Opening a 1947 Alsatian Riesling at Bistro du Sommelier Paris.

It isn't easy to open a bottle of 1947 Alsatian Riesling, but the team at Le Bistro du Sommelier Paris have the tools and the skills. Let the games begin!

This is the second and final part of my video from the Bistro du Sommelier in Paris, France. In this part, the team of serious sommeliers go to work opening a very old bottle of 1947 Alsatian Riesling.

• The first part of the video is here. “The 1947 Alsatian Riesling and the Bistro du Sommelier Paris.”

This is Episode #63 of Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman.

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The 1947 Alsatian Riesling and Le Bistro du Sommelier Paris.

The first time I visited the Bistro du Sommelier, I was so bad at the blind tasting menu that I was served a delicious dose of the classic Parisian Waiter Snark. I confused a Bordeaux with a Burgundy. In my defense, the Bordeaux did have an abnormally high proportion of Petit Verdot in the blend. The Sommelier’s response was great, “You are kind of right, both wines start with B.”

So this is now one of my favorite restaurants in the world.

Le Bistro du Sommelier appears to be just another bistro on the Boulevard Haussmann, but this is Philippe Faure-Brac’s bistro and therefore something special.

Philippe Faure-Brac was awarded World’s Best Sommelier long before sommeliers were the hip celebrities they are today and Le Bistro du Sommelier Paris is his vision of a restaurant built around the art of wine and food pairing.

At the core of the restaurant is a series of five-course pairing dinners where the wines are poured blind and it up to you to ascertain the grape, region, and producer. Something you do under the spotlight of your waiter, who is always a trained sommelier in her own right. It is a wonderfully fun way to enjoy meticulous wine and food pairing and learn a little in the process.

Don’t worry though, additional treasures wait in the Cave below the restaurant.

This video shows my first foray down there.

After a beautiful dinner, we had it in our minds to find something incredible. So we went in search of a 1947 Alsatian Riesling.

Stay tuned for the second video where the team of sommeliers goes to work opening the extremely old bottle.

This is Episode #62 of Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman

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One Pet Peeve about the Wine Business. Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars Interview: Part Seven

This the seventh and final part of my video interview with Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars.  In this segment, Mac McDonald talks about his biggest "Pet Peeve" in the wine business..

• The first part of the interview is here.  "From Rural Texas to Napa Valley Wine Country."

• The second part of the interview is here.  "How (and Why) to Grow Pinot Noir."

• The third part of the interview is here.  "What Makes Sonoma Pinot Noir Special?"

• The fourth part of the interview is here.  "What Does Wine Mean to You?"

• The fifth part of the interview is here. “Pairing Diverse Foods with Pinot Noir.”

• The sixth part of the interview is here. “Advice for New Pinot Noir Drinkers.”

Please enjoy this quick four minute video or read the transcript underneath it. 

This is Episode #61 of Understanding Wine with Austin Beeman.

Mac McDonald:

My pet peeve really about this is I have this all this thing about all of this stuff where people just write about wine and all these wine magazines and they tell you what you do and by the way, we get great press on all of our wines. And I always have this bottom line about this wine stuff, no matter what the press says about it.

You know, our wines have been served at the White House since President Clinton administration. On the President George Bush administration, our wines was served there at least three times a year in all the eight years he was there which is phenomenal for a small winery like Vision Cellars.

And I say with all of that stuff said, the bottom line is you either like the crap or you don't. I totally believe that. And it don't matter what the scores say, you do that.

I like for folks to really understand you are the knowledgeable person about what you're drinking and it's okay to get opinions about stuff but you know you make your own decisions about what you like.

And I see it's leaning towards that. More and more folks are saying, I like this. Or they'll say, I wouldn't have ever tried a Pinot Noir. I just like for folks to do that.

The other part of this whole thing I like to see folks say, you know, if I'm having fried catfish and I want to have an 18.5 % Zinfandel with it, by God, it's my money and I oughta be able to have whatever I want with the food that I want.

But that doesn't mean that certain pairing wouldn't go better. I'm not gonna say that wasn't. But that may be in my own mind that I think that'd go better. But for the person who is the consumer that's coming in to buy a bottle of wine or a case of wine, if they want to have one thing with they dinner, that's perfectly okay. I'm not saying, again, that it wouldn't be better to have another wine with it but hey, my taste buds not the same as yours maybe.

So that's what I like to see folks do and appreciate and go out on a limb. Start enjoying what they like with the food that they have. Personally, I drink more wine without food than I do with food because it's relaxing, it's enjoyable for me and I like the flavor of wine.

I'm not stuck on Pinot Noir. I try a variety of wines, Cabs and I try Sauvignon Blanc,, I try all types of stuff because I want to try all the different flavors of wine. Just explore this wonderful world of wine.

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