Sparkling Champagne Meets Lively Paris

[Jean Dabrowski]

Wine appreciation has reached new heights in Paris, producing a region prolific in wine bars, champagne tasting workshops at prestigious Parisian wine merchants, and other popular champagne-related activities.

Hervé Rousseau opened the Flûte l’Étoile in Paris after testing his restaurant concept in the New York with two Flûte bars. His recipe includes a lounge atmosphere that gives guest a VIP welcome, great finger foods, exciting and diverse venues and both charitable and educational events.

Customers can relax and sip champagne while noshing on finger foods like Pétrossian caviar, smoked salmon and foie gras, Androuet cheeses, bread from the Kayser bakery, chocolate from the Maison du Chocolat, and champagne macaroons from Ladurée.

The capital's first wine bar, Le Dokhan’s bar offers an Empire style decor and luxurious yet intimate atmosphere for guests. Aside from offering more than 60 different prestigious champagne labels, the sommelier presents three different vintage wines, per week. Wine fans can frequent this Champagne bar inside the Hôtel Radisson Blu Le Dokhan’s, in the Trocadéro district.

The champagne bar, Call Me Bubbles on the heights of Montmartre hill serves up a "happy hour" type of experience for patrons, with select bottles of champagne served in flute glasses champagne glasses. Champagne is also served in department stores just like clothing and home decor. At the Bar à bulles at Galeries Lafayette, shopping is enhanced with a glass of water or sparkling champagne. To truly grasp champagne's impact on the Parisians culture, consider the ability to sip choice champagne at the Bar à champagne de la tour Eiffel for a memorable moment.

The Parisian love affair with the bubbly drink does not end there; everything related to champagne can be learned about during workshops and seminars, or enjoyed through wine-themed activities. Espace Nicolas Feuillatte is a prestigious wine merchant who also offers workshops. Sommelier Christian Ghion facilitates workshops for small groups, explaining the differences between wines, different types of grapes, the bottling process, with the highlight being able to taste three or four different wines throughout the workshop. Champagne barge cruises and tours are also popular, and even wine-themed cruises in general. Caves Taillevent helps people choose the perfect wine for their Christmas and New Year's holiday's with advice from sommeliers and access to varieties of wine from champagne houses of Reims.

Wine enthusiasts have another way to enjoy Paris, and those interested in trying something new will find plenty to do. Wine has been incorporated into the daily lives of the French people for centuries; they have successfully turned a natural resource into a profitable and popular product in demand all around the world. There seems to be no end to the ways wine can be enjoyed.