Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Buying Wine in France

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)

- - Buying Wine in France (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/buying-wine-in-france-162506/)

Buying Wine in France

Hey, I have read some great recommendations on where to buy wine in Paris. People have mentioned La Derniere Goutte and La grande Epicerie as two good places for wine. Does anyone have any other places to recommend? Also, I am not very knowledgeable about French wine. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. I am going to Paris in early February and want to haul back some bottles of great stuff!

Margaret, If you're not particularly versed on wines, why go to the expense? Or is it maybe you know wine but not much about french wines? I think its hard to recommend a wine without knowing what a person likes. Personally, I wouldn't worry about bringing a "great" bottle home. I'd check out wine bars and ask and ask about wine. French waiters/waitresses always know their wine. They will steer you to the best wine for the food you've picked, not the most expensive. Try it! Restaurant prices for wine are VERY reasonable, they don't price like we do here in the states. If you taste a wine you like, then go buy a bottle at the local store. My best discoveries for wine in France have been from waiter recommendations. I've even had a few good naturedly shake their head no at my choice and offer a different one, (often less $) and they have always been right. The French love to talk wine and will be happy to educate you!

Margaret, If I may, I'd suggest that before you go you consider this strategy: 1. Go to Sam's or another discount supplier and check out their wine selection. Sam's BTW, has an good reasonably priced selection of decent French, Australian and American wines. 2. Purchase a nice Cotes du Rhone (Sam's has Luis Bernard for about $9...you will find it to be reasonably bold, dry finish wine with deep berry flavors and some spiciness), a decent Beaujolais Villages (a bit lighter and fruitier) and if they happen to have one, a nice Chateauneuf du Pape (a more expensive version of the Cotes du Rhone with 13 grapes in the mix, very bold, dry finish, strong deep color and berry tatse and very expensive) Also buy a Brugundy or two(Cotes Nuite is excellent) and a bottle or two of the Bordeaux (similar to cabernet franc and very good) try them at home first and then when you get to Paris you will have an idea of what to order. BTW, chateauneuf du Pape is my personal favortie..it is the nectar io the gods! Good tasting! US

Wine is one of those things that you can never learn everything about, opinions often vary -- and then you can throw an "Emperor's new clothes" mentality into the whole thing, just to make it all a little more interesting. You can find decent wine at good prices in almost any Paris grocery store and then there are many specialty shops where you can go for a little more variety and often higher-end choices, together with a little counsel. (You certainly CAN get bottles of Bordeaux that are not very good, so that might be a reason to go beyond simply a grocery-store type operation if you don't have a good idea about what you're looking for.) One wine shop name that you'll find at various locations in Paris is a franchise operation called Cavistes Nicholas. Each store is different, but even the smallest boutique-type outfits have some excellent choices. For what it's worth, I've never had a bad bottle of Bordeaux from St. Emilion or neighboring Fronsac of the Bordeaux region and I've tried plenty. I've found both to be available more cheaply in Paris than here. (And if you happen to see 1995, that year seemed to be exceptionally good for those.) I can almost guarantee that you'll be happy to drink it and proud to serve to your guests. Happy contrails!

I would highly recommend you print off a vintage chart somewhere prior to going to Paris. French wines are more dependant on weather conditions than are wines of California and therefore you should avoid poor years. The second recommendation is to buy wine you cannot get here in the US. One other observation- the most expensive, top-of the-line wines (of French origin) are not much cheaper there. When you first get to Paris, stop at a wine shop and buy a couple of bottles of something that you think may interest you. Drink them in your hotel room or on a picnic. If you like them, go back for more for your return home.

Hi Margaret, I am not much into vinology, but I must agree with Mr. Rosenberg's assessment of Bordeaux from the area of St. Emilion. One of the best reds that I have ever had and I will eagerly seek out St. Emilion wineries when I return to France. Tim

La Dernier Goutte does tastings on Saturday afternoons--a good way to try before you buy. The wine bar suggestion is a good one, too. Check out L'Ecluse in the 6th for wines from Bordeaux, Le Baron Rouge in the 11th for Loire wines, Jaques Melac in the 10th, Taverne Henri IV on the Ile de la Cite for cru Beaujolais. There's also a nice bar a vins in the 14th, on rue Daguerre (the name of the place escapes me but it is directly across the street from the Hotel Daguerre) that features some cru Beaujolais.

You might also want to check out Lavinia, a new wine "mega-store" near the Madeleine. I haven't actually been there myself (it wasn't yet open the last time I was in Paris), but this article from Bonjour Paris calls it "the ideal place to shop for and learn about wine": http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464...attrib_id=2734

Margaret, A great resource to help understand French wine is the "Wine for Dummies" guide. I was turned off by the name prior to receiving the book, but I have to say it is a great primer on understanding wine. It'll help in purchasing wine because wines from different regions can be very different in terms of taste and "shelf-life." The key to understanding French wine is to have some sense of French geography. All French wine labels contain the Phrase "Appellation (Blank) Controllee" What is in the blank is the key to understanding the level of quality of the wine. Generally, speaking, the more specific, the better the wine should be. The lowest grade wines are basic table wines. (Some are actually very good, for the price.) The best wines will be labled as specific as "App. Romanee-Contee Cont." Essentially, it is specifying a specific section of the Burgandy region. A great wine shop in Paris is Taillevent in the 8th Arr. The shop is affiliated with the restaurant of the same name, which is one of the best in the country. If you go on Saturday's, they have a few bottles for tasting. The staff is very helpful and they do have wines across several price ranges. Have fun.

Don't bother buying Bordeaux (FYI,this includes St.Emilion) wines as there are more readily available and priced the same in the states - sometimes cheaper in fact. You make out best with the lesser know wines of Burgundy, Rhone, Languedoc and Loire, for example. However, unless you're a wine geek like me, you'll be lost. If you can taste, then go ahead and buy. Even if you do, however, the savings on a case won't be more than $100. Probably not worth your time. Coachboy

Forget bringing it home unless you find something that you know you cannot find at home. We were in Provence and Cote du Rhones that sold for $10 to $12 per bottle in the US were available in the local grocery stores for around $4. The Chateauneuf du Papes that cost $22 to $35 per bottle in the US were $14 to $16. I bought a great bottle of Chateau Mont Redon for $16 in Gordes! However,we did bring about 12 bottles home that were great CDP's that we tasted and liked and had never seen in the US. US

margaret, I agree with uncle sam: go to Sam's Club or the largest US wine buyer, Costco and try some out before your trip to educate your palate. I've recommended my favorite little wine shop in Paris, "La Derniere Goutte", several times here on the forum. We just came back from Paris and once again, made La Derniere Gouttle our last stop, purchasing 6 bottles of unique, hard-to-find-in-the-states bottles from the Sourth West (Irouleguys, Gaillacs, Cahors, Languedocs, Rousillons that we never, ever see in our wine shops) and shipping them home with our luggage in the 10 euro La Poste container that we bought there and used to ship last year. Once again the box arrived safely (we had also used it in La Rioja in Spain in Nov.) and when going through customs, the agent simply asked what the box contained. When we replied: "6 bottles of wine", he sent us on our merry way. I would suggest once you're in Paris, not only to stop by La Derniere Goutte for their Sat. afternoon wine tastings, but also to stop by the owner,Juan Sanchez's wine bar/restaurant just around the corner on the rue de Seine #69, "Fish La Boissonnerie". Sit at the bar and have Juan (who's almost always there in the late p.m.) or Brian suggest a glass or two for you (at 4,5 euros a glass). We make "Fish" a regular stop in the evening to sample different, unknown (to us) wines. We've also done Sat. afternoon wine tastings at Caves Taillvent at 199 Rue du Faubourg St.-Honoré. The staff has 5 professional sommeliers to help you. We visited the even larger Lavinia on the Blvd. de la Madeleine this week. It's enormous with a selection of 5,500 wines, including wines from Lebanon and even Cuba! The largest wine shop in Europe. We had been to the branches in Barcelona and Madrid (the 2 owners are former Madrid residents) and this one outdoes both. There's no free wine tasting, but upstairs they do have a wine bar (glasses start at 7-8 euros and go much higher) and tapas (from 4-8 euros) to accompany the wines. But on the Place de la Madeleine, you also have a larger branch of Cavistes Nicolas (there are more than 200 Nicholas shops all over Paris) where the staff speaks English. They also have an upstairs wine bar. So while in Paris, do plenty of sampling/tasting before buying. Other Paris wine bars for you to try: the friendly "Le Mauzac" at 7 rue de l'Abbé de l'Epée in the 5th near the Luxembourg gardens or... "Le Rubis" at 10 Rue du Marché St.-Honoré in the 1st, a pleasant walk from the Louvre & "Aux Bons Crus", around the corner at 7 rue des Petits-Champs. Happy tasting!

Hi, Margaret, Another suggestion: there's a group of 5 or 6 restaurants (roughly) in Paris called "Les Bouchons de Francois Clerc". Theoir claim to fame is that they sell wimes essentially at cost (and the food is quite good and reasonable as well -- I think they rate a 13 in Gault-Millau). Here's the web site: http://www.lesbouchonsdefrancoisclerc.com/ One other note: was in Burgundy a few months ago and found that we liked the whites much better than the reds -- and they were great bargains. You could get a "Premiers Cru" for 20-40 euro in a restaurant. Two we really liked: Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Frionnes (2000) and Domaine William Fevre 1999 Chablis Premier Cru Les Lys Have fun. John H.

margaret, We had John's great suggestion of Les Bouchons on our list for our trip this past week but unfortunately didn't get around to hitting any of them-saving this for next time. Here's another suggestion (that is, if you're outgoing or not too shy) for a great set priced meal served in the pan laid out in front of you around the stove (you slice the break yourself) in an "all you can eat, go at it" table d'hote style at small round, high communal tables in a convivial, lively, atmosphere with terrific wine prices: Go deep into the 15th to the ever hopping "Cave de l'Os a Moelle" on 181 rue de Lourmel (metro: Lourmel) directly across from the owner's restaurant L'Os a Moelle-his tiny wine cellar is an offshoot, a cave-bistro annex to take in the overflow. You can just have a low priced glass of wine at the bar or a bite or join in the fun at the communal tables. The set price includes soup, a plat, cheese and dessert. We splurged (29 euros-super bargain) on the gluttonous, never-ending 6 course gourmet feast at chef Thierry Faucher's popular and always packed bistro next door, but next time we'll try the Cave-looked like great fun. La Grande Epicerie also has wine tastings on Sat. afternoons.