anywhere; you just have to talk to him and sometimes it'll unfold by way of enthusiasms). He still has some '96 L-B Vieille Vigne de Cramant in magnum. Had the '02 there a couple of months ago, which was very interesting to face off against the leaner '04 (I think I prefer the '04, finally).
 
originally posted by Cliff:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
To supplement what Sharon wrote, the wine store I liked the most, at least in atmosphere and authenticity, was the funky La Cave de lInsolite, not far from Verre Vol.
Click to expand...

Have you ever been on a Friday? Last I went, the whole neighborhood was in there. It was a blast.
Click to expand...

It was some other weekday but it was pretty lively. When I asked Moulherat if a 99 Overnoy Poulsard would survive the trip to Brazil, he said he didn't think so, so I should take it as a gift. When I protested, he said he was going to hit me.
 
I would add Chapeau Melon near Parc Buttes Chaumont (manned by an ex-Le Baratin dude). Also the small wine cart in Le March des Enfants Rouges on Rue de Bretagne is cool. Vignerons frequently come by for an afternoon of tasting and shooting the shit....
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Cliff:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
To supplement what Sharon wrote, the wine store I liked the most, at least in atmosphere and authenticity, was the funky La Cave de lInsolite, not far from Verre Vol.
Click to expand...

Have you ever been on a Friday? Last I went, the whole neighborhood was in there. It was a blast.
Click to expand...

It was some other weekday but it was pretty lively. When I asked Moulherat if a 99 Overnoy Poulsard would survive the trip to Brazil, he said he didn't think so, so I should take it as a gift. When I protested, he said he was going to hit me.
Click to expand...

That sounds like Michel! I love that place.
 
you should check out Art of Eating issue #82. good write up on some of the places mentioned above, but also some background on the neo-bistro movement. worth buying the back issue if you don't subscribe or know someone who does.
 
Sharon, have you eaten at La Cremerie (9 rue des Quatre Vents)?

How is it?
Click to expand...
If you'll pardon the interruption, I have...twice, and both times after the change in ownership. First, they require you to eat in order to taste/drink wine, so go in prepared. Second, it can be hard to get a table (the place is microscopic) without a reservation in the evening, unless you walk in right as they're opening, in which case you're probably OK but will very likely be asked to vacate the table by a certain time. On occasion I would treat Le Comptoir as a wine bar, and that was essentially the same thing: drink, snack, but be gone by a certain time.

As for the food, they do a very, very, very short menu of semi-cooked stuff, alongside a selection of things that don't require cooking (cheese, charcuterie, tinned sardines, and so forth). I only ever had the latter, so I can't tell you what the "kitchen" is capable of. The wine selection is very appealing to the Disorderly demographic. Unless you're not really very hungry, I wouldn't call it a place to make a meal, but it's nice for grazing and pre-whatever snacking.
 
Oh, I get it, you said you'd do cool next, but you meant the following paragraph, not another later post.

Hey, don't get me wrong, the whole post was super cool as far as I'm concerned.
 
Thanks, Thor.
Click to expand...
You're welcome, of course. Two more things: the proprietor speaks English well, if that comes into play at all, and can be a little brusque until it's clear you wish to spend money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top