Where to find the best wine shops in Paris?

Best wine shops in Paris are the neighbourhood wine stores.

Going into a neighbourhood’s natural wine shop is like deep diving into people’s psyche. It cracks the code for me. Gives me access to that neighbourhood’s DNA.

I am going to lament and bitch again.

I love Canada! Whenever and wherever I travel - I am always happy to land back on the Canadian soil.

But we have to do something about the alcohol monopoly situation. It’s the elephant in the room. It’s been piling shit and nobody wants to clean it up.

Now that we have marijuana shops on every corner - I’d like to see the same with the wine please.

The beauty of having a neighbourhood wine store is that it creates a community.

Let’s look at Paris for example. It is an enormous city. You might feel lost and insignificant if you approach it from a wide angle.

But when you go into a neighbourhood natural wine shop, épicerie or cave à vin, it brings the focus back to you as an individual with the unique set of tastes and experiences.

One of the best places to buy wine in Paris - a local épicerie.

Our last trip to Paris happened thanks to Madonna. Not that I listen to her music nowadays, but going to a concert dedicated to her entire career? - hell yeah!

A return flight to Paris and a ticket to see her at the Accor arena ended up being cheaper than Toronto concert tickets. This is a topic for another bitchy post.

There we are in Paris, on the night of her concert, ready for some pre-drinking.

On the way back from Montmartre we stop at a cute little place called Fromagerie Ferdinand. Pardon my lack of photos - I didn’t expect I would write about it being vegan and all.

Fromagerie Ferdinand is a cute little neighbourhood épicerie. It is definitely way more than just a Fromagerie.

While the focus is on cheese, you can also find lots of other stuff that you need to make a quick and delicious dinner at home.

But most importantly for us, there is a small but carefully curated section of natural wines that reflects the tastes of this neighbourhood.

We are in the 10th arrondissement, ladies and gentlemen. This is the landing and breeding ground of a certain species of Parisian bohemians.

We got the best service in Paris here. Anastassia got her chunk of cheese. And for the wine - we were recommended a bottle of Domaine des Pothiers.

We opened it up in our gorgeous historic airbnb as we were getting ready for Madonna 's intervention.

Domaine des Pothiers is located in the Côte Roannaise region. It is officially part of Loire Valley, but in fact - you can see the Burgundian landscape on a clear day.

It is an up and coming region full of young ambitious talent. 

The focus is on a special clone called Gamay St-Romain which makes distinctly concentrated and peppery wines. 

N°6 from Domaine des Pothiers is a rather intense and powerful Gamay aged in concrete. It gave us that kick that we needed before the concert - without putting us to sleep.

Nothing like a Gamay to get the party going. We started to sing on the way to the concert.

Strangely enough, the uber driver encouraged us by playing the unmistakable hits like Hung Up, Express Yourself and Like a Prayer.

He might have regretted it by the time we got to the venue. But that’s what tipping is for.

A Neighbourhood Natural Wine shop

The following day, we hit a neighbourhood natural wine shop with a very impersonal name Delicatessen Cave on rue Amelot. The blah name doesn't do it justice.

This one is also in the 10th arrondissement. But it’s close enough to the 11th to be associated with the natural wine scene of that quartier.

It was 6pm and it was busy. Regulars were pouring in looking for a bottle for dinner. And they all expected advice from the shop owner.

We chilled in the corner, waiting for our turn and observing the general disarray.

Boxes with wine everywhere, undusted wine shelves up to the ceiling. Wine, wine and more natural wine. Loved it!

We also admired the great wall of Beaujolais in magnums.

It was a Beaujolais Nouveau season after all. And who drinks only one 75ml bottle of Beaujolais? Might as well save up on glass, cork and foil.

We needed help to select a bottle of Armagnac or Cognac for my dad.

A long time ago I brought him a bottle from my favourite wine shop in Bordeaux. It was a 40-year old Armagnac from biodynamic vines. Since then, daddy dreams natural Armagnac.

We were offered this bottle of Cognac.

VSOP by Bégaud.

Aged for at least 4 years - as required by law for the VSOP category. Organic. No sulphur added and distilled in a wood-burning charentaise, as the front label proudly states.

And the back label has instructions on how to build your own charentaise at home.

And this concludes our whirlwind tour of épiceries and natural wine shops in a very chic and bohemian 10th arrondissement of Paris.

It also proves my point - freedom and self-expression in all areas, including alcohol sales, is beneficial to the general well-being of the populace.

A lesson to be learned, Canada, eh.

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