My husband and I like good wie but our knowledge of french wine is limited. A friend said ordering a carafe of the house wine would get us a wonderful wine. Is this true? Back home it would get you something undrinkable! Thanks

Hi css,

If you ask for the "vin de maison" you will get a not unpleasant, often good, table wine.

It is unlikely that it will be "wonderful".

I love white wines but am no expert. I ordered the house white all over Paris, which came in a glass carafe or clay pitcher and were very good to my taste. Try it a few times at a sidewalk cafe or with lunch. If it doesn't suit you, then move on (and up$) to the wine list. No harm done ;-)

sorry for the icons... i meant a dollar sign & a wink, susan

If you order the house wine, it is ikely to be of better quality than you would get at home, but it is still a "vin ordinaire" or "vin de table." It wont be "wonderful," but it will be pleasant and drinkable. For a few euros more you can move up to "wonderful."

I agree with St Cirq. French table wine is better than what you often get in the US, for example, or some other countries, but you are never going to get wonderful house wine in a carafe. They aren't going to have expensive wine in there, I think it is always "table wine", which is labelled that way by law in France if it doesn't reach the standards for other labelling.

I have had a few house wine carafes in France that were not very good and I was sorry I hadn't ordered something specific -- maybe about 25 pct of the time. Perhaps my coincidental experience, but it is usually worse in Paris in restaurants that are not French but other type of cuisine.

It's been three years since I've been to Paris and am returning next spring. Remind me how much a house wine at a not-fancy restaurant would be and how much a decent bottle might be.

Tell me your favorite red wines too. (In the one step above house wine category.) (Please no lectures about red wines only

One of the nicest things about Europe, and even London where things are more expensive, is that wines are not marked up in restaurants at the astronomical rates they are in the US. You can get a very nice bottle of wine in a French restaurant for between 25-35 euro. Outside of Paris, drop that even to 20 euro. We like Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone, Bergeracs, among others. Generally before we head off on a trip, we start buying wines from that region at a local wine super-store (we're fortunate to have a number to chose from in the DC area). At least that way you can recognise what you've liked before and make a good choice from a wine list. One of my favorite Paris restaurants in the Marais, Les Fous d'en Face, has a delightful wine list, and I've never had anything but a fantastic meal and wine there. 3, rue du Bourg-Tibourg75004 (off rue de Rivoli)
Metro stop Hotel de Ville

Stick to the lower end (not the lowest) of any wine list and try something you have never heard of - you'll seldom be disappointed.
As an example, we are headed to NW Portugal/Galicia, Esp and plan to taste all the Alvarinhos/Albarinos (much, much better than carafe Vinho Verde at not much more Eu) and red Douros we see.
M

I agree with mike

One restaurateur recommended never ordering the *second* cheapest wine on the menu...it was usually something mediocre stuck there for those too afraid/embarrassed to order the cheapest.
If you go to a restaurant that specializes in regional cuisines (Gascony cuisine, for example), the house wine may be a very good but little known wine from that area.
In general, I like to try a glass of the house wine first. If you do that and feel it's not quite "wonderful", look at the wine list. If you do like it, get a pichet. Again, if you really like it, don't be afraid to ask the waiter to tell you what the wine is and if it's possible to buy it in stores.

Study this post just a little:
"French Wine 101"
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34480090

HI css--we *never* had a bad glass of wine in France recently. I would say it ranged from good to great. Now, needless to say, actually being in France has an effect on the experience of drinking said wine!! We ordered carafes occasionally but mostly bottles w/o any deep knowledge of French or wines and every bottle was great. In most cases if you are wavering among a few choices, the waiter will know enough English to assist you.

Uh oh, what is the price range of your restaurant? Thanks.

Do a taste test:
many FR restaurants have no name Alsatian wines as their carafe white offerings - try a glass v. a bottle of a "name" producer's (ZH or Weinbach at the top down to something you find on the street in a lovely Alsatian vill).
Likewise, a bottled QbA Riesling from '01 or '02 will be way better than a carafe Taffelwein which is so bad, no one exports it.
Ask the rest. owners for recommendations in small vills.
M

css - I hope you have better luck than I did. Sampling that glass of house red may be a good idea. I hate to sound negative, but when I was in Paris in April I decided to go with the house wines- "vin ordinaire" or "vin de table" to be able to experience regional wines. That was after much reading here and in travel guides. I found the house wines thin, acidy and when I stepped it up to Cote du Rhone, I was nonplussed. I even got some suggestions from my little hotels. Maybe it's my taste, at home, I've been drinking Italian and Portuguese reds and peppery Chilean wines. I did enjoy a quite modest white, Le Poulet Blanc @ 5.95eu. The other suggestion is to talk to your waiter. I will just have to go back and keep trying. If you can report back on your experience.

>....Maybe it's my taste,...<

That is always a possibility.

Chacun a son gôut.

Thank you Travelnut, I saw the thread last week and had meant to check it out, but forgot. It will be helpful.

Linda

ira- eh, oui!