France Magazine - Interview Paul Hobbs

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French food & drink in America

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A PROPOS...

Paul Hobbs

PINK IS BIG

It’s not so easy to make something easy to drink.

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— David Hénault, Nicolas Feuillatte’s new cellar master, at a tasting of Champagnes at Le Cirque, blocks from where the legendary Feuillatte had an apartment in the 1950s

Between 2010 and 2011, exports of PROVENCE ROSÉS to the United States soared 62 percent in volume and 49 percent in value. One contributing factor must be the magnum craze, which has taken hold from the yachts of St. Tropez to the beaches of the Hamptons. Some of these big bottles are super sleek, others are just plain pretty, and all say “summer party!” in a language that everyone can understand.

When choosing these dry, crisp wines, aficionados go for the palest pinks—a sign of expert winemaking.

Shown here: Domaine Mas de Cadenet rosé, $40.

THE KID FROM BUFFALO WHO BECAME MONSIEUR MALBEC

In the 1990s, California winemaker Paul Hobbs helped put Argentina on the modern wine map, thanks to his groundbreaking work with the Malbec grape, reputedly introduced to that country in 1868 by a French agricultural engineer. At the time, he was consulting with the Nicolás Catena dynasty in Mendoza; years later, he met French winemaker Bertrand Vigouroux, who eventually invited him to collaborate on his family’s celebrated vineyards in Cahors. How could Hobbs refuse? Cahors is the historic epicenter of Malbec, grown there since 50 B.C. and used to make its famous “black wine.”

Still, a less confident man might have been intimidated. The Vigouroux family has been in the wine business since founding its wine brokerage firm in 1887, and Bertrand’s father, Georges, was instrumental in obtaining Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status for Cahors in 1971. And although the family’s four châteaux have centuries of history, the owners are decidedly forwardlooking, branching into wine tourism (one of their properties is a Relais & Châteaux) and online wine sales while launching two brands that retail for less than $20 a bottle. But for Hobbs, the offer was a unique chance to gain experience that could raise the bar for Malbecs worldwide. Four years on, he talks with us about his Cahors adventure.

Food Fête The French culinary world rejoiced when UNESCO added the “French Gastronomic Meal” to its “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list in 2010; now, the Fête de la Gastronomie invites French and foreigners alike to share in this time-honored Gallic tradition.

Inaugurated last year, the all-day and all-night affair was celebrated throughout France with 6,000 events in nearly 2,000 towns and cities—one of the largest was in Avignon, which staged a banquet for 500 people on the Place du Palais des Papes.

Several French-speaking countries also participated; this year, the party will extend to New York and Tokyo (the U.S. and Japan have the largest number of Michelin-starred chefs outside of France).

Created by France’s Economy Ministry, the fête highlights French culinary savoir-faire and innovation. Which may explain the “restaurant bus” that planners say will drive around Paris with a different chef on board every night for the week leading up to the big night on September 22, the first day of fall.

Three-star chef Michel Guérard is the honorary chairman of the 2012 event, whose theme is “Terroir.”

Festival director Sophie Mise notes that the fête isn’t just for professional foodies; the idea is to make it accessible to everyone—some events will even be free. What to expect? Everything from special restaurant menus and wine tastings to picnics and cookouts. For more information on hosting or attending events in New York or France, visit fete-gastronomie.fr/en/.

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How did your collaboration with Vigouroux get started? Initially, Bertrand wanted to launch a joint venture, but I thought it would be better for me to begin as a consultant. So I started working with them on the top wines from their most highly regarded properties: Château de Haute-Serre, Château de Mercuès and Château Leret-Monpezat. All are in Cahors, but each has a very distinct geology. The first vintage involving my input was the 2009.

D D M / M A R C S A LV E T

• Bordeaux: The Wines, The Vineyards, The Winemakers: A New Look at the World’s Most Famous Wine Region by Oz Clarke. One of Britain’s most popular wine writers (he also boasts a sizeable fan base on this side of the Atlantic), Clarke has revised and updated this dazzlingly thorough introduction to France’s storied wine region. Chock-full of details about Bordeaux’s different winegrowing areas and practical information such as “best buys,” this wine tutorial and travel guide will quench your thirst for knowledge while stimulating your appetite for the fruit of the vine. Sterling Epicure, $35.

COURTESY OF M AS D E CA D ENE T

mille feuilles • The Art of Cooking with Vegetables by Alain Passard. In 2001, this renowned chef shocked the culinary world when he declared that he would devote himself exclusively to exploring the potential of vegetables.

With that, he removed 12 signature meat-based dishes from the menu of his three-star restaurant, L’Arpège, in Paris. With this book, illustrated with his fanciful collages, he invites readers to prepare 48 seasonal recipes that he describes as “a special gift” to L’Arpège, now fêting its 25th year. The “June-July” section kicks off with a recipe for “Passion fruit, stuffed and baked like a crumble.” A work of art. Frances Lincoln Ltd., $29.95.

Talking black wine with…

By DOROTHY J. GAITER

What challenges have you faced? The vineyards were planted well but were poorly managed; they also had very outdated equipment. We have already made tremendous improvements without having to make big

financial investments. What we’ve done is clean up what they originally had and make operations more quality-oriented. We did install drip irrigation—this has been allowed in some areas of France for only a few years, so we’re pioneers.

We did it because the vines were struggling.

is successful, the logical next step might be to buy land together. Right now, each party infuses equal amounts of seed capital. They provide all the vital local knowledge and resources, and I supply the expertise and experience that I typically bring to a project. That includes managing the vineyards, deciding when to pick the grapes, everything that has to do with how the wine is made. We grow the wine from grape to glass.

What do you value most from this experience? Being a part of an extremely old wine region, arguably the motherland of Malbec. I find that very intriguing. I just love being able to understand the varietal better. Cahors is particularly fascinating geologically, with many types of soil and stones.

I’m still trying to figure out why Malbec survived in this region Bertrand Vigouroux and Paul Hobbs at Les Journées and not others. The soil here Internationales de Malbec in Cahors. has little pellets of iron and a Did the French have any problems taking wonderful aroma. I love the way it smells after advice from an American? We both wanted a rain, of game birds, legumes and that sort of to enhance the image of Cahors wines by thing. It is enchanting, similar to the soil of my improving quality and product consistency, and childhood in New York. It has a richness to it, they were interested in my long experience with a true earthiness, something we don’t have in Malbec. They knew that I had a lot of expertise California. There’s a broader palette of flavors with soil and climate and how they relate to that and textures. particular varietal. I had also learned a lot about water management for that grape. Malbec is like You are now involved with some 20 vineyards a camel; it has a membrane that holds water worldwide. I hear your love affair with wine better than other grapes, which allows it to started back in 1969. Yes, at my family’s home tolerate more extreme heat. on an apple farm near Buffalo, NY. My mother forbade alcohol in the house, but my dad loved And you did eventually agree to that joint wine and wanted to get into the winemaking venture…. Yes, the first vintage of our yet-tobusiness, and he smuggled a 1962 Château be-named wine—a Malbec, of course—was d’Yquem into the house. It opened my eyes to produced in 2011; we are aiming for a U.S. what a wine could be. Mom initially thought it was release in fall 2014. Quantities will be very limited. fruit juice, then kicked us both out of the house and we had to spend the night around a bonfire— How does your partnership work? Bertrand Dad because he brought it into the house, and f Vigouroux and I have a 50-50 partnership. If it me because I enjoyed it so much.

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