Barbra Austin

This was a fine way to spend my first night back in Paris.

Heaven.

We went to Le Repaire de Cartouche to drink, but we ate surprisingly well.

It’s likely that I will never have dinner at Le Comptoir.

“Sans soufre” sounds a lot like “sans souffrir”, but sadly they are not synonymous, because I could drink large quantities of this wine. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Don’t worry, we didn’t actually start singing.

An Aussie looking for a new girlfriend or perhaps her liquid replacement. A young woman on crutches who won a trip to Paris on, I kid you not, The Price is Right. Her posse of so-Cal gal pals. A red-suited lady with a voice clearly cultivated in Manhattan. A cheerful, Brunello-loving couple from Colorado. A Japanese fashionista.

What do these people have in common? They were all at a recent Tour de France of Wine at O-Chateau, ostensibly to learn something about les vins de France. Did they retain anything from the two hour, six wine tasting? I’m doubtful.

Did they enjoy themselves? Oh yes.

“With every step down, you travel back in time 75 years.” So says the proprietor of Spirito di Vino, a family-operated, wine-centric restaurant in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood. He was talking about the steps down to the ancient wine cellar that sits below the dining room, but he could have been describing any subterranean staircase in Rome.