Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NATURAL WINE
The latest trend in wine, les vins naturels(natural wines), have a fuzzy definition - no
one really agrees on the details but the general idea is that they are made with as
little human interference as possible. Quick translation? Natural wines contain little
or no sulphites, which are added as a preservative in most wines. The good news is
that this gives natural wines much more distinct personality (or terroir,as the French
say), the bad news is that the wines can also be more unpredictable. For more spe-
cifics, see the website
www.morethanorganic.com
.
BEER
Beer hasn't traditionally had a high profile in France and the main French beer you're still
likely to encounter is the mass-produced Kronenbourg 1664 (5.5%) premium lager, brewed
in Strasbourg.
A handful of Parisian pubs produce their own microbrews. What's more, there's an emer-
ging
bière artisanale
(craft beer) scene, with cafes beginning to offer limited-production
brews on tap and by the bottle -
La Fût Gueuze
is a good place to start sampling. The city's
inaugural artisan beer festival, La Paris Beer Week (
http://laparisbeerweek.com
), took place
in brasseries, bars and specialist beer shops from late May to early June 2014 and is slated
to become an annual event.
