Chronique Gourmande et Vinique de votre Sommelier / Caviste

Close to the city of Sète between sea and scrubland, the castle of La Peyrade is one of the references of the Muscat appellation of Frontignan. The Pastourel family produces a whole range of luminous muscatel.

I harvest the beefy tomatoes and the very fleshy Crimean Black tomatoes, then I stuff them with a combination of rice, pesto and crushed almonds and pick them up with a hint of Lautrec's pink garlic.

In the historic heart of downtown Montpellier in the district of Ecusson a restaurant Le Jolly Rouge dedicated to Caribbean cuisine with spicy and sunny flavors.

Philippe Fezas produces white and red wines on limestone lands, Ténarèze, in the heart of Armagnac.

After a few months of research and tasting, we selected three attractive Spanish white wines with particularly aromatic profiles, with floral, precise and delicate notes, and at a more than reasonable price.

Difficult to guarantee a good deal with wines and asparagus. The chosen wine must have acidity, a certain freshness and a touch of minerality.

And yes the sun is often at the meeting on the Thau lagoon. Bouzigues is a small fishing port facing Mont Saint Clair and the town of Séte. In good weather Mont Saint Loup appears to the west facing the sea.

I particularly appreciate this moment is serenity with two fingers of our new gin from the Edinburgh distillery embellished with a small slice of orange.

We spent a day discovering the cellars. we took the boat on the river, until the Quinta Do Tedo which provides us our special Porto reserve.

To surprise my niece, I opened a pinot gris tokay, quintessence of noble grains from her year of birth, namely 1989. Good state of deterioration of the cap. Small deposit at the bottom of the bottle. In the glass her dress is always limpid with a beautiful coppery color. The nose develops aromas of quince paste, orange and saffron. Seductive on the palate, sweet and velvety. Harmonious, despite a rather short finish. Not a ride, a treat.

Open a bottle of champagne in a little corner of Paradise! I suggested that I bring a bottle of Champagne Hervé Mathelin. His "cuvée reserve", a champagne with fine bubbles, notes of brioche bread and dried fruit, with just enough roundness in the end.

The revival of Moelleux wine with Aperitif. Wines to give the smile. The mellow wine is ideal as an appetizer, but it will rise in a mixture of sweet and salty style a puff pastry with chicken and ginger or a mini pastilla of pigeon.

The Mentheuse. The new mint cream recipe perfectly masters the fusion between the power of peppery aromas and the sweetness of white mint. Tasty, it leaves a feeling of soothing freshness.

This Sunday we left the reserve for lunch a wine of Saint-Estèphe the castle Lilian Ladouys, vintage Bourgeois in a small vintage, the 2012.

And in the evening come to the temptation of a glass of Bourbon, Blanton's Special Reserve recognizable by its cap decorated with a thoroughbred. Creamy and fleshy with hints of caramel, salted butter and vanilla.

Azerole Easy to recognize during the grape harvest we meet them on the edges of the vines

The grenache fougeux of the Serre Romani estate of Laurent Pratx in Espira de l'Agly. A Maury with a dark dress and violet nose. Aromas of black cherry, cocoa, violet. Ample but fresh and on a delicate finish.

The cork or screw cap, difficult to divert the consumer from the tradition. But in terms of conservation, which one is the best?

Claouey on the peninsula of Cap Ferret to charm.

Summer, the holidays, it is also the moment to have fun with a small picnic in a dreaming place. Why not choose the whales lighthouse on the Ré island? And embellish this meal with an aromatic and delicate white wine whose name is as cheerful as where you are. Mermaid of Cadaques