Paris in a bottle
I head to the French capital in an Audi A1 to discover how the city’s love of wine is evolving into an unexpected local industry
WORDS: JOHN C SILCOX
PHOTOGRAPHY: JUAN TRUJILLO ANDRADES
Paris is renowned for being the city of love. It’s also the city of wine – nearly one billion litres of the stuff is drunk there each year, but surprisingly very little of it is actually made within the confines of the French capital. In fact, since the 1960s there has been no commercial production of wine in the City of Lights, leaving all winemaking activities firmly in the grasp of a few enthusiastic amateurs.
However, change is on the horizon. In March a new winery called Les Vignerons Parisiens opened its doors in the heart of the city, not far from the Pompidou cultural centre. Not only is it producing wine in large volumes, but it’s also offering winemaking courses, teaching the general public how to make their own at home. What better reason could there be to jump in an Audi A1 for a road trip across the Channel to discover more about this new movement and bring back a crate or two.
‘You could say that we produce craft wine,’ says Matthieu Bosser, the 37-year-old manager and cofounder of Les Vignerons Parisiens, speaking to Audi Magazine in his shop on the bustling Rue de Turbigo. ‘Everywhere you turn in Paris there is now a craft beer brewery, but no one was making wine. I couldn’t believe such a thing could happen in France, so I made it my mission to bring back the know-how of winemaking to the capital.
‘We do everything from start to finish, apart from grow the grapes,’ explains Matthieu. ‘We buy organic grapes from a vineyard in the Rhone Valley and transport them to Paris. Then they are tipped into large stainless steel tanks where gravity does its job.’
The entire process takes roughly eight months. In a nutshell the team ferments and macerates the grapes, before filtering the juice and blending it to get the right taste profile. It’s aged for at least five months in large 600-litre oak barrels set in the shop’s cellar before it’s finally bottled and sold.
Matthieu would ideally like to have vines inside Paris, but he explains that because of the price of land in the city it would be economically unviable. ‘Paris is one of the most expensive cities in the world,’ he says. ‘A large vineyard in the centre of town is impossible but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any grapes to find. Paris’s history is intertwined with wine: back in Roman times it even boasted some of the finest vineyards in the country.’
According to the Vignerons Francs Réunis – the Paris winegrowers’ association – there are more than 22 small vineyards dotted across the landscape and many more single vines in gardens and on balconies and rooftops. Four vineyards are even owned by the city government, which manages the vines in the Clos Montmartre right next to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica – one of the city’s most popular attractions. It’s also our next destination.
The compact Audi A1 is the ideal vehicle for the busy city streets and takes advantage of gaps in the traffic, thanks to its punchy 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel engine. The high-specification Black Edition model also looks the part in this centre of world fashion, boasting 18-inch alloy wheels and gloss black exterior styling.
After seeing the sights in Montmartre we head east to somewhere a little more off the beaten track. The Bistrot Mélac is a hidden gem of a restaurant adored by locals for its great food and plentiful cellar. But the main reason for our visit is to see a giant grape vine which was planted in the cellar and has crept outside and wrapped itself around the front of the building.
‘The vine is over 40 years old and produces a massive amount of grapes,’ says owner Didier Madamour. ‘Every year at harvest time we throw a big party and all the locals come over to help pick the grapes. They also bring the grapes they grow at home, then we put it all in a large vat and make wine.’
French law used to prohibit this type of activity but in recent years attitudes have been relaxed and new legislation is now enabling more creativity with winemaking in France. Didier welcomes this freedom. ‘I think more people should be making their own wine,’ he says. ‘It breaks the monopoly of large winemakers, adding interesting varieties to the mix.’
To experience some more variety we head back out on the road, successfully navigating our way around the madness of the Arc de Triomphe roundabout and head for the Bois de Boulogne park, situated just outside the Pêriphérique ring road.
Here we are greeted by Xavier Charvin, who grows 500 grape vine plants and produces champagne-style sparkling wine on the grounds of his step-father’s castle.
‘I can only produce up to 250 bottles a year so it’s more for fun than anything else but it doesn’t stop the results from being delicious,’ he says. ‘Wine is an important part of French culture so it’s vital the knowledge of producing it is kept alive and in the hands of the people.’
