Episode 9 - Paris GOODfood+wine Season Two Launch Show

posted by Paige Donner

Paris GOODfood+wine 9 – Season 2 / 2015 September

Paris GOODfood+wine airing on World Radio Paris

For season Two's kick off of Paris GOODfood+wine we'll be hearing from Sylvie Cazes, the civic-minded Bordealaise who is now the proud owner of her very own wine estate. She purchased Chateau Chauvin, a beautiful 15 hectares piece of St. Émilion terroir, that sits in the upper part of the appellation, just near Pomerol.

Sylvie Cazes, of St. Emilion Wine Estate, Chateau Chauvin, photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015

She purchased this Grand Cru Classé vineyard from two sisters a bit over a year ago. 2014 is her first vintage release from the estate and one she is rightfully proud of. If you pay any attention at all to French wine critics, you'll be eager to not just taste this excellent Merlot -Cabernet Franc blend, but also buy a few cases to cellar for future enjoyment.

Sylvie Cazes being interviewed by Paige Donner at Chapon Fin, Bordeaux photo by Gene Donner

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Next up we'll be hearing from the creative, talented, artistic, human, charming, 3-Michelin starred chef Alain Passard, direct from his kitchens at Arpège, the famed Paris restaurant in the 7^th arrondissement. I caught up with the legendary Chef Alain Passard of Paris' 3-Michelin-starred Arpège earlier in the summer, just before he was heading off to Bordeaux where he was the executive chef of the summertime Jurade festivities in St. Émilion.

Chef Alain Passard of Arpège Restaurant Paris photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015

Coincidentally, it was at this year's St. Émilion Jurade ceremonies in June that Sylvie Cazes was inducted, along with a few other celebrated personalities, into this exclusive brother/sisterhood of winemakers and wine industry experts and enthusiasts.

Music by Sting, Desert Rose

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For our restaurant review we have a band of filles, - filles meaning, of course, in French, girls. This segment is called Les Filles Qui Mangent (Girls who eat) and for this piece we have two previously featured guests on last season's shows, Lindsey Tramuta and Margaret Kemp, weighing in on two of their favorite Parisian eateries.

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For those of you visiting Paris in September and for those of us living here, September is always a busy month in the city with lots of events for the rentrée, what the French call the time of year when they are back from their July and August summer vacations.

This season, a few highlights having to do with food and wine are:

The Street Food Temple. For its second year running, the event space, Carreau du Temple, is hosting a weekend long event, from the 25^th - 27^th September, featuring street food from all over the world. This year, South Korea holds the place of honor and all are welcome to stop by and feast of these delightful tastes and aromas. The Carreau du Temple is in the 3^rd arrondissement, very close, in fact, to Paris's oldest covered market, the Marché des Enfants Rouges.

Another culinary highlight this month is the Floating Market or Marché Flottantes that is taking place September 18^th to 20^th in the 5^th arrondissement. Here, along the quais Montebello and de la Tournelle you will find boats, skiffs and barges all filled with small-artisanal producers of food gems from the Southwest of France such as foie gras, wines full of sunshine, fattened duck and other delectables.

And just a head's up to mark on your calendar for October is the festive and favorite annual Vendanges de Montmartre where the entire village of Montmartre and much of Paris, too, celebrate the harvest of the small vineyard that graces the sloping hill which descends from just behind the Musée de Montmartre. These 4 days of festivities are filled with parades, song and dance and, of course, quite a lot of wine drinking. Definitely not to miss especially if you've never been. The dates for this year, the 82^nd annual, are October 7^th – 11^th.

For more information about these and other Paris happenings go to Paris.fr

This show has been brought to you in part by the generous sponsorship of FUSAC.fr and by Paris Food And Wine.

And a Grand Merci! to our Paris GOODfood+wine team.



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Episode 8 GOODfood+wine on World Radio Paris

Episode 8 of  Paris GOODfood+wine

by Host-Producer Paige Donner

In tribute to last month's announcement that both Burgundy and Champagne are now included as UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites, I am running interviews on this topic that previously aired on this show and its predecessor, World of Wine.

Burgundy's Climats are now UNESCO World Heritage. Listen to Paige Donner's interview on GOODfood+wine on WRP

Each interview is with key proponents of these initiatives from each region. The first segment is a rebroadcast from my World of Wine show featuring two spokesmen from Champagne, discussing their region's UNESCO World Heritage site inclusion. That first aired in the Fall of 2013

The second is with Guillaume D'Angerville who worked closely with Aubert de Villaine and the rest of their team to accomplish this welcomed news for Burgundy, namely their inclusion as a recognized World Heritage Cultural site by UNESCO.

 

Gontran Cherrier, France's celebrity baker, takes Asia. Listen to Paige Donner's interview on GOODfood+wine airing on World Radio Paris.

Next, we'll be hearing a bit of a business slant to being a successful boulanger here in France. Cult baker Gontran Cherrier's team speaks to us about exporting their bakery concept to Asia. Gontran Cherrier is a regular on the popular French TV show, Best Baker of France on the M6 channel.

L'Abeille Restaurant, Paris, 16th Arrondissement. Review by Alec Lobrano

 

And, to round off, Alec Lobrano joins us again to talk about Shangri-La's gastronomic French dining restaurant, L'Abeille. The Shangri-La, located in the 16th arrondissement, is one of Paris's exquisite palace hotels.

(Music J by Domestic Pressures)

So stay with us for this latest episode of GOODfood+wine.

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Major League Kale - Baseball Stadiums' Rooftop Gardens

Mashup posted by Paige Donner

At the beginning of the 2015 season, Fenway opened a 5,000-square foot rooftop farm along a previously unused stretch of roof behind Gate A, dubbing the area "Fenway Farms." The impetus for the farm came from Linda Pizzuti Henry, wife of Red Sox co-owner John Henry. Linda had long been interested in figuring out a way to bring a focus on sustainability and healthy eating to the ballpark, and in the summer of 2014, Linda serendipitously crossed paths with Green City Growers, a Boston-based company that had been awarded a Social Impact Prize from Henry's foundation for its work in creating urban garden and farms.

Read More HERE on ThinkProgress.org

The overlap of more sustainable food options and the evolution of consumer interest is a tremendous business opportunity for the sports industry.

"The reaction is incredibly positive," Jessie Banhazl, founder Green City Growers, told ThinkProgress. "People are really excited to see this particular area of the park that was not being used for anything all of the sudden being a thriving farm."

And from the NY Times...

"This is great because although a lot of people love to come to Fenway and eat a hot dog, some people don't want to eat a hot dog, they want to eat something else — maybe a salad or a wrap with vegetables in it," Bunker said.

Growers use intensive methods, including drip irrigation and planting fresh crops right after others are harvested. That has enabled the garden to yield more than 2,000 pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, rosemary, basil, dill, parsley, tarragon and kale in the first three months, Banhazl said.

"So we're growing a little bit of everything," she said. "It's our first year doing the farm, and so we thought we'd try out a bunch of different varieties to see what the kitchens were using and also to just kind of experiment with what people liked."

Read MORE...

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The Climats of the Bourgogne winegrowing region included on the UNESCO World Heritage List

Press release

 

 

 

 

 

The Climats of the Bourgogne winegrowing region included on the UNESCO World Heritage List: the recognition of 2,000 years of history

Beaune, 6 July 2015

It is with great pride that the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) welcomes the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's decision, taken on 4 July, to include the Climats of the Bourgogne winegrowing region on the World Heritage List. This decision recognizes the commitment of an entire region and an entire industry, inspired by the will of one of its most respected winemakers, Mr Aubert de Villaine. It also recognizes the Outstanding Universal Value of our vineyards, shaped through 2,000 years of history, and which produce wines that are recognized for their qualities around the world.

Find the complete press release on our press room here

© BIVB/ Aurélien IBANEZ

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Paris Food And Wine about.me/parisfoodandwine

Episode 7 GOODfood+Wine on World Radio Paris

by Host-Producer Paige Donner

In our July episode of Paris GOODfood+wine for this season one, we bring you a nice medley of food, wine and the luxury lifestyle.

Paris GOODfood+wine airing on World Radio Paris

First up, I sit down with Thomas Lignier, Brand Ambassador for the renowned champagne house Perrier-Jouët. Two hundred years into their history and the house is still going strong. He speaks to us about the house's close relationship with the world of fine art.

photo by Paige Donner copyright

Attention fine art and rare wine collectors – Thomas lets us in on a little insider tip – namely the two luxury collection items the house offers to serious connoisseurs – the first is their By and For Cuvée where you have the opportunity to consult with their winemaker to have a bespoke Perrier-Jouët champagne made just to your taste. The second is their Bicentennial Legacy Art Sculpture. This offers the purchaser two magnums of blanc de blancs encased in signed sculpture pieces. One bottle is to enjoy now, and the second magnum, is for you to store in the Perrier-Jouët cellars in Champagne for up to 100 years, to be collected by your designated heir. Prices for these programs upon request.

Next we'll touch base with fellow blogger and journalist, Lindsay Tramuta, founder of Lost In Cheeseland, the blog about all things Parisian. She talks to us about her love for this city now that she's made it her home and how food helped her forge that friendship.

Then, fresh from the Bordeaux Vinexpo exhibition halls, you'll hear an interview with Master of Wine Charles Curtis who recently was tapped to climb on board as one of Le Pan Magazine's senior editors. Le Pan is Jeannie Cho Lee's new Art of Fine Wine Living magazine. This glossy is based in Hong Kong and publishes in both English and Chinese catering to that burgeoning audience who embraces the chateau lifestyle.

Alec Lobrano, author of Hungry for Paris

To cap our program Alec Lobrano is back in the studio with us and tells us about Paris' cult fish restaurant, Le Duc. This restaurant offers not just superlative fresh line-caught fish but is also one of the city's shush power tables. Which explains their wine list – it's not every day you see Romanée Conti on a wine list, even here in Paris.

So stay tuned, with me, Paige Donner your host, as Paris GOODfood+wine takes you on another delicious whirl through the Paris food+wine landscape.

Paris GOODfood+wine is brought to you in part by the generous support of FUSAC, Paris' English language website and community resource since 1988, visit www.fusac.fr"

The show is also brought to you with the support of Paris Food And Wine, visit us at ParisFoodAndWine.net

And in case you're wondering who the chanteuse is, featured in this episode's musical interludes, it's Melody Gardot.

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From Bordeaux to Château Margaux

 All photos by Paige Donner copyright 2015

Château Margaux, Premier Grand Cru Classé à Margaux, Médoc, classement de 1855 photo copyright Paige Donner 2015

FULL SLIDESHOW HERE

I'll close with a quote from Oscar Wilde, that great lover of our wines, who remarked quite rightly: "The French are so proud of their wine that they have even named some cities after their great growths." From Bordeaux to Margaux, he couldn't have put it better… 

             -  Philippe Castéja 
                President , Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 Médoc & Sauternes 

Château Margaux, Premier Grand Cru Classé à Margaux, Médoc, classement de 1855 photo copyright Paige Donner 2015

SPEECH by Philippe Castéja June 15, 2015 

Once again Margaux welcomes us for a dinner that has become a tradition; a tradition of meeting with you, our friends of the international press, to exchange views on numerous subjects of current importance in conversation with the many proprietors who have come to join you at this event tonight. 
I thank you, dear Corinne [mentzelopoulos], for your renewed and constant support, even while your team at Margaux has been occupied these past months with the work leading to the completion of the excellent facilities you have unveiled to us this evening. 

This work reminds me of something that President John Kennedy once said:

"The art of success consists of knowing how to surround yourself with the best."

Accordingly, you have selected Lord Norman Foster for your architect, and Paul Pontallier and your entire team for the rest. This evening, you have privileged us all with the opportunity to be here...

Permit me to comment briefly on the activity of our Council during these recent months. Our participation in the week celebrating the "Taste of France" was noteworthy. At the Château de Versailles close to 800 people were in attendance, while some 15,000 restaurateurs participated in their kitchens around the world.  And another prestigious location, the Quai d'Orsay, saw the presentation of the new book on the 1855 Classed Growths, published by Glenat on the occasion of the classification's 160th anniversary. 1855 to 2015 is 160 years—a ripe and opportune age for this Classification to be celebrated on April 18th in the presence of his excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius. I'd like to cite his words here, since his remarks were so exact:

"Beyond questions of personal taste, wine is a very serious matter for our country because it is an important part of French identity, and the names of the great classed growths are part of our cultural heritage. They are renowned throughout the world and play an important role in bringing visitors from across the globe to France." 

Thus, after decades characterized by the establishment of regulations without equal in other wine producing countries, a French minister gives wine its proper recognition as a part of culture and savoir-vivre; as an incontestable and essential element of France's heritage.

We can only rejoice in this acknowledgment which is so unlike the official discourse which wanders between moral hygienics and a type of wine-bashing which France (with its Loi Evin, in particular) does so well. 
At a time when incontestable efforts are being made to revitalize our economy, the recognition—at long last—of the positive impact on our country's international image by French winemaking and its most renowned representatives fills us with satisfaction. I would add that the presence of the 
President of the French Republic at Vinexpo gives added confirmation of the interest among public authorities for our efforts. Because the vitality of this classification remains unquestioned despite the changing nature of our 
world, the time is right to secure its inclusion in the repertoire of intangible elements of French cultural heritage, a first step to its international recognition by UNESCO. 

Everyone knows the basic details of the classification's genesis set in a given time and place, but from these origins it has evolved to become an authoritative reference, a spur to greater quality and a source of inspiration, but without hindering a spirit of healthy competition and the creation of magnificent wines, both here and around the world. 

The 1855 classification belongs to the winemaking world; it is a shared heritage which symbolizes the quest for excellence which inspires all great winemakers everywhere. The 1855 classification does not automatically confer economic advantage, but rather imposes a constant obligation in the name of an ancient principle: noblesse oblige.

Tonight, on the opening of this year's Vinexpo, the Great Classed Growths of 1855 are pleased to share with you this moment of happiness. You represent the media of 37 different nationalities, with a shared and singular interest in wine. 
This is what the city of Bordeaux has sought to make manifest in its support for the construction of the Cité des Civilisations du Vin, in concert with the Aquitaine region and the wine world's many benefactors. I highly recommend that you visit the site in the coming days. With this building's striking architectural statement set along the river's edge, Bordeaux sends the world a message of friendship imbued with a proud, long history. But tonight, I'll close with a quote from Oscar Wilde, that great lover of our wines, who remarked 
quite rightly: "The French are so proud of their wine that they have even named some cities after their great growths." From Bordeaux to Margaux, he couldn't have put it better… 

I wish you all an enjoyable dinner, an enchanted stay in our vineyards, and I'm sure that your palate's pleasure this evening will serve to inspire your imaginations. 

Philippe Castéja 
President 
Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855 Médoc & Sauternes

GRAND-CRU-CLASSE-1855.COM

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Champagne and The Art Nouveau of Perrier-Jouët's Maison-Belle Epoque

by Paige Donner

There are frequent associations between art and champagne, but it's particularly Art Nouveau that is most linked with this wine. Some art historians reference the culture of the Roaring 20's (Les Années Folles in French, or literally the "Crazy Years") that became inextricably linked with champagne. And champagne still maintains, to this day, its reputation for fun, frivolity and celebration. 

Perrier-Jouët Cellars and Maison Belle- Epoque Champagne photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

Perrier-Jouët Cellars and Maison Belle- Epoque Champagne photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

Perrier-Jouët Cellars and Maison Belle- Epoque Champagne photo by Paige Donner copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

One celebrated house in Champagne, the house of Perrier-Jouët, cultivated their link to Art Nouveau and elevated it to lofty heights that surpass a mere "collection" of art and indeed borders on a living, though very much privately held, museum quality display of original Art Nouveau pieces. 

[The Maison Belle-Epoque of Perrier-Jouët houses] ...One of the largest private collections of the Art Nouveau movement... A place in which enchantment reigns, with over 200 works and unique pieces by the greatest names in Art Nouveau, from Majorelle and Guimard to Lalique and Rodin.  -   Perrier-Jouët

The loving restoration of this historic house, one of the oldest luxury champagne companies in France, founded in 1811, took nearly 8 years to complete and was overseen by the current President and Director, Pierre Ernst.   The charming villa was once inhabited by Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Adélaïde Jouët, who formed the champagne house Perrier-Jouët when they married. The Maison Belle-Epoque on the Avenue de Champagne in Champagne is not open to the public but can be toured by private appointment.

In 1902, Emile Gallé, one of the movement's most celebrated artists, designed a swirl of anemones wreathed in gold for the Perrier-Jouët bottle. An unusual bottle, a true homage to nature as a source of inspiration, where the swirls of the white flowers echo the floral and delicate style of the wine, and become the emblem of the House.

A visit to their cellars underneath the house is also not to be missed. In keeping with the house's dedication to art and artists, the cavernous chalk cellars, some of the most iconic in Champagne, house a remarkable art installation, one of two, that was imported from its original exhibition at DesignMiami. It's called Lost Time, and it's by the talented Anglo-Dutch duo Glithero.

More Info about Perrier-Jouët HERE.

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