Wine & cheese tasting in city of light
Yes, you will be enlightened if you take a seminar at O Chateau.
Situated at 68 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau (just 5 minute’s walk from the Louvre), you’ll find the popular wine bar O Chateau. With 40 wines available by the glass – and these change weekly – plus hundreds of bottles to choose from, knowledgeable sommeliers will guide you through a liquid taste tour of France (O Chateau has received the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence so you are in good hands). To accompany the wines tasting platters of French charcuterie and cheeses are available. The cheeses will be served unapologetically perfectly ripe and at room temperature (think how many times you have been served unripe stone cold cheeses at wine tastings; not here!), the charcuterie will be freshly sliced and moist, and the bread freshly baked with a crispy crust. It’s simple fare, a perfect accompaniment to the wines, and perfectly executed, though you could opt for a full meal in the restaurant also housed on this floor.
Two intimate wine caves featuring original stone walls and vaulted archways are situated on the level below. Each cave (La Cave) seats 26 and is available for hire for private wine tastings, or you can book a seat and join a communal wine tasting and seminar (an excellent option for solo travellers). It’s easy to book online. http://www.o-chateau.com/book-your-wine-tasting-in-paris
You can choose to explore red or white wines, or a mix, or Champagnes. A seminar which unravels the mysteries of French wine bottle labels – wines are labeled by wine region rather than grape variety in France – can make choosing that next bottle of French wine so much easier. As a guide, if you love Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, look to Burgundy, if you favour Sauvignon Blanc, seek out a wine from the Loire Valley, and for the best rosé, go for a wine from Provence. A simple guide, which doesn’t include rosé, is for light wines, go north, for strong wines, go south. Or book your ticket to Paris and get along to O Chateau and learn at the source.
History of the building
68 Rue Jean-Jacques was built in the mid 17th century by Nicolas Ladvocat as a private residence. The building was modified throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and is described as ‘a bustling hub of Parisian society’ on the O Chateau website. ‘Its societal importance was largely due to its purchase by the great-grandfather of George Sand – pseudonym for Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin – whose family name was entwined with this building for years: the Hôtel Dupin. Jean-Jacques Rousseau himself frequented the residence and the Dupin family in the 18th century, and the sundial you will find inside the small courtyard was used by Rousseau himself when he visited this building.’
O CHATEAU’S WINE BAR & RESTAURANT
68, rue Jean Jacques Rousseau
1st arrdt (Just a 5 min walk from the Louvre)
Métro stops: Louvre-Rivoli (L.1) or
Etienne Marcel (L.4)
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 739 780
The Wine Bar is open Mon-Sat, non-stop from 4pm to midnight (and until 2.00am on Fri & Sat). The more quiet time at the wine bar is typically from 4.00pm to 7.00pm. After that, it usually gets busier. Dinner has two seatings, 7.00pm and 9.00pm.
