Alle Jahre wieder findet in Düsseldorf die ProWein-Messe statt. Und jedes Jahr gibt es rund um die Messe zahlreiche Satelliten-Events, die zusätzliche Themen abdecken. Eines dieser Events wird von dem Winzerzusammenschluss “Haut Les Vins” organisiert. Es handelt sich um Winzer aus ganz Europa, die sich zu einem gemeinsamen Manifesto bekennen. Um es kurz zu machen: All diese Menschen verfolgen eine naturnahe Philosphie des Weinmachens. Das Manifesto gilt hier eher als Richtlinie oder als grober Rahmen, denn die Weingüter erstellen Ihre Weine nicht strikt nach den gleichen Regeln. Wie dem auch sei. Es ist das zweite Mal, dass ich an diesem Event dabei bin und es gibt zweifellos tolle Weine zu entdecken. Hier eine Auswahl. Read the rest of this entry »

With the French 2009 vintage, most of the attention was attracted to Bordeaux with another so-called vintage of the century, leaving other, less expensive and definitely less pretentious regions without the focus they might have deserved.

Among these regions, the Beaujolais, ill-reputed for its annual market flooding with Beaujolais Nouveau, came up with a picture-perfect harvest that is according to many, truly worthy of the hackneyed title vintage of the century (check this report for example). Read the rest of this entry »

Besides the chef’s cooking presentations, the Omnivore food festival is also a showcase for high quality produce such as meats, cheeses and of course wine.

A good dozen of mostly French vignerons were presenting their so-called “Vins Naturels”, a non-certified or -controlled ideology of winemaking which basically reduces the process to a minimum of interference (pumping, filtration) or additons (non-indigenous yeasts, sulfites). While I’ve had a few disappointments especially with Read the rest of this entry »

It seemed like ages since I last plunged into the bustling atmosphere of a French brasserie. So I was rather thrilled when after one last cooking presentation in the evening we all left for Les Vapeurs in Trouville. And when I say all I mean about 35 hungry people, a mix of bloggers, food lovers and starred chefs. Read the rest of this entry »

Weird weird weird… a bit too weird in the end for me. I’m still trying to get a hold of what this wine is meant to be. An attempt of explanation: I assume Christophe Pacalet tried to make a natural wine that comes close to a Beaujolais Nouveau in style in order to reinterprete what Beaujolais Nouveau could be. He ironically named this wine “New Beaujolais“. Read the rest of this entry »