Hello,

My husband and I will be in Paris this weekend ( a quick trip from where we live in Italy). I found this company/ person that hosts wine tastings from his home. It looks very interesting. Has anyone else done this? Or any other?

http://www.o-chateau.com/en/main/

the new Bercy complex also has wine tastings i believe in the old converted wine warehouses that are now devoted in part to the French wine industry. Not sure of details.

The O-chateau business has been around for a couple of years now...they initially held their sessions in one of several cafes but I imagine their clientele outgrew that arrangement, so it was moved to the apartment.

I have heard good things about this as well but have never done it personnally. If you decide too, please let us know who it goes.

It looks like I'm in for a tasting this Saturday. Oliver seemed very friendly over email and had no issues with us bringing our 1 year old son. I had emailed just to be certain. I'm happy we will be able to sample French wine in a smoke free environment. In our prebaby days we would def be into the wine bar scene, but with the little guy, this may be more our speed! I'll let you know details upon my return.

I interested in this also. We'll be in Paris in October and I've saved the website for further research.

Let us know how it goes,

Marla

My family (which includes my 16 and 14 year old boys) did the wine tasting with Olivier this past December. We had a blast. Olivier has a great sense of humor and is extremely knowledgable. You will learn, taste a variety of wines, and get a chance to check out a smart Parisian loft to boot. Olivier spent some time in San Diego, so his English is excellent. My boys still talk about the tasting as one of the hightlights of our trip.

As a sort of side note - I think the French have it right by exposing their children to wine in moderation. We've done the same, and our boys just don't understand the alcohol mystique and the attraction some of their friends find in binge drinking.

Can anyone elaborate on the Bercy wine complex that PalQ mentions? It's on my list to seek out on our next Paris trip. Thanks.

How many people are attending at any given O-Chateau tasting..?

I had wanted to go to that last summer on my visit, but somehow never got around to it. It looked like fun, and something different to do once you've been there a while.

I don't agree with the editorial comments on how exposing kids to alcohol at a young age means they are going to be more mature about alcohol, and not binge drink. I don't think binge drinking has anything to do with a kid thinking alcohol has a "mystique" or that his parents refused to drink around him -- and France has a very very high rate of alcoholism, by the way.

Travelnut:

At our tasting there were 8 people – two parties of four each. I think Olivier could handle a few more, but that’s about it. I thought 8 was about perfect and allowed for a lot of interaction and discussion.

Christina:

Alcoholism and binge drinking are two entirely different problems, and I said nothing about alcoholism. If you accept that alcoholism is truly a disease, then it likely has more to do with genetic tendencies than adolescent behaviors. I would also suggest that you speak with some French families about the incidence of binge drinking among French high school and college students, and then compare that to what you know about campus life in the U.S. You might be surprised.

The Wine Tasting with Oliver was wonderful. We were a few minutes late and this did not seem to be a problem, but we were really embarrassed. However, 2 more couples came after us so then we didn't look so bad!

Oliver is really easy to talk with and you can pretty much ask him any little question you want. It's nice to be able to take a break from the site seeing and just sit and talk to others about Paris and wine.

We brought him a bottle of Marsala (not the cheap cooking wine!) that I like from here in Sicily. He said it was the first time anyone has ever brought him wine. He then tossed in a few freebies with the wine we purchased from him.

When we got home we had an email from him that was very nice. I have the feeling he probably emails everyone, but maybe not. In any case, it was a nice reminder of our wine tasting in Paris.

Hope more of you are able to visit with Oliver when you are in Paris.

Hi Julie,
I visited the Bercy Village last October. Unfortunately I can't remember which day of the week as I was in Paris for 15 days but do remember the wine tasting.
There was a small little white "tent/gazebo" with a lady entroducing three or so different wines.
You got a small plastic thimble full of the ones you decided on and that was that! The wine was of course pretty expensive.
Bercy Village is a line of old warehouses now spruced up with tenants selling various things. There are cafes & restaurants as well.
I was glad I went but it's a place that could be anywhere in the world. It didn't have that "French" feel!

I'm another parent who has chosen to expose my kids to alcohol early. Beer in Mexico, wine in France or fine restaurants in the US or at home... Not disagreeing with those parents who don't allow it though. I think we're all just trying to figure out what will work for our kids.

Just like sex, we discuss (no soap box for us) alcohol with our teens all the time. They have some pretty interesting stories... I want them to be prepared for as many situations they find themselves in as possible.

My parents never drank and I only saw alcohol in h.s. and college as a way to get drunk (and I did).

My neighbors who don't drink a drop and don't allow alcohol in their home have a 15 yr old who has guzzled entire bottles of vodka (where does he get it all the time?) regularly for the past year and is now in a rehab facility. He seems to have an addictive personality issue and if he were my kid he might do the same.

I drink a glass of wine with dinner every night & I hope my kids see alcohol as something to enjoy and savor responsibly. I'm not naive though and expect they'll experiment on their own at some point. I just don't want those experiments to involve binging or cars.

InSicily and Steveboy, which wine tasting did you do? On his website there are several options.

Thanks, this looks like a fun activity.

Would love to hear if you did this tasting insily and how it went. going next week. is it worth doing the cheese with the tasting? any thoughts appreciated.

lhs624:

We did the wine and cheese. Especially with the boys, I thought it wise to have some food in the system while drinking. It turned out to be a good move all around - Olivier had some great cheeses (and even some cold cuts as I recall) which enhanced the experience for us. Also, I've always enjoyed the interplay between food and wine, so it would typically be my preference to combine the two.

We did the 7 wines at 5pm. It lasted about 2 hours. There was bread provided and it was pretty tasty.

Marshacarlin- scroll up, you'll see my review of Oliver. It was excellent.

Also, just got a second email from Oliver that said he stumbled across our little Fodors chat! V. Funny.

He really is a nice guy. And we had a great time. Hope more of you can attend.

For anyone with experience with this company, Would it be possible to book the day of tasting (by phone)? Also, what is the expected tip? I noticed that service is not compris. It seems that bottles of wine are sold after the tasting. Did anyone go and did you feel obligated to buy wine or was it pretty laid back?

Haven't done it but have read numerous posts about it and no one ever mentioned any 'sales pressure'. Anyway, you just have to say "non" as they get a nice fee for the tastings as it is.
The website has phone numbers on it:
http://www.o-chateau.com/en/main/booknow.php