The Paris Effect
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Press

Champagne for All!

7/6/2014

0 Comments

 
PictureFilm Maker and Wine Expert Martine Saunier
Recently, I attended a preview party to view Martine Saunier's film
"A Year in Champagne". 


The film is the second in a series of three, all devoted to the celebration of wine and the people who populate that other-worldly universe.  It's an amazing achievement even for the likes of this legendary wine importer.  I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Saunier last summer during Nashville's premiere wine event, the annual
l'Eté du Vin hosted by The Nashville Wine Auction
(fund raising auction that supports numerous cancer charities in
Middle Tennessee).

Talk about a mover and a shaker!  Martine Saunier, the founder of Martine's Wines, Inc., is well known and loved in America as the go-to importer of fine French wines that were previously missing from our cellars.  She has personal relationships with growers, both large and small, in her home country and understands the process to bring it to our shores.  After selling her firm, she devoted time and energy to producing films that offer a real point-of-view into the character of those who bring us pleasure in a bottle.

Her champagne movie is quite an achievement.  "A Year in Champagne" offers a behind-the-scenes peek into the méthode champenoise from vine to bottle.  You feel the growers' pain when the weather nearly ruins the crop.  Watching this experience makes you realize that the best champagne, as glamorous and glorious as we think it is, is a crop and though we elevate our language referring to them as growers, these families are farmers, depending on hard work and luck of the weather gods much like the produce guys we know at Farmer's Market.  The magical film offers us a front row seat in lessons from the family farm as they toil and suffer through the unpredictable weather of the growing season.


Picture
Lori & Rose Propose a Toast
Picture
Girls Just Gotta Have Fun
Enjoying glass after glass of the bubbly alongside a memorable buffet piled high with delicious tastes of both France (fromage) and Nashville (banana pudding), this engaging group of fabulous, fun women had the good fortune to discover there's no reason to save champagne just for big celebrations. 
Picture
I learned years ago not to hoard the good stuff.  It can and should be enjoyed year round.  For my 50th birthday, I enjoyed an incredible experience, spending two days with a small grower named Guy Charbaut.  Located in Mareil-sur-Ay in the heart of Champagne country not too distant from Epernay, Monsieur Charbaut, his wife and grown children run the small estate, producing about 500,000 bottles of wine annually.  We stayed in their family home which they have lovingly transformed into petite chambres d'hote of simple but fine character.  The highlight of the stay was sitting down to dinner with the family and a few other visitors* to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The celebratory dinner included a different style of champagne with each memorable course.  As we sipped and tasted, I realized champagne should be served at the table just like you'd enjoy any fine wine.  Since then, we regularly consume champagne and unlike most Americans, who save it for New Years, weddings and anniversary celebrations, it's often on our shopping list. Worried about what wine to serve with dinner?  Champagne matches every food under the sun.

Back to Chez Charbaut, we enjoyed a fine dinner of squab (very pink pigeon) and other delicacies, ending in what looked at first like the lemon jello from my childhood elementary school nightmares.  I was aghast to see it served as the finish to a spectacular meal --- until I took my first bite and realized this was not your mother's jello.  In fact, I'm 100% certain there was not one tsp. of the fake chemicals and flavoring that go into that old goo we used to eat.  It was an inspired creation that included a healthy dose of champagne, delicious and surprising.  The next morning, we had a private tour of the champagne making facility, caves and fields led by the proud Monsieur Charbaut.  He was genial and fun and although he spoke very little English, we all managed to converse.
*There were a couple of Brits who chatted us up at dinner and then let me sit in their fabulous Morgan for a birthday pose.  They filled the whole vehicle from end to end with cases of champagne and then drove home the following day.  They return every time they run out, usually twice a year.  If only......

Picture
Picture
Picture
"A Year in Champagne" is a wonderful way to spend 90 minutes in France, in the very real world of champagne.  Humor, drama and a dog named Bouchon (cork), the cutest chien to hit the big screen since Benji.  But before you view, I'll warn you, come prepared to drink some bubbly.
You're going to get very thirsty!
A Votre Santé!

Picture
Michelle's Birthday Fantasy Come True
Picture
Champagne Maker Guy Charbaut is 2nd From Right
Picture
Don't Miss Nashville's Premiere Wine Auction
0 Comments

A Chateau without the Rabble

6/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Chateau de Champs-sur-Marne is a rare find and not at all far from central Paris.  Last October, I boarded the RER A and eleven miles later, found myself in a small town WITH NO TOURISTS.

This seriously sumptuous chateau and all 210 glorious acres of surrounding gardens was nearly tourist free during my visit.
I couldn't believe my good luck and wandered at will through the entire estate.

Built in the 17th Century, the estate has been frequented by a long list of notables such as  Voltaire, Diderot, Marcel Proust,
Madame de Pompadour, Isadora Duncan and many more.

These days, it's best known as a famous film location for dozens of films including 'Dangerous Liaisons', 'Marie Antoinette', and 'Vatel'.  John Malkovich, Kirsten Dundst and Gérard Depardieu have wandered these beautiful halls for the sake of their craft and we're all the better for it.

Do yourself a favor.  Next time you're in Paris, take a time-out for a wander where set designers and film directors perfect their craft.
Picture
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
***************************************************
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Picture
Don't miss a chance to see a french country chateau minus the crazy crowds.
Neo-Classical architecture at its best. 

RER A from Paris direction Chessy Marne-la-Valée
Exit Noisel station
  Twenty minute walk to the chateau or ride
local bus 220 to Marie de Champs
Chateau is closed on Tuesdays.
Picture
0 Comments

Pure Inspiration: Books & Movies - FRANCE

6/19/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
If you're aching for a little fresh inspiration, then why not try a French movie.  Get in the mood with a few of my favorites:

Midnight in Paris
Amélie
Hugo
The Butterfly
Two Days in Paris
Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noel)
The Intouchables
La Vie en Rose
The Well Diggers Daughter
Chocolat
The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
A Very Long Engagement
The Chorus
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The 400 Blows
Queen to Play
Paris, Je t'aime
My Afternoons with Margueritte
Diplomacy
A French Village* (Un Village Francais)
*mini-series
​
Before Sunset

Two Days in Paris 
Funny Face
Julie & Julia
​An American in Paris
Back to Burgundy 
​Come What May
​
Picture
No Need to Fight the Crowds!
Amélie steals everyone's heart.  The movie features gorgeous shots of Paris.  It's little wonder why we watch the film over and over again.
Picture
​​TV Series:

A French Village (Un Village Francais)
Escape to the Chateau

Emily in Paris 
Call My Agent 
Balthazar 
The Parisian Agency 
Picture
"Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all" -- quote attributed to Henry David Thoreau
Here are more books to consider:​

​"The Bettencourt Affair" by Tom Sancton
​"Paris in the Present Tense" by Mark Helprin
"The Lost Vintage: a Novel" by Ann Mah
"Ritz & Escoffier" by Luke Barr

"The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn
​"My 25 Years in Provence" by Peter Mayle
​"Villa America" by Liza Klaussmann

​"The Rain Watcher" by Tatiana de Rosnay
"The Age of Light" by Whitney Scharer
"The Flight Portfolio" by Julie Orringer
"Paris Echo" by Sebastian Faulk 
"Madame Fourcade's Secret War" by Lynne Olson
"The Winemaker's Wife" by Kristin Harmel
​"The  World That We Knew" by Alice Hoffman
"The Seine: The River that Made Paris", by
​Elaine Sciolini
"Perestroika in Paris" by Jane Smiley
"Paris Never Leaves You" by Ellen Feldman
​"The Queen of Paris" by Pamela Binnings Ewen

***********************************
I hope you'll consider adding my book to your list as well,
"The Paris Effect" by Michelle Moggio
Books are twice as tough to pick!
So many good ones!  So little time....
Here are a few of my favorites:
​"The Invisible Bridge' by Julie Orringer

'The President's Hat' by Antoine Laurain
'The Hundred-Foot Journey' by Richard C. Morais
'The Hotel on Place Vendome' by Tilar J. Mazzeo
'The Book of Salt' by Monique Truong
'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' by Muriel Barbery
'Paris Letters' -- Janice MacLeod
'A Year in Provence' by Peter Mayle
'Time Was Soft There' by Jeremy Mercer
'The Greater Journey - Americans in Paris' by David McCullough
'All the Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doerr
'Lovers at the Chameleon Club' by Francine Prose
"Sur la Route" by Cecilia Woloch
"100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go"
by Marcia De Sanctis
"Avenue of Spies" by Alex Kershaw
"The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George
"Lilac Girls" by Martha Hall Kelly
"32 Yolks" by Eric Ripert
​"Guardians of the Louvre" by Jiro Taniguchi

​"Daisy in Exile" by J.T. Allen
​"Les Parisiennes" by Anne Sebba
​"Cooking for Picasso" by Camille Aubray
​"The White Russian" by Vanora Bennett
"Road to Valor" by Aili & Andres McConnon
​"The Girl You Left Behind" by JoJo Moyes
"The Suitors" by Cécile David-Weill
​"The Room on Rue Amelie" by Kristin Harmel
"Three Hours in Paris" by Cara Black
"Dirt: Adventures, with Family in Lyon..." by Bill Buford
​"The Paris Hours" by Alex George
​"The Black Swan of Paris" by Karen Robards
"The Paris Library" by Janet Skeslien Charles
​"Americans in Paris" by Charles Glass
"The Lost Carousel of Provence" by Juliet Blackwell
"The Women of Chateau Lafayette" by Stephanie Dray

Picture


Don't even get me started on Cookbooks!

That's a whole different blog...... David Lebovitz, Susan Herrmann Loomis, Jacques Pepin, Patricia Wells, Dorie Greenspan, Laura Calder.....

More to follow .....  I need to raid the refrigerator.....

Bon appetit!
Picture
2 Comments
    Picture

    AUTHOR
    MICHELLE MOGGIO

    Thanks for visiting  my blog!

    I've been experiencing the joys of Paris since the ripe old age of eleven.
    As a big fan of duck fat, raw oysters and bad French movies, my long career in advertising helped pave the way for drinking at lunch. When not living la vie en rose, my husband Gary and I live in Brentwood, TN, where we stay busy planning our next travel adventure and offering unsolicited advice to our daughter.

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014


    RSS Feed

    Click below to buy
    The Paris Effect 
    book today
    Enter your email address to receive blog updates -
    Subscribe Now
    Buy Now

    Categories

    All
    100th Blog
    20th Arrondissement
    Abbaye De Fontfroide
    Absinthe
    Academie De La Grande Chaumière
    Adrian Leeds
    Aix-en-Provence
    Albi
    Aligot
    Alsace
    Ambassade D'Auvergne
    Amboise
    American History
    American Revolution
    Amphitheatre
    Antibes
    Apartments
    Aperitif
    April In Paris
    Arc De Triomphe Du Carrousel
    Architecture
    Arena De Nimes
    Ariége
    Armenian Cathedral Of Paris
    Art
    Art Deco
    Artistic Paris
    Artlover
    Art Museum
    Art Nouveau
    Atonement Chapel
    Auray
    Avenue Foch
    Avenue Frochot
    Avignon
    Baccarat
    Baden-Baden
    Baguette
    Basque
    Bayeux Tapestry
    B&B
    Benjamin Franklin
    Bénodet
    Bercy Village
    Biarritz
    Biot
    Biot France
    Bistros
    Bonbons
    Books Set In France
    Boulangerie
    Brassaï
    Brittany
    Brittany American Cemetery
    Burgundy
    Cagnes-sur-Mer
    Cakes
    Canal Du Midi
    Candy
    Cap D'Antibes
    Caracalla Spa
    Caramels
    Catalan France
    Cathars
    Cathedral
    Cathedrale St-Just
    Cemetière De Passy
    Cemetière Saint-Vincent
    Chantilly
    Chapelle Expiatoire
    Chapelle Saint Vincent De Paul
    #Chapel Of Hospice Saint-Jean
    Charles Aznavour
    Charles Trenet
    Chartreuse Du Val-de-Benediction
    Chateau
    Chateau De Clisson
    Chateau De Foix
    Chateau De Fougeres
    Chateau De Malmaison
    Chateau Grimaldi
    Cheese
    Chinon
    Chocolate
    Choice Vs. Chance
    Christian Constant
    #Church Of Saint-Volusien
    Cimiez
    Cité Des Fleurs
    Cité De Trevise
    Claude Monet
    Clisson
    Cocktail
    Coco Chanel
    Cognac
    Cointreau
    Cole Porter
    Comedie-Francaise
    Cote D'Azur
    Coulon
    Cours Mirabeau
    Cours Saleya
    Coussin De Lyon
    Crêpes
    Dessert
    Dijon
    Dreams
    Duck-confit
    Eating In France
    Ecole Des Beaux-Arts
    Ed Clark
    Edith-piaf
    Eglise Notre Dame De Clisson
    Eglise Sainte-Trinité
    Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Prés
    Elsa Maxwell
    Entrevaux
    Environmental Challenges
    Eric Kayser
    Eugene Delacroix
    Fabergé Museum
    Falling For Paris
    Famous-faces
    Fashion History
    Fauchon
    Fernand Léger
    Fete De La Transhumance
    Fête De Vendanges
    Fish Specialties
    Foix
    Folies Bergère
    Fontainebleau
    Fontaine Du Palmier
    Food Markets
    Fougeres
    Fragrance
    France
    Francois-premier
    Free Museums
    French Atlantic Coast
    French Bread
    French Cuisine
    French Food
    French-food
    French History
    French-islands
    French Musee D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris
    French Music
    French Resistence
    French Revolution
    #FrenchRiviera
    French Riviera
    French Slave Trade
    Friedrichsbad Spa
    Fun Fair Museum
    Genevieve De Gaulle-Anthonioz
    Genièvre
    George Sand
    Germaine Tillion
    Germany
    Gertrude Stein
    Gordes
    Grand Mosque Of Paris
    Grand Palais
    Grasse
    Guerlain
    Gustave Moreau
    Harvest Festival
    Haut-de-Cagnes
    Healthy Travel
    Hediard
    Henri Le Roux
    Henri Matisse
    Holocaust
    Hometown Memories
    Hotel Belles Rives
    Hôtel De Soubise
    Hotel Dieu
    Hotels
    Ile De Bréhat
    Ile De Ré
    Isadora Duncan
    Jacques Genin
    Janet Flanner
    Jardin Samuel-de-Champlain
    Jay Z
    Jazz A Juan
    Jean Seberg
    Jewelry
    Josephine Baker
    Josephine Bonaparte
    Juan-les-Pins
    Keith Haring
    La Campagne A Paris
    La Couveroitade
    Lafayette
    La Jourrnée San Voiture
    Lalique
    Language Skills
    Languedoc
    La Rochelle
    La Verrerie De Biot
    Lavinia Wine Store
    Le Bonbon Au Palais
    Le Bon Georges
    Le Capitole
    Le Carrousel Des Mondes Marins
    Le Clos Lucé
    Le Cochon à L'Oreille
    Le Coq Rico
    Legendary Lovers
    Le Grand Véfour
    Le Musée Montmartre
    Leonardo Da Vinci
    Le Rostand
    Les Cocottes
    Les Fauves
    Les Invalides
    Les Machines De L'Ile
    Les Sept Iles
    Lichtentaler Allee
    Lille
    Little Gourmand
    Loire Atlantique
    Luberon
    Luxembourg Gardens
    Maison Carrée
    Malmaison
    Man Ray
    Marais Poitevin
    Marc Chagall
    Marché Beauvau
    Marché D'Aligre
    Marché President Wilson
    Marché Victor Hugo
    Marie Curie
    Market Street
    Marquis De Lafayette
    Matisse
    Maurice Utrillo
    Medieval Festival
    Medieval France
    Memorial De L'Abolition De L'Esclavage
    Memorial De La Shoah
    MFK Fisher
    Minervois Wine
    #ModernArt
    Monolithic Church
    Montmartre
    Montmartre Museum
    Montparnasse
    Montparnasse Cemetery
    Montpellier
    Movies Set In France
    Musee Carnavalet
    Musée De La Chasse Et De La Nature
    Musée Des Arts Decoritifs
    Musée Des Arts Forains
    Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Dijon
    Musee D'Orsay
    Musée D'Orsay
    Musee L'Orangerie
    Musée Marc Chagall
    Musee Marmottan Monet
    Musée Matisse Nice
    Musée Picasso
    Musée Yves Saint Laurent
    Museum
    Museum Of Decorative Arts
    Museum Of Hunting & Nature
    Museum Of Modern Art City Of Paris
    Nancy
    Nantes
    Napoleon Bonaparte
    Napoleon III Apartments
    Narbonne
    Nashville
    Natalie Portman
    Nazi Atrocities
    Nice
    Nice France
    Nimes
    Normandy
    Not-far-from-paris
    Not-far-from-paris
    Notre Dame De Lorette
    Notre Dame De Paris
    Occitanie
    #Occitanie
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Opera-garnier
    Operation Dragoon
    Oradoursurglane
    Our Lady Of Paris
    Palais Lascaris
    Palais Royal
    Paloma Beach
    Pancake
    Pancake Pantry
    Parade
    Parc De Bercy
    Paris
    Paris 1968
    Paris Arrondissements
    Paris Art Museum
    Paris Art Schools
    Paris At Home
    Paris Cafes
    Paris Fashion
    Paris Friend
    Paris Markets
    Paris Metro
    Paris Neighborhoods
    Paris Parks
    Paris Patisseries
    Paris Pets
    Paris Predestination
    Paris Retail Therapy
    Paris Travel
    Parks
    Passage Boudin
    Passerelle Simone De Beauvoir
    Pastis
    Patisserie
    Patricia Wells
    Paul Cezanne
    Perfume
    Pernes-les-Fontaines
    Pet Cemeteries
    Petit Palais
    Photography
    Picpus Cemetery
    Pinching Pennies
    Pink Granite Coast
    Place De Furstenberg
    Place De La Concorde
    Place Des Vosges
    Place Masséna
    Place Stanislaus
    Place Vendome
    Ploumanac'h
    Poilane
    Ponr Alexandre III
    Poster Art
    Promenade Des Anglais
    Provence
    #Provence
    Provence Markets
    Puffins
    Pyrenees-Orientales
    Rambouillet
    Raoul Dufy
    Regional Cooking
    Rennes
    Renoir
    Robert Doisneau
    Robert Wuhl
    Roquefort
    Rue Cler
    Rue Cremieux
    Rue De L'Eole Du Medecine
    Rue De Nil
    Rue Dénoyez
    Rue Des Ecoles
    Rue Des Martyrs
    Rue Irenee Blanc
    Rue Jules Siegfried
    Ruelle Des Chats
    Rue Montorgeuil
    Ruth
    Saintdenis
    Saint-Emilion
    Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
    Saint-Etienne-du-Mont
    Sainteustache
    Saint-Goustan
    Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert
    Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
    Saint-Malo
    Saint-Medard Church
    Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
    Saint-Remy-de-Provence
    Saint-Vincent Cemetery
    Sculpture
    Senlis
    Serendipity
    Shopping
    Sliceoflife
    Slice Of Life
    Small Paris Pleasures
    Small Town Saturday Night
    Social Media
    So-Pi
    Springtime In Paris
    Square Des Peupliers
    Square Montsouris
    St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral
    Street Food
    Suzanne Valadon
    Suzy Solidor
    Sylvia Beach
    Texas
    The Avignon Papacy
    The-dreyfus-affair
    The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
    The Louvre
    The Moose
    The National Archives
    The Pantheon
    The-paris-effect
    The Pink City
    Toulouse
    Toulouse-Lautrec
    Tourrettes-sur-Loup
    Travel
    Travel Advice
    Travel Planning
    Troyes
    U.N. World Climate Conference
    Urban Art
    Uzès
    Vacation
    Vacation Planning Food
    Vel D'Hiver
    Vichy
    Vieille Bourse
    Vieux Nice
    Villa Eilenroc
    Villefranche-de-Conflent
    Villeneuve-les-Avignon
    Vincent Van Gogh
    Walking
    Walking Paris
    Willi Ronis
    Wine
    Wine Festival
    WWII
    #WWII France
    WWII Paris
    WWII Provence
    Yachts
    Yves Saint Laurent

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.