Terrace weather is here and having a drink at a strategically placed people-watching café is one of the pleasures of Paris. Here are some tips on some of France’s favorite after-six drinks. Continue reading “Tasty Tips…French Aperitifs”
French Holiday Wines with Sparkle…
Twelve Bubbly Days of Christmas
Holidays are times to uncork a bottle of bubbly and make a toast. Although France’s champagne is the world’s most famous celebratory drink there are others that merit tasting. Since there are twelve days of Christmas here are a dozen bubblies to get you in the spirit this season. Continue reading “French Holiday Wines with Sparkle…”
Saying Cheese in French
The tastes of autumn… Fall is a lovely time to stroll through a Paris market and take the opportunity to reconnect with local merchants. Your cheese vendor, wine shop keeper and greengrocer can help you celebrate France’s autumn bounty by pointing out in-season foods that complement each other, such as fruit, cheese and wine. Continue reading “Saying Cheese in French”
La Dolce Vita…Parisian Style
French sweet wines for the holidays
Mystified by the sweet wines of the cellar? A stranger to the liquoureux section? French holiday meals provide the fare with which to pair sweet wines. Some sweet wines are sweet because their juices became sweet on the vine. These are called vins doux naturels(VDN), with examples like Sauternes, Vouvray Moelleux, and Coteaux du Layon. Others are sweet because alcohol was added to the wine after the winemaking; these are vins fortifiés. Examples of the fortified kind are Maury, Banyuls, and Rivesaltes. Fortified wines generally have an alcohol content higher than wine but less spirits. Continue reading “La Dolce Vita…Parisian Style”
French Digestifs
Uncorking the mysteries
You know the scene: after finishing a great French meal, you’re feeling a little tipsy and definitely very full. You find yourself being offered more to drink. This time, the bottles your host opens bear mysterious labels: Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, Eau de Vie, Crême, Genepy, Cointreau,. What is in those bottles? Why are they only served after dinner? Known as digestifs, these French after-dinner drinks are served after a meal because that is when your stomach is full enough to handle their high alcohol content (at least 35%)! Continue reading “French Digestifs”