the best of culture, travel & art de vivreSummer 2012

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RICCIOTTI at the Louvre MONTPELLIER: Trending Now ARCADIA in Philadelphia

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à la carteFrench food & drink in America By DOROTHY J. GAITER

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PINK IS BIG

Between 2010 and 2011, exports of PROVENCE ROSÉS to the United States soared 62 percent in volume and 49 percent in value. One contributing factor must be the magnum craze, which has taken hold from the yachts of St. Tropez to the beaches of the Hamptons. Some of these big bottles are super sleek, others are just plain pretty, and all say “summer party!” in a language that everyone can understand. When choosing these dry, crisp wines, aficionados go for the palest pinks—a sign of expert winemaking. Shown here: Domaine Mas de Cadenet rosé, $40.

In the 1990s, California winemaker Paul Hobbs

helped put Argentina on the modern wine

map, thanks to his groundbreaking work with

the Malbec grape, reputedly introduced to

that country in 1868 by a French agricultural

engineer. At the time, he was consulting with the

Nicolás Catena dynasty in Mendoza; years later,

he met French winemaker Bertrand Vigouroux,

who eventually invited him to collaborate on his

family’s celebrated vineyards in Cahors. How

could Hobbs refuse? Cahors is the historic

epicenter of Malbec, grown there since 50 B.C.

and used to make its famous “black wine.”

Still, a less confident man might have

been intimidated. The Vigouroux family has

been in the wine business since founding its

wine brokerage firm in 1887, and Bertrand’s

father, Georges, was instrumental in obtaining

Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC)

status for Cahors in 1971. And although

the family’s four châteaux have centuries of

history, the owners are decidedly forward-

looking, branching into wine tourism (one of

their properties is a Relais & Châteaux) and

online wine sales while launching two brands

that retail for less than $20 a bottle. But for

Hobbs, the offer was a unique chance to gain

experience that could raise the bar for Malbecs

worldwide. Four years on, he talks with us

about his Cahors adventure.

How did your collaboration with Vigouroux get

started? Initially, Bertrand wanted to launch a

joint venture, but I thought it would be better

for me to begin as a consultant. So I started

working with them on the top wines from their

most highly regarded properties: Château de

Haute-Serre, Château de Mercuès and Château

Leret-Monpezat. All are in Cahors, but each

has a very distinct geology. The first vintage

involving my input was the 2009.

What challenges have you faced? The

vineyards were planted well but were poorly

managed; they also had very outdated

equipment. We have already made tremendous

improvements without having to make big

financial investments. What we’ve done is

clean up what they originally had and make oper-

ations more quality-oriented. We did install drip

irrigation—this has been allowed in some areas

of France for only a few years, so we’re pioneers.

We did it because the vines were struggling.

Did the French have any problems taking

advice from an American? We both wanted

to enhance the image of Cahors wines by

improving quality and product consistency, and

they were interested in my long experience with

Malbec. They knew that I had a lot of expertise

with soil and climate and how they relate to that

particular varietal. I had also learned a lot about

water management for that grape. Malbec is like

a camel; it has a membrane that holds water

better than other grapes, which allows it to

tolerate more extreme heat.

And you did eventually agree to that joint

venture…. Yes, the first vintage of our yet-to-

be-named wine—a Malbec, of course—was

produced in 2011; we are aiming for a U.S.

release in fall 2014. Quantities will be very limited.

How does your partnership work? Bertrand

Vigouroux and I have a 50-50 partnership. If it

is successful, the logical next step might be to

buy land together. Right now, each party infuses

equal amounts of seed capital. They provide

all the vital local knowledge and resources,

and I supply the expertise and experience

that I typically bring to a project. That includes

managing the vineyards, deciding

when to pick the grapes,

everything that has to do with

how the wine is made. We grow

the wine from grape to glass.

What do you value most from

this experience? Being a

part of an extremely old wine

region, arguably the motherland

of Malbec. I find that very

intriguing. I just love being

able to understand the varietal

better. Cahors is particularly

fascinating geologically, with

many types of soil and stones.

I’m still trying to figure out why

Malbec survived in this region

and not others. The soil here

has little pellets of iron and a

wonderful aroma. I love the way it smells after

a rain, of game birds, legumes and that sort of

thing. It is enchanting, similar to the soil of my

childhood in New York. It has a richness to it,

a true earthiness, something we don’t have in

California. There’s a broader palette of flavors

and textures.

You are now involved with some 20 vineyards

worldwide. I hear your love affair with wine

started back in 1969. Yes, at my family’s home

on an apple farm near Buffalo, NY. My mother

forbade alcohol in the house, but my dad loved

wine and wanted to get into the winemaking

business, and he smuggled a 1962 Château

d’Yquem into the house. It opened my eyes to

what a wine could be. Mom initially thought it was

fruit juice, then kicked us both out of the house

and we had to spend the night around a bonfire—

Dad because he brought it into the house, and

me because I enjoyed it so much.

Paul HobbsTHE KID FROM BUFFALO WHO BECAME MONSIEUR MALBEC

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F R A N C E • S U M M E R 2 01 2 21

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Talkingblack wine

with…( )

The French culinary world rejoiced when UNESCO added the “French Gastronomic Meal” to its “Intangible Cultural Heritage”

list in 2010; now, the Fête de la Gastronomie invites French and foreigners alike to share in this time-honored Gallic tradition.

Inaugurated last year, the all-day and all-night affair was celebrated throughout France with 6,000 events in nearly 2,000

towns and cities—one of the largest was in Avignon, which staged a banquet for 500 people on the Place du Palais des Papes.

Several French-speaking countries also participated; this year, the party will extend to New York and Tokyo (the U.S. and Japan

have the largest number of Michelin-starred chefs outside of France).

Created by France’s Economy Ministry, the fête highlights French culinary savoir-faire and innovation. Which may explain the “restaurant bus” that

planners say will drive around Paris with a different chef on board every night for the week leading up to the big night on September 22, the first day of fall.

Three-star chef Michel Guérard is the honorary chairman of the 2012 event, whose theme is “Terroir.”

Festival director Sophie Mise notes that the fête isn’t just for professional foodies; the idea is to make it accessible to everyone—some events will

even be free. What to expect? Everything from special restaurant menus and wine tastings to picnics and cookouts. For more information on hosting or

attending events in New York or France, visit fete-gastronomie.fr/en/.

A PROPOS...

It’s not so easy to make something easy to drink.”“ — David Hénault, Nicolas Feuillatte’s new cellar master,

at a tasting of Champagnes at Le Cirque, blocks from where the legendary Feuillatte had

an apartment in the 1950s

Food Fête

• The Art of Cooking with Vegetables by Alain Passard. In 2001, this renowned chef shocked the culinary world when he declared that he would devote himself exclusively to exploring the potential of vegetables. With that, he removed 12 signature meat-based dishes from the menu of

his three-star restaurant, L’Arpège, in Paris. With this book, illustrated with his fanciful collages, he invites readers to prepare 48 seasonal recipes that he describes as “a special gift” to L’Arpège, now fêting its 25th year. The “June-July” section kicks off with a recipe for “Passion fruit, stuffed and baked like a crumble.” A work of art. Frances Lincoln Ltd., $29.95.

• Bordeaux: The Wines, The Vineyards, The Winemakers: A New Look at the World’s Most Famous Wine Region by Oz Clarke. One of Britain’s most popular wine writers (he also boasts a sizeable fan base on this side of the Atlantic), Clarke has revised and updated this dazzlingly thorough introduction to France’s storied wine region. Chock-full of details about Bordeaux’s different winegrowing areas and practical information such as “best buys,” this wine tutorial and travel guide will quench your thirst for knowledge while stimulating your appetite for the fruit of the vine. Sterling Epicure, $35.

mille feuilles

• Bertrand Vigouroux and Paul Hobbs at Les Journées Internationales de Malbec in Cahors.