My Kinda Wine List – Less is More

It is hard to describe in words about the artisanal wine and food scene in Paris. The smell, the joie-de-vivre atmosphere, the crowded but inviting zinc bar, and the sense of abundance all add to euphoric experience.  The energy is happy and lively.  When I am at those familiar bistros (such as Le Comptoir, Le Baratin, Les Pipos and among others), who favour artisanal sources of ingredients and wines, I simply surrender to the sommelier.  I always seem to get a bottle or glass of wine that are intriguing and tasty.  I figure the sommeliers spend more time with their wine list than I.  Besides, you don’t have to be a wine export to know if the wine list is conceived from love or fear. You will intuitively know.

My preferred wine lists from my favourite Parisian bistros tend to be thoughtfully small.  The lists are usually on chalk boards.  Often such wine lists have 1 or 2 sparkling, 5-7 reds, and about the same number of whites, and 1 or 2 sweet wines.  That is it! When a wine is sold out, it is simply wiped off the list. Of course, another wine is added immediately.  Eh voila!  No need to fuss over reprinting the wine list.  The wines continually rotate.  So, if you go the same bistro a week later, there will likely be different wines on the list but often from the same artisan.  I like that because it keeps the list lively and changing yet familiar. 

I like the small wine list in such bistros because it tells me the owner or sommelier went the extra mile to weed out the ones she/he does not want and present only the ones she/he wants.  Less is more as it were.  I would rather choose a wine from an exceptional list of a dozen than struggle to find one among dozens of standards.

Below is a super clip from Anthony Bourdain, who on his 100^th episode of No Reservation went back to Paris, where he explores and enjoys the foods and wines in just such bistros.  Oh heck, I even noticed there is a bottle of G. Descombes Brouilly Vieilles Vigne in a scene.  I urge you to try one of the bistros mentioned in the video the next time you are in Paris.  When you are in one of the bistros, you will understand what I meant by “you will intuitively know”.

My Backyard Apple Tree is Pineau D’Aunis!

Joan, my house’s former owner, planted the apple tree in my backyard.  As far as I can tell, the apple is heirloom variety.  The apple does not resemble any other apples that are widely available at grocers. Every year, independent of weather in summer, the apples appear to ripen only after the first frost of the season in Vancouver.  They are truly remarkable and tasty.  Firm in texture, they are juicy, sweet and citrus all at once.  Perfectly balanced!  I look forward to the apples every other year because the tree skips a year of production – somewhat like Pineau D’Aunis as I have been told by Didier Barrouillet of Clos Roche Blanche.  So, not knowing the heirloom varietal of my apple tree, I nicknamed it Pineau D’Aunis.

This year, the tree decided to produce.  BONUS!  In addition to simply eating the apples, they make beautiful apple sauce.  Here is my recipe:

-          6 apples (pealed, cored and sliced)

-          ¼ onion(peeled and sliced thinly)

-          2-3 table spoon of virgin olive oil

-          2-3 table spoon of butter

-          A pinch of cinnamon

-          2-3 table spoon of honey

-          ¼ cup of apple vinegar

-          Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan on a medium high heat, add olive oil and butter together. Add all ingredients, except apple vinegar.  Cook for 5-7 minutes.  Stir often.   Smash roughly with a spoon as apples cook.  Add the vinegar and cook additional 2-3 minutes. 

The apple sauce makes an amazing accompaniment to pork chops, terrines and sausages.  Try spreading the apple sauce over a baguette with slices of prosciutto to balance out the salty cured meat.  Store leftover in a jar and it will last 3-5 days in a fridge. 

Here is a Puy Lentil and Sausage dish.  A natural choice of wine for the dish is Auvergne from Jean Maupertuis.  Puy Lentil comes from Auvergne. And, of couse, Auvergne is a region well known for all types of sausages.  I buy the sausages from Freden (made with hormone free meats and chemical free ingredients) and they are available at Famous Foods.