Saturday the French Winophiles recount their favorite French memories – either long-ago trips that we’ll never forget or those we imagine when our wanderlust kicks up a fuss. Like most people who have been to France, I have both in my repertoire; but today I’m going back to 1993 and my first visit. My French boyfriend took me on a two-week vacation that began and … Continue reading Do You Know the Way to Vézelay? (#Winophiles)
When was your last visit to France? Mine was in December, a trip I’d been anticipating for a decade-and-a-half. Truth be told, though, I had traveled the streets of Paris on many occasions over the years – every time I daydreamed to escape reality, I landed in the Place des Vosges with its exquisite shops, or on the banks of the Seine watching the bâteaux … Continue reading Dreaming of France: What’s Your Story? #Winophiles
When you think of France, what’s the first image that appears in your mind? Is it the statuesque splendor of the Eiffel Tower? Or maybe the lavender-imbued fields of Provence? Whether we’ve traveled to France or not, we have heard about her charms, seen photos of her beauty. As a child, long before I ever saw France with my own eyes, I dreamed about it, … Continue reading Dreaming of France: The #Winophiles Share their Favorite Stories – Past, Present, and Future
This Saturday I get to indulge in a few of my favorite things: the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) cycling race begins, which takes me – strangely enough – to Southern France for the first two days; and the Winophiles blogging group meets to discuss affordable French wines. Spain, France, cycling, and wine – who wants to come with me?
If you’re so inclined, please join our chat on August 19th at 11 am EDT. You can find us on Twitter at the appointed time, using the hashtag #Winophiles. We’d love to hear your wine suggestions too, so chime in at any point. Just be sure to append #Winophiles to your tweets so we can welcome you. Our host this month is Jill Barth, who captures the exquisite beauty of France in her blog L’occasion; you can read more about this month’s topic here. Continue reading “Exploring the Languedoc with Domaine Magellan (#Winophiles)”
Stages 12-14 send the peloton scurrying around South West France, a large swath of forests interspersed with vineyards and farms. Its quiet, rural landscape runs from the Pyrénées Mountains in the south, up the Atlantic coast to Bordeaux. As you can imagine, many styles of wine are produced here, most from grapes native to the area. Which brings us to the only challenge in tasting … Continue reading Toast #TDF2017 with Wines from the Côtes de Gascogne (#winophiles)
While not as famous as the red wines from the Côte d’Or, Pinot Noir produced in the village of Mercurey can provide outstanding value for the price. You won’t find any Grand Cru offerings here, but there are plenty of good bottles that will satisfy your craving for red Burgundy while leaving your wine budget intact. I was inspired to write this post as a … Continue reading Mercurey Rising: Pinot Noir from Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise
There’s a reason French wines are held in such high esteem: for years they served as the benchmark against which all other wines were compared. After all, it was the infamous Judgment of Paris in which several American wines outshone their French counterparts that catapulted California wine onto the world stage. And, let’s face it: whichever wine first tempted us to explore the wonders of the … Continue reading A Feast for the Senses: Viognier and Indian Spices (#Winophiles)
