Ever wondered what a business trip looks like for folks in the natural wine world – where eating and drinking is literally the job?
Come along for a quick peek at our recent Europe trip, where we hit up natural wine fairs and dropped in on some of our current (and hopefully future) winemakers.
First stop: Paris. Naturally. We wanted to see firsthand why it’s hailed as the haven of natural wines.
We landed late, starving after 24 hours of airplane food (yes, the hanger was real). Most kitchens were already closed, so we did what any hungry traveler would do – we hit the local kebab shop. No regrets.
With our stomachs finally settled, we made our way to @clavelin, a natural wine bar specializing in bottles from Jura. The owner- who just so happened to be from Jura- hooked us up with a light négociant Pinot Noir from Tony Bornard. Not exactly your classic Jura, but hey, that’s the beauty of natural wine: rules are optional.
Thanks to jet lag, we were all wide awake by 6am the next day, which gave us a few hours to explore Parisian croissants and coffee before wine o’clock. Best finds? Pastries and bread from @boulangeriemamiche and coffee from @simple.coffeeparis, both in Montmartre area.
For lunch we headed to Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges, where two heavy-hitters live: @lesenfantsdumarche and @thebutcherofparis. No reservations, long lines, so we got strategic. We hit up Les Enfants du Marché first (shorter line), then made our way to the Butcher later. Mission: try both. Failure was not an option)))
No wine list at either spot. Instead, they asked what profile or vibe we were after and brought over the bottles for us to choose. At Les Enfants, we went with a Loire Chenin Blanc by Mosse to go with our seafood and veggie-heavy picks. Every dish was super fresh, seasonal, and ridiculously flavorful. Also? Best onion soup any of us have ever had. We may have been the hungriest table- @michaelgrosman seemed to think so, since he gifted us a Les Enfants tee. (Badge of honor?)
By 3PM, we finally squeezed into The Butcher of Paris. You choose your cut directly with @loumii.martin, and he cooks it up with perfectly charred potatoes and veggies. We paired it with a spicy, light Beaujolais Gamay that matched our medium rare striploin beautifully. Kudos to the amazing job they are doing here!
Stuffed and happy, we walked (okay, waddled) to @f.o.l.d.e.r.o.l to fix our sweet cravings. It’s a gelato and wine bar, 2 in 1, founded by Jessica Yang and Robert Compagnon. We were curious if wine and gelato could work together. Turns out, they’re not meant to be paired – it’s just two things done really, really well. Best bite? The olive oil gelato. Hands down. Totally get why Dua Lipa mentioned it was one of her favorite spots in Paris now 😂 A heads up for those who plan to visit though, no camera is allowed at the bar and the place specifically asks for no TikTok content.
To close out our whirlwind Paris day, we went on a bottle shop crawl – a must. We never skip @septimeparis @delicatessencave, and @chambrenoireparis when we’re in town. They always carry some rare drops and also the hidden gems of rising stars. We got loaded with about 20 bottles to both drink on our trip and bring home.
We went to bed happily that day at 9PM (again thanks to our lovely jetlag), getting ourselves ready for the next destination – Jura.