Interview with Joel Peterson, Founder and Winemaker of Ravenswood. Bright man and true humanist too.

Sorry - the sound id a bit off - my US tapes have been slightly damaged!

Video shot in Val d’Isère a few days ago… we almost killed the camera on the final shot!

First video of my trip to Napa & Sonoma. More to come. This one was shot at Kuleto… lovely drive if you have a chance…

Dear Friends,

Just a quick note from California!

Over the past few days, I’ve spent some time in NY, LA & Napa/SF. Very exciting trip.
Have made a rule to myslef not to drink French wine during my entire stay (of course, I’ve made a couple exceptions here and there).

The most fascinating element of this trip to the US is the real passion for food and wine. It’s all very vibrant… and somewhat very much unlike France.

My trip to Napa was extremely enriching. I got to taste interesting wines and have been very welcome by a variety of winemakers. My tasting adventures have taken me to Rubicon, Joseph Phelps, Kuleto, Spring Mountain, Ravenswood, Domaine Carneros, Domaine Chandon, Robert Mondavi’s Winery and Quintessa.
I’ve been lucky enough to interview the people who make Californian wine. Which was a real treat.

My coup de coeur so far is a beautiful 2004 Pinot Noir from School House (Napa - Spring Moutain). Very touching. And the irresistible 2004 Insignia by Joseph Phelps.

One thing that kind of pissed me off if the prices of the Napa wines. Don’t get me wrong, many are extremely good wines. But tasting a good but nothing special big, concentrated wine and see that it retails for 50$ just drives me nuts. The same style/quality would sell in Europe for 6€.
So once again… if you’re looking for reasonably price, concentrated wines, always keep an eye on the Languedoc on a wine list.

I’m also working on a side project while in Cali. I will sure keep you guys posted as soon as I have something good (and firm) to announce. Things are looking good so let’s keep our fingers crossed…

On top of this, Ô Chateau (Paris Wine Tasting) is launching new exciting products: A Champagne Cruise on the Seine, Wine Dating Evenings on top of La Tour Montparnasse and a new exciting partnership.
So Make sure you check us out if you’re headed to Paris over the next few weeks.

So it’s all exciting stuff going on!

I’m shooting a few videos but as i’m somewhat IT-retarded, we will only be able to post them (with Edward’s help) upon my return to Paris, in a few weeks.

Hope you’re well,

O.

PS: I wish they all could be Californian girls…

If you have a sword, it’s actually slightly more chevaleresque than with a knife!!

Little chat with blogger superstar - www.davidlebovitz.com -, pastry chef extraordinaire, cookbook author and personal friend of mine: David Lebovitz!

I’m so excited about this trip! I’l be stopping in NY, LA, SF, NZ, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne & Singapore: hope I’ll get to meet you and share a glass of wine (or two…)!

Hi guys,

Just a quick little note to wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Lots of love and good wine!

Edward, the IT geek of Wine Rendez-Vous is currently on vacation.
Without him, well, no editing and no encoding the videos!!
Because yes, I do totally suck at all IT related things…

Yet, I’m preparing a few good videos for you.
Also plans to go to Australia, NZ and California in the next few months…
How exciting is that, huh !!

Anyway, hope to be able to post new videos at the end of the week.
Stay tuned!!

All the best,

Olivier

Lovely trip really! Alsace has gotten very close to Paris now with the new TGV line. Beautiful villages, stunning aromatic whites… well worth the trip!

The grape of the future…