Wine and Spirits Travel

After a disappointing dinner at Les Tablettes de Jean-Louis Nomicos, Paris once again showed me its magic. Or, more accurately, Perrier Jouet did. We went from dinner to a place I had yet to go to in Paris, even though it is one of the most famous – especially in the cocktail world. It was more or less the “home” of the infamous Ernest Hemingway. The bar that bears his name is in the Ritz Carlton and it was nothing like I expected. In what would probably be referred to as a “hole in the wall” if it were any place else, this tiny room holds no more than two dozen. What it lacks in stature, however, it makes up for in elegance and in some very creative cocktails. Our group was treated to a selection of highly priced (around 30 Euros a drink) concoctions by the gracious representatives of Perrier Jouet, who understood our need to have a little break from the bubbly.  I actually tried three of the mixtures, favoring the first, Serendipity. It was a combination of Calvados Pays d’Aug

With the exception of an April trip to Canada, I hadn’t planned on leaving the country for awhile, but when one of your favorite champagne companies asks you to go to a three day celebration in Paris, what do you say?  I said yes, of course, and began my journey from Champaign (Illinois, that is) on Saturday. With spring just around the corner, there were no weather delays to deal with and my flight to Chicago went off on time.  I settled in at the Admirals Club with a few hours to wait before my American Airlines flight. I spent a short time at the bar, enjoying some low cal nutrition (before my French feasts) from the hummus appetizer with a glass of a crisp Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc . I made a mental note to fit the Santa Barbara wine region into my schedule sometime soon. Before I knew it, the announcement came for my flight and I headed to my first business class experience on American in years. After 16+ hours to Australia , the flight to Paris was a breeze, made even easier