Greetings from Gabriola Island on the west coast of Canada, and happy Bastille Day! We have been here attending a wedding, and are now enjoying stony beach walks and forest frolics.
Plans are to watch the French / Spain World Cup match this afternoon (what better way to celebrate Bastille Day) and have a salmon barbecue. It’s such a pleasure to be back in the land that raised me, and to be surrounded by so many wonderful people, friends I have known since university and before…
Meanwhile, back in France, the forest of Fontainebleau is burning (a heart-wrenching tragedy) and the heatwave that beset Paris weeks ago seems to have reduced somewhat. Temperatures are forecast to drop starting on Friday, and wine walks are still happening as my team are there at the ready. There’s a Clos Montmartre wine walk this Thursday 16 July at 3:30pm that needs a couple more participants, so please let friends and friends of friends, and the friends of those friends know that Paris Wine Walks is operating most of the summer.
And in anticipation of the fall and our desire to expand our offer, we are looking for someone to help with marketing. If anyone out there is keen to help us extend our reach, and send shoots and tendrils into the universe to entice people to want to participate in a wine walk and therein, discover the real story of Paris, please contact us at pariswinewalks@gmail.com
In addition to the wine walks in Paris, Taste Tours, the mother branch of our travel activities specialises in regional wine and gastronomic tours. There is a Bordeaux Tour scheduled for 16-22 May that still has a couple of openings, so don’t hesitate to contact us for full details. Suffice to say, this will be the quintessential luxury tour of the top vineyards of the region, with access to domains that are inaccessible without personal contacts. We will be happy to elaborate and provide further information in response to all queries.
We look forward to hearing from you and to sharing some of the best of Paris (and beyond) with you. Santé!
Thank you for letting me into your world and for reading the Paris Wine Walks Substack. Your support is invaluable as are your comments, suggestions, critiques, dreams, thoughts and remembrances. A little encouragement goes a long way, so please consider a paid subscription, which need cost no more than (a cheap) glass of wine per week. Or, book a wine walk!
My book, ‘The Hidden Vineyards of Paris’ (reviewed in Jancis Robinson’s wine blog, the Wine Economist, National Geographic Traveler UK, UK Telegraph) is available for purchase via our website and at anglophone bookshops and wine shops in Paris. You can also find it at the Musée de Montmartre and the Librairie Gourmande.
Give the gift of experience!
Paris Wine Walks Gift Certificates are available year round and make exceptional gifts
Wine Walks & Tastings!
Medieval & Roman Paris
Notre Dame, the Roman Baths, Hôtel Cluny, La Sorbonne, the Pantheon, the Roman Arena… history comes alive, conviviality shines, fun guaranteed, without the wine (or just one glass)
Clos Montmartre - Paris in Your Glass
Paris’ most famous wine producing vineyard
Latin Quarter Unbottled!
An insider’s journey to the oldest wine neighbourhood in the city
Wine Your Way Through the Marais
The Marais seen through a wineglass
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Discover the vinous spirit of medieval Paris
Paris Bottled!
Short on time? This one’s for you
Love these uncanny conjunctures. Our daughter Kate was just attending a wedding on Gabriola ( all the way from Glasgow!). And a belated Happy Birthday Geoffrey!
Yoo woo from the other side of the country!