Culinary Tours of Paris

03/08/2021

Here's what Julie and I have been up to over the last couple of years! https://www.feastmagazine.com/features/article_a5d88876-f081-11eb-9bb6-0f12a35fabc7.html?fbclid=IwAR0NsuqQ5Lq5yPePA0NBdMaukziYYy6h2FReN9JckAmSp41IcfvjPHdRHF4

Julie and John-Paul Fortney are bringing an exclusive selection of low-intervention wines to the region

05/10/2019

21/06/2017

We're honored to have been awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the seventh time! Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to write such lovely reviews. We hope to have you on tour soon!

22/05/2017

Julie working hard in the vines in Beaujolais!

08/05/2017

Raisin, the natural wine application, has been a lifesaver for us when we have been looking for a place to buy and/or drink organic and natural wine! If you do not already have it and you possess an iPhone, it is well worth downloading! They are currently developing an application for android, and they need our help to finance it! Anything that you can contribute is greatly appreciated, and they are giving away some pretty cool gifts as well!

https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/raisin-the-natural-wine-app-on-android?ref=popular

28/04/2017

We (finally!) have an instagram account Follow us

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytoursofparis/

104 Followers, 62 Following, 12 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Julie.Roddier-Fortney ()

26/01/2017

Hard to believe that this was over two years ago when we gave our first Countryside Tour! This year we will be starting the tours a day earlier than normal, so the first tour will be given on Friday, March 31st. We hope to see you on tour soon!

14/01/2017

Bonne année! May your 2017 be full of good food (like this homemade pot-au-feu pictured here) and good wine! We hope to see you on tour soon!

18/11/2016

We were just included in Fodor's 2017 Guide under the section "Best Tours in Paris"! We are thrilled to be mentioned in this year's edition!

16/11/2016

Greetings from Reykjavík, Iceland! We spent an incredible day with Árstíðaferðir - SeasonTours taking one of the best all around tours that we've ever been on. We started by exploring the city and seeing, amongst many other places, where the Greenland sharks are hung out to dry, a hot pool right on the beach, a geothermal beach, the Icelandic president's home, and the beautiful Icelandic horses (and feeding them some bread!). We also visited a cheese shop and a fishmonger, and finished it all off with a several course meal prepared by chef Tyffi in his home! If you are traveling to Iceland, this is an experience not to be missed!

07/11/2016

Greetings from Saint Yorre! The northern part of Auvergne is a former volcanic region that is famous for its mineral waters, which can be found in several towns in the area. The source in Saint Yorre is naturally sparking, has a high mineral content (including an enormous amount of sodium!) and is known to treat digestive ailments and help muscles recover from physical activity. It was the perfect place for us to stop for a break during our morning jog!

02/10/2016

Spending a magical weekend in Provence with my parents. We took the time to visit Pont du Gard, Les Baux-de-Provence, and of course, one of our favorite winemakers at Domaine Milan!

29/08/2016

Hello Everyone,

We hope that this email finds you well!

After our sale finished up a few weeks ago, we received a few more requests for our wine. As a result, we decided to purchase a little bit extra to fill up our boxes. For those that missed out on our last wine sale, you still have a chance to receive wine in Autumn 2016!

Here is what we have left at the moment (you can click on the link below to see a description of these wines:

http://culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

Gisous x 7
Le Vallon x 5
Neo Nervis x 9
Pech'abusé x 8
Myrmidon x 5
Patrimonio Blanc x 6
Patrimonio Red x 1
Saumur Puy Notre-Dame x 7
Réliance x 2
B x 7

It is first come, first served for the remaining wines! The amounts of each wine are subject to change. These wines will also be arriving at our customers homes in the beginning of November.

You may place your order for wine by clicking on the link below:

http://www.culinarytoursofparis.com/buy-wine

If you have any questions about our remaining wines, please feel free to contact us by responding to this email.

Thank you again for your continued support and we hope to hear from you soon!

09/08/2016

Bonjour from Languedoc! We are visiting Aurélien Petit of Le Petit Domaine and got to enjoy a visit to his vines and very in depth tasting! We do still have a couple of bottles of his wine left, so if you are interested do let us know!

07/08/2016

Greetings from Provence! We are currently in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where we celebrated 30 years of Domaine Milan, one of our favorite winemakers! We started with a tasting of all of their wines (easily 100 of them!) in the morning and finished with an evening of eating, drinking, and dancing outside next to the vines. And yes, there was a bathtub filled with wine bottles!

We do have a handful of Domaine Milan's wines left for export. If you are interested, do let us know as we will not have them for long!

30/07/2016

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick reminder that our wine sale will be wrapping up in 48 hours. We must have all of orders and/or payments in by August 1st!

For our last winemaker bio for our current wine sale, we will be featuring one of our favorites- Aurélien Petit of Le Petit Domaine in Languedoc!

Aurélien operates a small (petit!) domaine around the town of Montpeyroux in Languedoc that is split into two parcels, which total just over 11 acres (4.5 hectares). His land benefits from the famous "Galets Roulés" which retain the heat of the day and warm the soil at night. He prefers to do all of the work manually in the vines and in the rare case of needing mechanical intervention, he limits the use of machinery to working the soil. Harvesting and sorting the grapes is done by hand. Only indigenous yeasts are used during fermentation and the wines are neither fined nor filtered.

The red grape varieties found here are typical of the south of France, in that he uses Carignan, Syrah, and Grenache. His white wines use Chenin Blanc, which is a rarity in this region, and also Terret-Bourret, a once common grape variety in Languedoc that is hardly grown outside of the region.

Aurélien's goal is to create wines that are fresh, full of fruit, and very drinkable. To him, a good wine is one that we want to drink, and then drink again, and it is this maxim that guides him in his winemaking!

For this sale we are featuring two exceptional red wines from Aurélien. "Myrmidon" 2014 is made from 100% Syrah. The winemaking process for this wine is conducted in three different manners: one third of the grapes undergo a short maceration, one third undergo a long maceration, and one third are subjected to carbonic maceration, in which the fermentation begins to take place inside each berry. The result is then blended together and then aged for 4 months in oak barrels. The resulting wine is a Syrah that has the characteristic peppery notes for which it is known (though it is closer to white pepper than black pepper), but is smoother and lighter than one might expect for this grape. This wine for this price is an exceptional value!

The second wine we are featuring from him is "Rhapsody" 2014. This wine is a blend of 80% Carignan (the second most commonly grown grape in France believe it or not!) and 20% Syrah and is aged in oak barrels for 6 months. This wine presents cherries, raspberries, and even hummus on the nose, and round and smooth finish. This is a great introduction to Carignan for those unfamiliar with this grape!

Both of these wines would pair well with Provençal French cuisine and also with magret de canard (duck).

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st, which once again means that our sale will be finished on Monday!

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have available, feel free to check out our website, which you may access by clicking below:

http://culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

26/07/2016

Thank you to Venture2Paris.com for featuring our tours in their blog!

http://www.venture2paris.com/blog/culinary-tours-of-paris

A culinary tour is a great way to get introduced to French culture. Food and wine is an integral part of French culture so much that frequenting restaurants and cafés has become part of the daily...

25/07/2016

This week, we would like to feature one of our newest winemakers, Côme Isambert, and his wonderful 100% Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley!

Côme is a negociant-winemaker who has spent more than a decade working in the world of organic agriculture. He began to produce his own organic wines in 2013 in Saumur, producing around 6,000 bottles per year.

He buys his grapes from 4 different organic growers, and from there he manages everything- from the picking of the grapes to the bottling of his wines, not to mention the sales!

The grapes used are traditional in his part of the Loire Valley: Cabarnet Franc and Grolleau are used for the reds (and for a sparkling rose) and Chenin Blanc is used for his whites.

For this sale, we are featuring his 100% Cabarnet Franc from Saumur-Puy-Nôtre-Dame. Cabernet Franc is perhaps the least known of the grapes used in Bordeaux blends, though it really excels on its own in the Loire Valley. Côme only made 780 bottles of this wine, and was kind enough to allot a good portion of this for us! This wine is reminiscent of the wines of the more famous appellation Chinon with its elegant tannins and blackcurrant nose. It can pair well with cooked ham, roast goose, rabbit, and roast chicken. This is the first time that Côme is exporting to the United States!

Come's winemaking ability, in combination with the chalky and schist terroirs of Saumur, leads to wines that are a perfect representation of the outstanding potential and diversity that can be found in the Loire Valley!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st, which once again means that our sale will be finished in one week!

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have available, feel free to check out our website, which you may access by clicking below:

http://culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

23/07/2016

Greetings from Lot-et-Garonne! A few days ago, we were fortunate enough to spend the day with one of our favorite winemakers, Ludovic Bonnelle of Domaine du Pech! Within the following photos you will find:

Julie enjoying La Pech'abusé 2009,

200 Year old oak casks,

Ludovic discussing his wines,

Toads that eat the spiders that eat the insects in the wine cellar,

White wine that was aged in glass containers outside in all conditions (including snow) for more than 2 years,

The vines themselves untreated by pesticides for the last 14 years,

And some of the many animals at Domaine du Pech (not pictured: the 20 or so sheep that eat the grass between the vines during the winter months).

We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to feature the wines of Domaine du Pech in our current wine sale. If you would like to learn more about this wine, feel free to click on the link below:

http://culinarytoursofparis.com/pech-abuse

Our wine sale will be wrapping up on August 1st. Thanks for reading and à votre santé!

20/07/2016

Thank you BonjourParis.com for your wonderful post!

John-Paul Fortney, an American who lives in Paris, recently started a new business of his own: a wine export business. What are the joys and challenges?

19/07/2016

Hello Everyone,

We hope that this message finds you well! With our wine sale wrapping up in less than two weeks, this represents one of the last chances to order wine to receive it before the end of 2016!

This week, we are featuring a legend in the natural wine world, the wines of Domaine Milan from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence!

Henri Milan has been producing organic wines since 1988, only two years after he took over the land from his father Robert. This is far before the recent surge in organic production over the last few years (and still only roughly 8% of France's winemakers are making organic wine today!). Biodynamic principles are followed in their winemaking as well.

Domaine Milan possesses an exceptional climate due to the combination of their proximity to the Mediterranean with relatively cool temperatures. The soil is a combination of limestone and marl. The parcels are vinified separately, in the same spirit as many of the great winemakers of Burgundy.

There is nothing added to the wines in the form of additives, enzymes, or non-indigenous yeasts. They do not add sulfites to many of the wines, and use only a scant amount in those wines that contain them.

For this sale, we are featuring two wines that sold very well in our previous sale: “Le Grand Blanc” 2013 and “Le Vallon” 2010. Beginning with their white wine, “Le Grand Blanc” is made from Grenache Blanc, Rolle, Roussanne, Chardonnay, and Muscat Petit Grains and is aged two years: one year in old oak barrels on the lees and one year in cement vats. The nose presents fennel and white flowers, and gives us an elegant and long finish. This wine can be paired with scallops, fish, white meat, cheeses, or can be simply drunk on its own! “Le Grand Blanc” is such a complex wine that one rarely tastes it the same way twice! We would recommend pouring this wine into a carafe before serving to allow it to express its full potential.

“Le Vallon” 2010 was one of our best selling wines during our last sale. It is made from several grapes that we typically find in the south of France: Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Mourvedre. It is aged in old oak barrels for one year with nothing added, only a small amount of sulfites are added at bottling. This wine gives us plenty of fruit, particularly redcurrants and blackberries, and can be paired with meats and hard cheeses with relative ease. "Le Vallon" can be drunk now or one could lay it down in the cellar for a few years.

Domaine Milan's wines are favorites amongst France's organic wine community, and they currently have little representation in the United States. We are proud to be able to feature some of Henri Milan's wines for you!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st, which means that our sale will be finished in less than two weeks!

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have available, feel free to check out our website, which you may access by clicking below:

http://culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

John-Paul and Julie Fortney
Culinary Tours of Paris and Wine Exports

13/07/2016

Hello Everyone,

We hope that this message finds you well!

For this week's winemaker profile, we are turning our attention to Géraldine and Méryl Crozier from La Vrille et Le Papillon and their wine "Tous Cousins", one of our best selling wines from this past winter!

Located on the western bank of the Rhône river, Ardèche is overshadowed by its more famous (and expensive!) neighbors to the north (Hermitage, St. Joseph, Condrieu, Côte-Rôtie) and to the south (Châteauneuf-du Pape is not too far away). However, Ardèche is becoming one of the more exciting wine regions in France for finding reasonably-priced, high quality organic and natural wine, made by enthusiastic young winemakers!

Méryl's grandfather was a winemaker in Valvignères, which is the same village where Méryl and Géraldine make their wines today. Méryl would come back on his vacations from university to harvest at a local organic domaine, and it was then that Méryl caught the wine-making bug! Making their own wines for the first time in 2012, they grow the following grapes: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, and Ugni Blanc.

The wines of La Vrille et Le Papillon are made organically with some biodynamic treatments being used as well.

Géraldine and Méryl Crozier can certainly count themselves among the best in L'Ardèche, and we are happy to present their wines as a great introduction to one of France's most dynamic wine making areas!

For this particular sale, we are featuring their new "Tous Cousins" 2015. We sold their 2014 wine in our last sale and while popular, the 2015 is looking to be even better! This wine possesses a light touch of pepper on the nose for which Syrah is known, though has lighter tannins than one typically finds with Syrah. As it is lighter and more versatile than many 100% Syrah wines found abroad, it can be paired with lighter fare (charcuterie) or with a meal featuring red meat, especially grilled or roast pork. A great wine to share with friends outside by the barbecue!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st. This means that our sale will be finished in two and one half weeks!

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have on sale, feel free to check out our website by clicking below.

culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

07/07/2016

Hello Everyone,

We hope that this message finds you well!

After months of phone calls, several visits, and of course a few tastings, we are excited to add Jérôme Bourgeois of Champagne Bourgeois-Diaz to our list of winemakers! As a result, we now have three Grower Champagnes available for you for this sale!

Eric Asimov, chief wine writer for the New York Times, recently cited Jérôme Bourgeois as one of the Champagne grower producers to know in "The Year of Champagnes that You've Never Heard Of". There is a very good chance that Jerome will not remain "unknown" for long!

Jérôme took over the vines of his parents in the town of Crouttes-sur-Marne, one of the closest towns to Paris that is permitted to make Champagne. In an area that is predominantly planted with Pinot Meunier (somewhere around 80% of the grapes in this area), Jerome's property consists of 54% Pinot Meunier, 31% Pinot Noir, and 15% Chardonnay.

Jerome works his land biodynamically, which puts him in a very small club of a fraction of 1% of winemakers who use this method in Champagne! This holistic approach to winemaking requires a great amount of attention to detail and care, and this love of his land and his wine is evident in every bottle that Jerome produces.

For this sale, we are featuring "B" Extra Brut, which is Jérôme's Blanc de Blancs Champagne made from 100% Chardonnay. He produces a very limited amount of this wine from his 1 Hectare (less than 2.5 Acres) of Chardonnay grapes. Alive and full of finesse, this wine has an attractive bouquet of white flowers on the nose. It can be served as an apéritif, paired with Brie, or served with smoked salmon. Jerome is considered one of the rising stars of Champagne and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have access to his wine before he becomes better known!

In addition to Jérôme, we are still featuring two exceptional Champagnes coming from Franck and Isabelle Pascal!

Franck and Isabelle Pascal are among some of the most promising Champagne producers today. In fact, last year their wines had been chosen by the French President François Hollande's sommelier to be served at the Élysée Palace!

Franck and Isabelle also choose to make their grower Champagnes biodynamically, as they experimented with conventional, organic, and biodynamic farming simultaneously and found that biodynamic farming allowed the best expression of their terroir in their wines. They are so adamant about the quality of their grapes, that they will sell all of the grapes that border other vineyards that may have been treated with pesticides so that it does not contaminate their wines!

We have two wines available from the Pascals, both a non-vintage and vintage Champagne.

The non-vintage Champagne, "Reliance" is a blend of the three main grapes of Champagne (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay) and consists mainly the the 2010 vintage with a little bit of 2009. This is a Brut Nature, which means that they added zero sugar at corking. This wine is great for an Apéritif, or could be served with raw or smoked salmon and even oysters.

The vintage Champagne, "Harmonie" is coming from the year 2009, which is considered one of the best vintages in recent years in Champagne. This wine is a "Blanc de Noirs", which is a blend consisting of only Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The two grapes are harvested at separate times for this wine to ensure that each grape is picked at the optimal moment. Save this wine for a special occasion!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st. This means that our sale will be finished in three and one half weeks!

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have on sale, feel free to check our website by clicking below:

culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

John-Paul and Julie

01/07/2016

Hello Everyone,

We hope that this email finds you well! First of all, thank you to all of those who have purchased wine with us thus far! We have been very pleased with our sales, but don't worry, for those who have not purchased, we still have wine left!

This week we are featuring an exceptional wine coming from an exceptional producer: 2009 Pech'abusé from Domaine du Pech!

World famous wine writer Hugh Johnson, when speaking of the winemakers of the southwestern French wine appellation of Buzet, stated that "Domaine du Pech outclasses the field".

The grape varities used at Domaine du Pech are similar to those used in nearby Bordeaux: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc for the reds and Sauvignon Blanc for the whites.

Domaine du Pech's wines are certified organic and biodynamic. They use medicinal plants and essential oils to treat their vines, no chemicals are used in the vineyard, and only indigenous yeasts are used during fermentation. Sulphur is used in very low amounts, if at all.

Their average yields are very low, on average between 15 and 22 hectoliters/hectare (the average yield in France is over 50 Hl/Ha). This ensures that they are choosing only the best grapes to be used in their wines.

For our current wine sale, we are excited to feature Le Pech'abusé 2009. As some of you may know, we sold Le Pech'abusé 2010 in our previous sale (it was also our best selling wine during that sale), as the 2009 wine had not yet been bottled! One half of this blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon has been aged in 10,000 liter (more than 2600 gallons!) oak casks that are more than 200 years old, and the other half of the wine is aged in new oak barrels.

We find many characteristics in Le Pech'abusé 2009 that we would find in a high quality Bordeaux- blackcurrant and prune on the nose, and we also find an earthiness that comes from the clay soils where the vines grow. The wine finishes very smoothly and is drinking well at the moment, though it could also be kept in the cellar for 10 years or more. It pairs well with beef (grilled or roasted), young lamb, and roast pheasant.

2009 is considered one of the best years in recent memory in Southwestern France, and with this wine we are getting an exceptional Bordeaux blend without the Bordeaux prices!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st.

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have on sale, feel free to check out our website by clicking here.

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

http://culinarytoursofparis.com/our-wines

24/06/2016

Greetings,

We hope that this email finds you well! This weekend we would like to feature the wines of Stéphanie Olmeta from the Mediterranean island of Corsica!

Stéphanie first began working in the vines in her hometown of Patrimonio when her father proposed for her to take over the vines of her grandparents. She works 8 Hectares (20 Acres) and grows two of the main Corsican grapes: Niellucciu (most likely the same as Sangiovese of Italy, used for Chianti and Montepulciano, among others) for the reds and Vermentino for her dry white wines.

Stéphanie produced her first wines in 2006, which is impressive considering that she is self-taught and only two years before was working as a secretary with no particular interest in winemaking! Her wines are made organically with nothing but indigenous yeasts being used in the winemaking process.

For our current sale, we are featuring two of Stéphanie's wines, both of which are classified under the Patrimonio appellation. The red is made from the Niellucciu grape, coming from 48 year old vines and aged in stainless steel tanks for two years. On the nose we get dark fruit (think blackberries and black currant) with notes of spice and menthol. This lively and supple wine can pair well with meats and pastas cooked in a tomato based sauce, wild boar cooked in red wine, pigeon, and duck with olives. This 2013 wine can be drunk now, or kept in the cellar for a few years.

Stéphanie's dry white wine is made from the Vermentino grape, which in addition to being the number one white grape of Corsica is also grown in several regions of Italy. This mineral wine has an exotic nose that also gives a off a hint of white flowers. This is an excellent wine on its own as an apéritif or paired with such dishes as tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, sea bass with fennel, grilled squid, and pasta dishes where provincial herbs dominate. This wine is best drunk young, but could be shelved for a couple of years as well.

Corsican wines are not only very often overlooked, but are very difficult to find (with the exception of cheap rosés that can be found in French supermarkets). This is the first time that Stéphanie's wines are being exported to the United States. These wines represent her true talent as a winemaker and are worth the trip from mainland France to obtain them!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st.

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have on sale, feel free to check out our website by clicking here.

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

John-Paul and Julie

19/06/2016

Hello Everyone,

We hope that this message finds you well!

First of all, a couple of our clients brought to our attention that our "Buy Now" button was not working on tablets nor smartphones. We found the glitch and we have taken care of it, so thank you for letting us know!

This week, we would like to feature for you one of our newest additions: Jérémie Illouz of Cahors!

Jérémie Illouz completed his studies as an oenologist before cultivating 5.5 Hectares (14 Acres) of his own vines surrounding the hills of Cahors, which is the stronghold of the Malbec grape in France (no, Malbec is not from Argentina!).

He only uses natural products in protecting his vines from predators, and his soil is worked carefully to not disturb the flora and fauna of his vineyard ecosystem. The harvest is always done by hand and only indigenous yeasts are used in the winemaking process.

In addition to using Malbec, Jérémie also grows some lesser known grapes that in the past were traditionally used in greater quantities near Cahors, including Jurançon Noir and Valdigué.

The wine that we are featuring for you is Jérémie's "Haute-Pièce" 2014, which is made from 100% Malbec. The wine has an impressive dark purple hue and is more tannic than its Argentinian counterparts. On the nose we find blackberries, plums, and black cherries. This particular wine is coming from Jérémie's oldest vines situated on a limestone plateau overlooking Cahors. "Haute-Pièce" pairs well such dishes as Cassoulet, Chili con Carne, Cabbage Rolls, and Beef Stroganoff. This is the first time that this wine is being exported to the United States!

It is only a matter of time before this young winemaker's wines become better known, and they are quite difficult to find, even in Paris! While they can be found in several fine restaurants in our city (Michelin starred restaurants included), they are not for sale in any wine shop in Paris. We feel very fortunate to be able to provide some of Jérémie's wine for you!

Our current wine sale is open until August 1st.

There is a 6 bottle or $200 minimum when ordering. Mixing and matching wines is ok! To take a look at the other wines that we currently have on sale, feel free to check our website by clicking here.

Please let us know if you have any questions and à votre santé!

John-Paul and Julie Fortney