Happy new Year to all of you! 2012 was a year filled with many wines, not too many tastings and blind tastings, but certainly enough Epicurian moments to fill a few pages. I certainly have not reported everything, as workload was higher than in previous years, but there are some great moments that are worth being mentioned anew. Read the rest of this entry »

Of course there are many restaurants in Paris serving good beef, but if you’re looking for the one go-to point for your sudden fix of meat, then La Maison de l’Aubrac certainly should be high on your list, since it also is the one such place that is open any time a day for the entire week.

And somehow you feel like there’s a special kind of vibe in this place, which isn’t far from the Champs-Elysées. There seems to be a mix of testosterone and beef vapors in the air and a common spirit of meat-greed that unifies all patrons. Read the rest of this entry »

L’Avant-Comptoir, near place de l’Odéon

It is always a pleasure to take a dive into the Paris wine scene, also because it naturally is different than the scene in Germany and other countries. At the moment, wine bars in Paris are driven by the Vin Naturel craze and the hunger for organic and farmed produce. Our first stop (in a wine bar) on that March weekend was at L’Avant-Comptoir, this narrow, standing-only bar adjascent to Le Comptoir, Yves Camdeborde’s acclaimed restaurant and which are both located in the ground floor of his hotel, the Relais Saint-Germain. Read the rest of this entry »

Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec ist der wohl bekannteste Metzger Frankreichs, ist er doch seit einiger Zeit dort auch öfter im Fernsehen zu sehen. Aber nicht um bei irgendwelchen Reality-Soaps mitzumischen, sondern weil er eine deutliche Meinung zur Viehzucht und den dazugehörigen Methoden hat und diese auch in – ja, man könnte fast sagen politischen – Sendungen vertritt (wie zB hier – auf Franz.).

Berühmt gemacht hat Ihn aber natürlich nicht seine Meinung, sondern das geschmackvolle Fleisch, welches er in seinem kleinen Metzgerladen in Asnières, also fast am Rande von Paris, verkauft. Le Bourdonnec‘s Credo liegt eineirseits im Beziehen von bestens aufgezüchtetem Fleisch von den geeignetsen Rassen, andererseits Read the rest of this entry »

Shanghai is a dynamic city where the outcomes of wild economic growth can be seen on every street corner. And it is also a culturally pulsating city with a scene of young Chinese and expats that are thirsty for bars and nightclubs. Here are only a few impressions (2 bars) of nights-out in Shanghai. Read the rest of this entry »

Lafite bottles at Frankfurt Airport Duty Free

When talking about China and wine, “Château Lafite” is an inevitable topic, such big is the hype about this famous Pauillac estate. Some say the success of this Château in particular is linked to its uncomplicated name compared to other Bordeaux Chateaux’; it has a brand-name-quality to it which probably also helped making it the ultimate gift in China. Everyone receiving a bottle of Lafite as a gift would instantly recognize its value . Read the rest of this entry »