Paris, Anger, & My twisted version of Cinderella

After dragging my hung over ass to Victoria Station I took the Chunnel train to Paris. I really liked my new hotel which was to be my home base while in France. Very reasonable kind of funky boutique place called Saint-Louis Bastille, everyone spoke English, also it was centrally located & had a good selection of restaurants near by.

After exploring the city a bit I went back to the 11th arrondissement. My block had some really cool wine shops, a fromager that also carried fois gras, & one incredible bakery! Le Grand Mericourt was my choice for dinner that evening. This was a very chic little place with a great wine list, I chose a 2004 Bourgueil from Domaine Castlot Pontonnier. This wine had a bit of poo smell with hints of leather and dark fruit with a long finish, garnet color with a ruby rim. It paired well with a chestnut pie as well as my duck breast in fois gras sauce. The cheeses at this place ROCKED but with my limited french I couldn't get the correct names for them!

The next day I was off to Anger for a Earth,Wind, Fire, Water tasting of Sancerre and Muscadet in the Chateaux Plessis du Mace. The beauty of this Chateaux was amazing! Four different rooms where set up with several wines each paired separately with a wide variety of tastes. Most pairings involved seafood and the wines had racy acidity and a crispness that is typical of this region.

I heard 2 men speaking English and wandered over to join them! Turns out one man grew up very close to my hometown in Garrison, NY. He claimed to remember thunder rolling on the Hudson sounding like Thor bowling or some such thing? Whatever! They seemed very disappointed with this event as in previous years it was a sit down dinner. These 2 crazy ex patriots where really over the top! One looked and spoke like Andy Warhol , the other was definitely old money with a bad toupee and wearing a cravat. As I was enjoying playing the society dame on my best behavior Mr. Warhol tells me "Darling your frock is enchanting" probably a line I will always remember. I ran into them later in town at The Hotel De Paris, a very chic place where I had a nightcap.

As I walked home in my cocktail dress, up doo, heels in tow back to the dump I was staying in that night I felt like some type of new age Cinderella! How on earth did this little curly haired girl end up here?

I just applied for slave camp in Bordeaux

OK I know I'm a bit out there but I really want the experience of working a harvest in the EU before I'm to old and decrepit. I've been networking like crazy, came up with a few things some of which sounded pretty interesting. After reading "report of a cellar rat/or surviving slave camp" published on one vintners site I decided to go for it.

This vineyard is in Bordeaux, Chateaux Carson and welcomes foreigners to come work harvest. Looks like fun and a real challenge, my kind of thing. Leave that blow-dryer and Jimmy Choo's at home girlie you won't be needing them for a while! I'll let you know more about this as it develops.

Big shout out to Britt & Per Karlsson for the hook up! Check out their site BK Wine!

Borough Market/ Tate Modern

I saw a episode that featured Borough Market on Food Network that intrigued me, then John told me more about it. This was my last day in London and I wanted to fit it in , plus it was very close to Neil's Yard Dairy that was a must see for me so I went for it.

I have to say maybe I could live there , foodie heaven! Everything was available , 4 booths devoted to wines from Bordeaux, truffles, pastries, meat pies, Briton salts, sausages from all over the world, jambon , organic veggies, meats, cheeses, fruits, spices, juices, small meat producers ( fresh killed so kind of freaky for Americans! Fur still on !) and prepared tastes from 1 pound to around 5. This translates to around 2 to 10 dollars.

There was also a wine bar that allows you to open a bottle and enjoy with the vast food selections. It is located between the large tents and the main market. Having been to food and wine markets throughout the world I can truly tell you this is the most diverse, clean and pleasant one I have ever visited by far. A must visit for food & wine nuts!

After all this gluttony I walked over to The Tate Modern Museum. I have a great appreciation for London Museums, most are free or just a small donation required. Considering how bad the dollar is there this is a great way to spend time if you happen to be into art.

One of the best views of the city can be found in the restaurant in The Tate Modern. They also have a nice selection of wines by the glass. I chose a champagne from one of my favorite producers Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve NV, full sparkling with pear, apple, & buttered biscuit notes. From my seat at the bar I could look out on this beautiful city and rest my tired feet!

Since this was my last night in London I also decided to try the venison carpaccio with white truffle oil, aged Parmesan and rocket greens. This paired awesomely with a Chilean Pinot Noir ,Vina Layda Las Brisas nose of smoke, ham, and gunpowder. The palate on this wine was also nice a little leathery, blackberry and stewed cherry. Although the view isn't as exciting as The London Eye I would definitely recommend this as it's a great place to relax with views, art, wine, and a nice eclectic menu. You can also get tea service, lunch, or a full dinner with English cheese service. Really what more could you ask for! Also very unstuffy atmosphere, kind of hipster without being too trendy as far as clientele goes.

Tomorrow the Chunnel train to Paris! I will miss London, the people are sooooooooo friendly and helpful and I wish I had more time to enjoy this city.

Bieler Pere et Fils/Just a random note

I love rose but why do some have to smell of banana & taste like some cheap Halloween Bazooka Joe! I guess it is a fair BBQ wine but not much else. SORRY! I hate to diss anyone's wine but I'm preferring the Italian and Spanish roses these days. Used to be a hard core Tavel & Loire rose fan.
Some of the Italian ones are being made out of some interesting varieties like Aglianico.

Canary Wharf or Fine Dining in a Deparment Store?

After planning on meeting my mate at The Aussie Days tasting in The Horticulture Hall I started out for my next adventure leaving the hobbit room behind me for the day!

I signed up for a Pinot Tasting & seminar with 4 vintners that turned out to be really informative. The most interesting thing about this was all the talk of climate change, micro climates, the dedication , heart, & just the overall passion of these 4 guys! Maybe it's me but this was the friendliest bunch of vintners I have ever come across. They remembered me once I got back on the tasting floor& had me try different wines that where not included in the tasting. One vintner has the greatest website site! Check it out, Innocent Bystander Wines in Victoria. I especially liked his wines the Pinot Noir was my favorite ,smooth velvet tannins, raspberry & smoke on the palate with a nice long finish. He not only has a vineyard but also a cheese cave, bakery, wine bar, & more on premise at his property.

After this I met up with my friend John & some of his colleagues to take the light rail to Canary Wharf. This is a area right outside of the city of London that reminded me a bit of South Street Seaport! Big buildings, skyscrapers & dinner in the middle of a department store.

After explaining to me that this was the best deal in London we sat down in a very crowded area that looked like a tapas bar. It turned out to be a wine shop in the middle of this store where you can buy a bottle & enjoy it with some great apps. No corkage fee & they had a great treasure cellar with some rare bottles. We chose a Spanish Rose Muga 2005 with fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers & salmon cakes. This was a good pairing, the wines fruity acidity complemented the mozzarella , & kicked up the salmon cakes.

After apps. we ventured across the store to check out the other food counters. You have much to choose from! Oysters, Lobster, Steak, Sushi, Regional English, & many other things. We chose the steak & seafood counter. John got the stuffed lobster & the rest of us the opted for the steak & chips. I also got to try Chapel Down Sparkling English Wine! Really crisp, high acidity, citrus and it went well with a crab cocktail appetizer we all shared. This was really a good dinner choice if you don't mind eating in the middle of a department store. There seemed to be a lot of locals chowing down at this bargain place, dinner for 3 with this 2 glasses of wine came to around 150.00 dollars a very reasonable price for London .

Vinopolis & Things for wine geeks in the UK

English wine is hard to find even in London. So why go there on a wine adventure? One reason for starters, the home offices of both The WSET & The Court of Master Sommeliers are located in the UK.

I was planning my trip France & learned about the Chunnel Train that travels from London to Paris in as little as 2.5 hrs. I thought I'd go to check out some British cheese contacts & the wine library at the WSET before heading to Paris.

One of my fellow students from The DWI works for the wine standards board in England. After contacting him for some tips I began to wish I had planned to spend a few more days there!

After settling in to the worst room I have ever stayed in (Best Western Paddington Court / steer clear of this dump) I tried to map out a plan while cramped like a sardine. This place had only 1 redeeming quality free Internet! The fire alarm went off at least once a day, had to jump into bed from the end of the room, no place large enough to even open luggage, elevators that just opened on random floors. It just sucked!

First on my list was a walk down Marylebone Highstreet. This little strip of foodie heaven is filled with wine shops, gourmet stores, organic butchers & La Fromagerie one of the best cheese mongers in London.

La Fromagerie offers many wines by the glass along with daily specials at the in store cafe. There was no question where I was eating lunch! I settled on a glass of Chateau Bouscasse a well structured 100 percent Petit Corbu with fresh zesty citrus notes, lots of rich tropical fruits, & a hint of honey. This paired perfectly with my organic Irish smoked salmon, crusty bread and baked Vacherin du Monte d'or. I couldn't have asked for a better first meal in London.

After walking down the rest of Marylebone Highstreet I hopped the tube to Vinopolis. This is a sort of wine Disney, kind of hokey but very cool. It covers many countries wine regions, has interactive exhibits, Imax vespa rides through Italian vineyards, and your choice of tastings.

Depending on what you want to spend like any theme park your choices of tasting vary from table wine to Grand Cru.

Also Beefeater has a very nice martini tasting room with a botanical herb set-up to teach you about all the different elements contained in their gin. Just steps from the martini bar is a chance to try Absinthe legally for all of us from the US. The last part of my tour was a Single Malt Scotch tasting. In all areas are informed young people to explain and guide you in your tasting experience.

There is also a beer wharf where you can grab a bite or a rather nice wine bar serving tapas if you want to take a break between tastings. The Wine and Spirits shop at the exit sells most everything that is available to taste and more! Beware it's a really great shop but unless it's a extremely rare bottle just too expensive when you do the currency conversion.

I have to say it wasn't a bad experience and I learned about the floating vineyards of Thailand . Something I will have to do more research on. And they had a bitchin wine tree that I wanted to take home!

The start of it all & Germany

I've always loved escaping to some seminar or class. While taking a master class in Affinage at The Artisanal Cheese Center in NYC something just clicked. I became fascinated with pairings. The possibilities are endless.

Never liking sweets surprisingly I started trying all types of dessert wines with cheeses. With this I discovered German wines. The TBA's, BA's & Eiswien are in my opinion very under appreciated in the US. I have been eagerly awaiting some kind of "Riesling Renaissance " that all the wine books predict. At least we know have a little more variety imported. How often did you see anything from the Nahe on a shelf 2 yrs. ago?

After studying independently for a while I started taking classes. Someone told me about Kevin Zralys class that you can get for free if you pour & set up. I would drag my tired ass down to the city every Wednesday after setting up the line for the day at work. Then get home at 1am. Was it worth it? Yes, I got to taste some rare vintages and network like crazy!!!!

Starting studying the WSET program over a year ago while still dragging myself back & forth. Every free minute I spent studying, I'm still going strong with 2 more years to go!

I decided I'd had enough of slinging hash to country folk & sold my place to a woman that renamed it after a cow!

Since then I've gone to study in Germany at the Deutsche Wine Institute (yeah that right the DWI institute). A really great program! Very intense tasting with tons of regional food. Also you get into cellars that others will only dream of.

The cellars of Juliusspital alone are worth the trip. Set up in 1576 to fund medical care for the poor it is still a working hospital with patients getting a glass of wine a day! Also it is the second largest wine estate in Germany with 415 cultivated acres. There are actually 3 wine hospitals in the city of Wurzburgh. But only Juliusspital is still operating as a medical facility with on the average having 4oo beds filled. It was really weird to walk past a lab with nurses & patients one minute then find yourself in this beautiful cellar with intricately carved barrels the next. Also each hospital has a weinstube where you can get reasonably priced Franconian specialties along with their wines. We had our farewell dinner at Burgerspital. It was a meal that I won't soon forget. From the starter of soup made with new wine to the roast duck stuffed with sausage, & apple it was wonderful! The potato pancakes they make are smothered with cheese, forest mushrooms, & a light creamy gravy. Seriously if I ever decide to just give up on the figure I just might move there to stuff a few of these away every day! Every course was paired perfectly with a variety of Riesling, Silvaner, & Muller-Thurgau. For dessert we had a rare 2003 Wurzburger Abtsleite Riesling Eiswein a rich luscious wine with high acidity, notes of peach, apricots, & almonds.

I would highly recommend this program to anyone with interest in German wine. They have different programs yearly & it is very reasonably priced. Just stay away from the bacon fat with salt on bread that they give you when tasting! This is deadly stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!