Affordable is an arbitrary term. We all have our personal price preferences for wine we purchase to drink at home or at a restaurant. For most of us, triple- or quadruple-digit pricetags are out of reach for everyday drinking. Let’s say that around $20 (~€17, ~£15 at the moment) is affordable. Sure, you’ve seen the…
Category: France
Rosé and Sea Salt
It has come up in conversation – many times – as one of our most extraordinary experiences in France. It is certainly hard to describe and after chatting about this place, I generally feel like I left out the real story. This is because Grussian, a commune in the southern French Aude department, is experiential….
Lessons from a Biodynamic Winemaker in France
I take a notes like a squirrel on the bird feeder – fast and and full, getting it all down before someone changes the subject. You’ll know me by my notebooks. More often than not, however, the stuff that really sticks with me doesn’t require a scribble. My memory serves in certain moments where everything…
Périgord Wines: Bergerac and Duras
It was the roses – and the view – that made us pull the car over. Though everyone wanted to make good time, we were compelled to stop, even as other cars whizzed past while we weaseled into a spot across the street from the local cave. Cameras are made with the panorama setting for…
Historic Vineyards of Mâcon
Burgundy, known as Bourgogne in France, is one of the world’s most incredible wine regions. Due to an intense history dedicated to winemaking, there are stories to be told, lifetimes to preserve. Let this video, from Bourgogne Wines provide an introduction: Vineyards in Burgundy have been cultivated for over 2,000 years, first by the…
Like a Local in Languedoc Wine Country
We started May in France and ended it in California, with a bit of sweet ‘real’ life in between. The trips allowed us to bask again in warm favorite spots, and afforded us – in good measure – the opportunity to sit in new seats and chat with new voices. We’ve got stories to tell,…
Drink or Hold: Burgundy, Where Parker Got it Wrong
Today we feature a guest post from Gerald (Jerry Clark). Jerry has written for L’occasion in the past, recently with his thoughts on wine as an investment. This month he shares perspective on Burgundy wines, a great fit for our readers between a two-part series on Burgundy. Jerry has a wide scope of experience with…
Thomas Jefferson in Burgundy
There is a phrase in the French language – déformation professionnnelle – which describes one’s tendency to perceive every situation through the biased eyes of one’s profession. But consider the constant shape-shifting of reality for a man with armloads of professions: inventor, farmer, author, diplomat, ambassador, drafter, architect, teacher, United States President, archaeologist and onward. Jefferson, Wine Lover Thomas…
A Sense of Provence: Domaine Dalmeran
On a recent trip to Provence I met with Ana Lopez from Domaine Dalmeran for a tasting of their red, white and rosé wines. The domaine is located in Les Baux-de-Provence AOP, a region that makes organic and in many cases, biodynamic, practices a thumbprint for the appellation. I’ve written widely about the AOP so…
The Good Wines of Lirac
Last fall I spent some time with winemakers in Lirac, a cru located across the Rhône River from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I covered a significant conversation with Rodolphe de Pins, winemaker at Château de Montfaucon and Co-President of Lirac AOP in a recent piece published on Palate Press: I’m in a vineyard on top of a graceful…
Five Wines For a Beautiful Day
Who wants to drink a glass of chilled wine, face to the sun, ice-bucket ready? As Spring bursts in the northern hemisphere, it is time for fresh and vibrant wines in white and rosé. There are five days in the week, five wines to try: Riesling from Nik Weis My Riesling selection is the 2015…
A World of Flavors in Marseille
The Southern French port city of Marseille has been the entry point for the world since the Greeks settled there around 600 BC. The second largest city in France is home to people of scoping nationalities and this diversity makes Marseille the world’s kitchen. Marseille is also in an excellent wine neighborhood, with the best…
15 Years, 5 Houses, 3 Kids and 1 Wine that’s seen it all…
My husband has a pair of jeans that he calls his painting jeans. He’s kept them around for painting projects, each one adding to the mess that makes them the perfect source of memories: here is the Ralph Lauren red from the upstairs hallway; here’s the Phillipsburg blue from the dining room; here’s the pink…
Wine Stories: Bernard de Nonancourt of Champagne Laurent-Perrier
Twelve years ago I wrote a fictional story about a vigneron named Emmeline, raising her daughter in wartime Provence. This character was based purely on imagination, written in my basement office during my maternity leave to care for my middle child. The story was subsequently published initiated a sense of intense need to keep going, to make the…
Champagne avec Les Winophiles Français
Champagne is the focus of this month’s Winophiles treatment. The Winophiles are a group of wine writers and bloggers that love French wine. Each month we focus on an area or aspect of French wine. Topics include regions, routes, food, travel, history, profiles, tastings…we expand widely and seek to learn. Champagne! Just the sound of…
