» Paris Restaurants http://rfwinesblog.com Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:13:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Wine Bars and Bistros In Paris: Mélac http://rfwinesblog.com/wine-bars-and-bistros-in-paris-melac http://rfwinesblog.com/wine-bars-and-bistros-in-paris-melac#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:26:31 +0000 Greg Roberts http://rfwinesblog.com/?p=424 Owner Jacques Mélac’s father arrived in Paris in 1938 from the Aveyron region of southwest France and soon opened this wine bar and bistro located in a quiet residential neighborhood far off of tourist routes.  As to be expected many of the hearty food specialties from the region are featured such as aligot a cheese and sausage dish.  The excellent wine list favors the southwest France and the Languedoc.  Each fall the thirty year old vines which line the outside walls are harvested and crushed the old fashioned way.  Apparently about 40-50 bottles are produced.

Crushing Grapes the old fashioned way

 

Mélac

Bistro à vins

42 rue Leon Frot

75011 Paris

T. 0143705927

 

]]> http://rfwinesblog.com/wine-bars-and-bistros-in-paris-melac/feed 0 La Tour d’Argent Wine Auction http://rfwinesblog.com/la-tour-dargent-wine-auction http://rfwinesblog.com/la-tour-dargent-wine-auction#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:30:05 +0000 Greg Roberts http://rfwinesblog.com/?p=144

The Paris restaurant La Tour d’Argent recently auctioned off some of the 15,000 wines in its cellars.  To give you an idea of the size of their cellars, the wine list weighs in at 17-and-a-half pounds and has over 400 pages.  André Terrail, the owner, said they needed to make room for new wines.  They may have also wanted to free up some cash for improvements in an effort to regain two of the Michelin stars they have lost since 1996.

pressed duck

Meet the Duck Presser

In addition to its cellar La Tour d’Argent is famous for its pressed duck.  Here an entire duck carcuss organs and all is pressed with the juices mixed with marc de champagne and served in over the previously removed duck breasts.  Pressed duck at the lunch service will run around 70 euros ($100) a person while their fixed menu dinner menus start at 160 euros ($230) a person.

I attended the sale held at the auction house Salons Hoche and I was surprised by some of the prices that the wines were selling for but then again, its a rare occasion when you can acquire bottles of perfect provenance from a prestigious restaurant.  There is now a thriving market on eBay for empty wine bottles from prestigious chateaux that are then refilled with ordinary wine and then sold to unsuspecting customers.

Salons Hoche

Salons Hoche

]]> http://rfwinesblog.com/la-tour-dargent-wine-auction/feed 0