Category: france

Hervé Martin, the celebrated chef and owner of The French Table bistro on Main Street, is welcoming lovers of French cuisine back to his beloved restaurant after an unexpected twist in his retirement journey.  He trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in France and then went on to work in the elite kitchens of three Michelin-starred establishments in Switzerland and France. Hervé…

You may not have heard of Jean-Claude Mas but his family began growing grapes in the south of France in 1892.  Jean-Claude gained experience in the wine business and education around the world, coming back to the family business when he inherited his father’s vineyards in Pézénas of 35 hectares.  In 2000 he created Les Domaines Paul Mas from these…

Recently VinsAlsace visited Vancouver and brought a range of their Alsatian wines from sparkling, light-bodied and dry wines to full-body, thicker, rich-flavoured wines. They wanted to let us know in this Trade tasting that the variation in the rocks and soil brings different personalities to their wines.  The soils are quite varied with granite, limestone, marl-limestone, clay-marl, marl-limestone-sandstone, sandstone, volcanic,…

It is Aug-uary in Vancouver.  I cannot see the north shore mountains and the clouds are covering the tops of the concrete towers that are spread across the lower mainland.  Red wines are on my horizon. So I dipped into my wine cellar and decided to open two red wines from Europe.  The first wine is CVNE Viña Real Crianza…

It is not often that I have a chance to taste aged red Bordeaux wines.  I purchased 5 wines in the past during the Bordeaux releases.  Four wines are from the Right Bank of Bordeaux and one is from the Left Bank.  The wines’ vintages are either 2005 or 2008, which makes the wines, 16 and 19 years old.  I’ve…

Crémant is a category of sparkling wines in France made using the same traditional method as Champagne but produced outside the Champagne region. This delightful bubbly offers a high-quality, often more affordable alternative to its famous counterpart while showcasing the unique characteristics of various French wine regions. Like Champagne, Crémant can also be white or rosé in colour. What is…

Gérard Bertrand‘s Le Chouchou 2023 is the winery’s answer to new consumer trends, producing a light, fresh red wine.  It has low alcohol content and can be enjoyed at a cooler temperature.  It sits somewhere between a rosé and a fuller-bodied red wine, IMHO.  This wine is a blend of organic Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault grapes coming from Cevennes, Limoux,…

This post came in my email from the Comité Champagne and I thought I would pass along this information on which style of Champagne to pair with your picnic dishes. Also great timing for Canada Day. Enjoy. ~~~~~ From the café culture of Paris to year-round patio suppers in Provence, the French have perfected the art of enjoying food and…

When I was in University many years ago, I purchased a bottle of Maison Louis Latour Chardonnay, that was on their entry-level scale.  That wine sparked my interest in French wine.  In some “New World” regions, Chardonnay has been more recently planted, while other locations have had Chardonnay vines for over 100 years.  Over time, through the wine trade’s many…

Rosé wine, with its delicate hue and refreshing taste, has captured the hearts of wine enthusiasts worldwide.  According to statistics, I read that rosé wine consumption tripled since 1990. Vins de Provence exported nearly 62 million bottles in 2022 with the USA, buying up 37% of the total quantity sold.  I am not sure of the quantity sold in Canada,…