THE TIG ARCHIVES│FOOD│FRENCH WINE & CHEESE PAIRINGS
“Well, well, well…bonjour Angie Niles – author, publicist, girl crush extraordinaire, and old soul with a penchant for all things chic and classy (à la sending handwritten thank you notes and bespoke spice blends from gay Pareeee). When this lovely lady and I connected, I was immediately struck by how refreshing she was – real and kind, polished but approachable. A class act in a world of people buried in their iPhones and often lacking social graces. And then, as though it couldn’t get better, you add her recent book to the mix, and you realize you are actually in love with Angie Niles. Like, proper, you are my stylish spirit animal, love. Her debut book, Bright Lights Paris shares all covetable gems in The City of Lights from taste makers and jet setters who know it inside out (oh, hey Blake Lively) — plus, it also includes a sampling of francophile tips to make you feel ever so in the know.
On that note (both contextual and oenophile), Angie is sharing the French wine and cheese pairings that she learned from the pros in Paris, so that at our next dinner party we can all say, “Mais, oui – zissssss pinot and zissssss cow’s milk cheese are simply zeeeeee best together.” Or maybe that’s just me. Bon apetit mon petit chou, and thanks Angie – Tig Team for life!”
- Meghan Markle, September 2015
From Angie
“If you ever attend a dinner party in Paris, you may notice that unlike in the U.S., other guests don’t arrive with wine for the hosts. The reason is that a French hostess takes special care and thought pairing her meal with the perfect selection of wine. Her local wine shop experts will even ask to know all of the ingredients in her meal to help her select the perfect pairings.
One of my favorite locations to wine and dine and improve my knowledge of French wine is O Chateau. Their wine list, comprised of forty selections, changes each week and varies in price to accommodate all budgets. It includes almost all French wines, with a couple from other countries thrown in the mix.
O Chateau isn’t just a restaurant and wine bar, but also a place where the wine brings people together. Here you may notice Parisian girlfriends meeting up after work, a couple on their weekly Friday-night date, and maybe some London ladies in town for a weekend bachelorette party, all with one thing in common—they enjoy and appreciate great wine.
For years, O Chateau has been hosting the best wine tastings in Paris, including lunch and dinner tastings and wine and cheese pairings. Located in a beautiful medieval wine cellar, it’s also a great location for private dinner parties and small special events. Parisian girls and visitors to Paris book O Chateau’s sunset champagne cruise on the river Seine to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy some bubbly on a small private tour of the river.
Around the corner from the cave a vin is O Chateau’s newest venture, Les Caves du Louvre. This former residence of Trudon—who was Louis XV’s sommelier—is now a wine-making workshop where, with the help of O Chateau experts, you will learn to blend your own wine, design the label, and leave with a case of your own blend to bring home with you.
I think making wine in the former cellar of the king’s private wine collection is about as good as it gets! Soon I’ll be returning home with my very own Bright Lights Paris customized blend.
And what’s wine without cheese? Around the corner from my apartment in Brooklyn is an amazing cheese and gourmet food shop, Stinky Bklyn. I find myself there probably once a week picking up some Comté or Cambembert with slices of fresh prosciutto and gourmet crackers. They are the local experts on cheese and are always helpful when I need suggestions on wine pairings. When entertaining at home or at a picnic, Parisian girls make sure to have the perfect cheese to go with their wine selection.”
1. Pouilly-Fuissé + Cambembert
“This raw cow’s milk cheese from Normandy has a subtle salty taste with a fruity tang and pairs well with the sweet white wine from Burgundy.”
2. Chardonnay + Comté Rodolphe le Meunier
“Aged raw cow’s milk cheese from the Loire Valley, with notes of butter, dried apricots, nuts, and cream matches this full-bodied Burgundy white wine.”
3. Pinot Noir + Ossau-Iraty
“Raw sheep’s milk cheese from Basque Country that is sweet, nutty, and buttery, with notes of hazelnut is best enjoyed with this red.”
4. Châteauneuf-du-Pape + Pont l’Evêque
“Dating back to the twelfth century, this is a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from Normandy. The oniony mushroom flavor is brought out by this full-bodied red wine.”
Images via: Keiko Lynn / Keiko Lynn.com, Facebook
