Paris offers secrets few ever see. Who would imagine that right in the middle of the oldest and most historic neighbourhoods of the city, there are vineyards? There is an almost mystical link between the living vines of today and those of the past. As you walk over this historic ground, the medieval landscape comes to life.
Paris Wine Walks, created by Geoffrey Finch in 2015, are a series of sensual, historic wine walks that offer visitors a unique perspective on the history of Paris. They are the only tours in Paris that include visits to the hidden vineyards of the city’s most historic quarters and also feature in-depth, pedagogical wine tastings. By discovering the role the vine played in the city’s evolution, we learn that the Paris region was the greatest wine producer in the world until two centuries ago, and throughout the middle ages, the premium exporter to Northern Europe.
Paris Wine Walks founder, Geoffrey Finch, operates wine & gastronomic tours throughout France. His passion for vineyards almost exceeds his love of wine. But the walks themselves, through the Marais, the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Montmartre, and Belleville, include wine tastings in some of the world’s best wine bars and cellars. From the vineyards of the Hotel Royal St-Pol through the King’s botanical garden, the Abbey Saint Victor and the Halle aux Vins to the Roman Arena, the Clos Bruneau, the Clos de Laas and the villages that were once Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Montmartre and Belleville, the tours develop a comprehensive overview of medieval Paris.
The wine tastings feature wines of the same grape varietals found in the city’s hidden vineyards, and are always natural, organic or biodynamic. The same goes for the rustic breads, exquisite cheeses, and seasonal vegetables that accompany the wine tastings. Specialty tours and tastings include the Sparkling Wine Splash, a blind tasting of five sparkling wines (that includes one Champagne) and Paris Bottled, which is a blind tasting with a twist. Discover the 3-Vineyard Cycling Tour and visit three of the most historic neighbourhoods of Paris – the Marais, the Latin Quarter, and the islands (Ile-de-la-Cité and Ile-Saint-Louis) in one comprehensive tour.
In addition to Paris Wine Walks, Geoffrey is also the author of the definitive census of the vineyards of Paris. The Hidden Vineyards of Paris offers a unique viewpoint on Paris, inviting readers to explore this other, greener side of the city and celebrate its true origins in wine. Part guidebook, part wine book, The Hidden Vineyards of Paris includes an up-to-date census of the city’s producing and non-producing vineyards, historical anecdotes, practical information, and a map to help the reader locate the vineyards themselves. It has been selected by National Geographic UK for its Smart Traveller’s book list, and reviewed by Tamlyn Currin who writes for Jancis Robinson’s wine blog and who was voted best wine writer of the year two weeks after reviewing the book, and also by the Wine Economist and the UK Telegraph.
I had the great pleasure of joining one of Geoffrey’s ‘Wine Walks’ and he gladly agreed to speak with me afterwards…
TH: What inspired you to start doing walks to the vineyards of Paris?
GF: I have been working in wine ever since I arrived in France in the 1980s and I’ve always been drawn to vines, because vines tell stories. When I started to research the presence of vines in Paris, I was amazed to discover how extensive they are. As I continued my research and began to see how significant wine has been in the evolution of the city, it is in fact what built Paris, it struck me that others might like to hear this untold history.
TH: How many vineyards are there and how many tours do you do?
GF: I count close to 30, 11 of which actually produce wine. There are 5 different walking tours, a cycling tour, and a couple of sit-down tasting options as well.
TH: That’s amazing!
GF: Yes, but it’s currently only possible to taste one of those wines as the quantities most of the vineyards produce are very limited. Only the Clos Montmartre can be purchased by the general public, and so that is the only vineyard tour we do where you can have ‘Paris in your glass’. Some of the others can be tasted during ‘La Fête de la Vigne’, which happens once a year around the first week in October.
TH: Tell me more about your book.
GF: I started researching and writing about 5 years ago and it was in the process of doing that, that I discovered how important wine has been to the evolution of Paris. Paris has always been identified as ‘the city of light’, but for wine lovers, it has also always been the capital of wine. Wine built Paris. Wine built Gothic churches! The origins of the city are very much founded in the cultivation of the vine and so the presence of the vine today is emblematic of that history. Researching the history of each quarter from the perspective of wine has been a labour of love, and also a revelation. I have learned so much, and there is still more to learn. The book began as a much larger work that included the Ile de France, which is where the greater tale is, but it quickly became clear to me that the vineyards of the IDF, which number over 200, is a book in itself (which I have already started writing). There’s also a radio interview with me about my book that comes out in July on CBC Radio in Vancouver.
*
To join Geoffrey on a Wine Walk visit www.paris-wine-walks.com to view information about all the tours and dates available. To find his book, visit the anglophone bookstore, The Red Wheelbarrow at 11 rue de Medicis, 75006. It can be found as well at most of the other anglophone bookshops in Paris as well as the Musée de Montmartre, Messy Nessy’s boutique on the rue de Bievre in the 5th and online.
