wendie

This may be a silly questions but I enjoy wine coolers or sweet wine. Most regular wines are not sweet enough for me. Any suggestions and what to order in Paris? Thanks!

BigRuss

Port. Madeira. Of course, both are Portuguese, not French . . . but France has Sauternes wine.

kybourbon

You should be able to find moscatos or rieslings. You could also order Lillet (blanc or rouge).

You can usually find Bacardi Breezers in Europe(most are fruity). They haven't been sold in the US for a quite a few years, but I still see them in Europe.

Ackislander

The French are big on aperitifs.

Try a Lillet, as suggested above, or a St Germaine or St Raphael or a Martini Bianco (a sweet white vermouth). If you like these, you can ask the waiter to suggest similar drinks. It is a fun way to have a purpose for drinking in bars!

FrenchMystiqueTours2

Sweet wines are rarely served with meals in France, except for Sauternes which is traditionally associated with foie gras. Otherwise they are apéritifs (Pineau des Charentes) or Dessert wines (Banyuls). Some famous French sweet wines are:
- Riversaltes
- Banyuls
- Sauternes
- Montbazillac
- Muscat
- Pineau des Charentes (16° minimum)
You need to ask or look at the apéritif wine list for 'vin doux', 'vin moelleux' or 'vin liquoreux', all three being different types but all will be sweet in taste.

FrenchMystiqueTours2

Just a note: French Riesling is a dry wine, nothing in common with American and German Rieslings. On a French restaurant wine list, Riesling will most likely be from Alsace and therefore will be a very dry wine.

Judy

You might order a kir, which is white wine with creme de Cassis. I find that pretty sweet.

mamcalice

Or a kir royale which is champagne with cassis. Sweet.

chartley

Or any of the variants of kir, such as kir a la peche (peach), mure (blackberry) or framboise (raspberry). They are all sweeter than kir made with creme de cassis (blackcurrant).

Christina

I was also going to suggest a kir as an aperitif. It is too sweet for me, I can't stand sweet drinks of any kind. I don't think sweet wine would go with any dinner very well, but I guess that's because I can't stand it. It would be like drinking soda pop with dinner.

nytraveler

Well - none of these wines are supposed to be drunk with dinner. But for someone who likes drinking sweet things - you can do alone - or before or after. Agree would ruin the taste of a lot of food.

Christina

seriously, if you want to order wine with dinner and like red, you might be calling a "sweet" wine something just that isn't super dry, I don't know. I was going to suggest a Brouilly red wine as a light, fairly fruity wine that is quite versatile and best drunk young (not Cote de Brouilly). I don't consider it sweet exactly, but it's not super dry. A Beaujolais would be in the same category or Saumur Champigny IMO.

I don't drink white wine much unless I'm having fish, I consider chablis rather sweet myself, and think it goes okay with turkey for example, rather than fish (not that you'd be eating turkey in France). It's not as dry as some other white wines, and a little fruitier, but it is still classified as a dry wine. It's too sweet for me to like very well.

FrenchMystiqueTours2

I just noticed I made a typo in my previous list. It should be Rivesaltes.

wendie

Thanks all! I am getting a little tipsy just reading this! This would be a pre dinner drink or something to order while my husband has one of his beloved beers while checking out one or two of the bars in Paris. So these are all great suggestions. Keep them coming! Thanks again!

wendie

By the way, my favorite wine is Cinzano Asti Spumante which I know is from Italy but that gives you an idea of my taste preferance.

MonicaRichards

wendie, go with the kirs. They are very french and you will like them and like that you are drinking what the locals drink.

NeoPatrick

Oh, THAT kind of wine cooler. I was about to mention that wonderful device known as a bidet which makes a wonderful wine cooler when filled with ice!

suze

How about Pernod or Pastis?

I know Patrick, I was picturing a tote or cooler to take white wine to the park to keep it cold!

Christina

I don't personally think of anise-flavored liqueurs as sweet or that they would likely appeal to someone who wanted light sweet sparkling wines, but who knows.

I don't like sparkling wines either, but I would guess the closest to that would be champagne, although it is drier. There are some rosé sparkling wines from French labels, though, you'd ask for a cremant rosé or mousseux rosé , you could ask for something a little sweet (doux), but I don't know how common that is in a typical cafe. Of course I never look for it.

I don't think they have a French wine exactly like Italian Asti Spumante. But I have read about sweet wines from Bordeaux and I know they do have some white wines from the Alsace that are sweeter than others. Here is an article on sweet wines from Bordeaux and the terms they use http://www.frenchwinenews.com/sweet-...ver-the-world/ and their website http://www.sweetbordeaux.com/

StCirq

See if you can find a vin de pêche (peach wine) or vin de noix (walnut wine). They are very popular in the Périgord and are sweet, pre-dinner apéritifs. Not sure how available they are in Paris, though I expect they wouldn't be that hard to find.

You can also look for an Eiswein from Alsace. They are, literally, ice wines, which means they leave the grapes on the vines until it freezes, which makes the wine as sweet as it can be. If you want something sweet and fizzy, order a crémant d'Alsace.

Or a Muscadet or Sauterne or Monbazillac. Wish I could recommend more, but I hate sweet wines.