A Taste of Home with French Wine Discoveries

Tuesday’s particularly early start didn’t bother this Frenchie, so excited was I to be bound for the ‘French Wine Discoveries’ trade fair (writes Cyrielle Kpoze). It unravelled at Tobacco Dock, a massive 19^th century warehouse originally built to harbour prized tobacco supplies from the New World recently overhauled into one of London’s most flexible and characterful events venues…

Under an ominous metal-ark sky, I eventually located the entrance to the Grade I-listed, airy, beamed structure. My first delightful surprise was the realisation that the Region Centre-Val de Loire was present, showing the multifarious range of styles for which they are justly famous. I felt proud to see how well my home region was represented, particularly so the heart-warming wines of Anjou, Reuilly and Saumur.

My favourite wine of the line-up was the frankly wonderful Cabernet d’Anjou from Château du Fresne. Its greeting aromas of fresh fruit, black fruit combined with a tangible lick of sweetness and acidity on the palate must make it a perfect foil for well-spiced dishes, I imagine. I almost ordered two cases on the spot. Next, Domaine des Noels’s Naig made me regretful of having to use the spittoons – but being a professional, I had one eye to the afternoon ahead, which would see me fine-tuning the logistics of the Clementine Communications Annual Showcase.

My next ‘coup de coeur’ occurred at the stall of Devavry Champagne, which is crafted by a large family of passionate, dedicated, and future-thinking vignerons. As a former graphic designer, I was particularly struck by their imaginative packaging, featuring unusual bottle shapes and sometimes brightly-coloured foils – as well as the lithe but lively, biscuit and fruit-stained tight bead of bubbles just beyond the twisted wire closures…

Of course, a great many of L’Hexagone’s other regions where represented too, from Alsace to Provence, offering a true taste of the best of France’s vineyards today.

As you might already have been able to tell, I adored this fine fair, from talking heritage with a ninth-generation winegrower (Thierry Bernardinis of Château Mallevieille), to joking about a common love of rosé with a young-gun newcomer…

Sneak a peak of my favourite discoveries via the following English links: