Hey guys!
We were in Paris for the past few days and the city gave us a little bit of everything: a Monday night pizza party with friends from New York, a late night stop to a brasserie that never sleeps, and a rare chance to drink one of the Loire Valley’s most elusive wines. Hope you enjoy! 🍷
A Pizza Party in Paris 🍕
A Monday night with Sauced, L’Industrie, and Sons of Wine at Rori
On Monday night in Paris, we teamed up with Sauced, one of New York’s best wine bars, and Brooklyn’s cult-favorite L’Industrie Pizza to throw a pizza and wine party at Rori, easily one of the Paris’s top slice shops.
Pictured: L’industrie Pizza
The idea was simple: good pizza, good wine, good music. L’Industrie turned out their signature pies (impressively close to their pizza in Brooklyn) while Sauced set the tone with the crowd and Sauced Radio on the decks. Plus, Rori’s shop gave us the perfect backdrop.
Pictured: Rori Pizza Shop
At one point the party spilled onto the sidewalk, glasses in hand, crowds drifting down the street in true Paris fashion.
Pictured: Sauced x L’industrie x Rori x SVB Pop-up
All of the wines came from Sons of Wine, an Alsatian producer I worked harvest with last year. Pouring the wines I worked on felt like a full-circle moment, and they paired seamlessly with the pizzas, disappearing almost as quickly as they were opened.
Pictured: Sons of Wine Bottles
This was the best kind of night. Pies kept flying out of the oven, bottles emptied as fast as they appeared, and the wine was tasting beautifully. Huge thanks to Sauced, L’Industrie, and Rori for letting me tag along.
Paris’s 24-Hour Brasserie 🐷
Inside Au Pied de Cochon, where the kitchen never sleeps
On my last night in Paris, at an hour far too late to justify, I found myself walking into one of the most surreal restaurants I’ve ever visited in the city. What began as an ordinary evening bled into the kind of late hours when nearly everything is shut tight. Just as it seemed there was nowhere left to go, a friend steered me toward Au Pied de Cochon, a 24-hour brasserie legendary for its seafood towers and, true to its name, pig’s feet.
Pictured: Au Pied de Cochon, Image by Secret Paris
Walking in, I couldn’t believe a place like this existed. It looked like the archetype of a Parisian brasserie: gilded mirrors and chandeliers, banquettes stretching endlessly across the room, and opulent décor that makes you feel like you’ve walked straight into a film set. I sat down still half in disbelief, only to watch my friend order a towering platter of oysters, shrimp, and crab alongside a deep-fried pig’s foot, as if this was the most normal late-night snack in the world.
Pictured: Pig’s Feet, Image by TimeOut
When the food hit the table, the absurdity turned into indulgence. We dug into the feast, still amazed at the sheer spectacle of it all. I’ll admit, the wine list was nothing to write home about, but I managed to track down a decent bottle of Clos de la Roilette from Beaujolais to keep our meal company. Still, this isn’t the kind of place you come for wine. You come because it’s three in the morning, nothing else is open, and there’s a brasserie ready to serve oysters and pig’s feet like it’s dinnertime.
Pictured: Clos de la Roilette
And sure, the food was definitely not the best I had on the trip, but for a 5 a.m. visit, I’m just happy it happened. Make sure you head there if you’re looking for some late night bites in Paris.
Producer Highlight ⭐
One of our favorite parts of wine is the discovery: we’re constantly being put on to new regions, producers, and cuvées from our friends. We’ll never be able to try EVERY wine, but we want to take a moment to mention some producers that excite us!
Stéphane Bernaudeau 🍷
Location: Anjou, Loire Valley, France
Pictured: Anjou, Loire Valley, Image by Britannica
In the Loire Valley’s Anjou, Stéphane Bernaudeau farms just three hectares with singular devotion. For fifteen years he worked alongside Mark Angeli at La Ferme de la Sansonnière, learning how attentive farming and low yields could elevate dry Chenin Blanc in a region long associated with sweet wine. In 2000, he bottled his first vintage under his own name, and by 2015 he stepped away from Angeli’s cellar to devote himself entirely to his own domaine.
Pictured: Stéphane Bernaudeau, Image by Grand Cru
He bottles only three wines, all Chenin Blanc, each deeply tied to its site: Les Onglés, from 30 year old vines rooted in schist; Les Terres Blanches, grown on limestone and clay; and the regal Les Nourrissons, from 0.7 hectares planted in 1910, among the oldest Chenin vines in the valley. Horses still till the soils, and the vines, rarely wire-trained, recall an older way of farming. In the cellar, Stéphane gives the wines full autonomy: gentle pressing, native fermentation, élevage for as long as needed, and bottling without fining or filtration.
Pictured: Les Ongles, Image by Leon & Sons
The results are Chenins of staggering intensity and texture, wines that seem to vibrate with energy: pure, tensile, saline. Bernaudeau’s tiny domaine is proof that the future of Loire Chenin lies not in volume or category, but in patience, precision, and fidelity to place.
Pictured: Les Ongles at A La Renaissance
Full disclosure: these wines are notoriously difficult to find, and often pricey when they do appear. Until recently, we’d only been lucky enough to taste them once or twice. But last week in Paris, at the reopening of a classic restaurant, À La Renaissance, we spotted a bottle of Les Onglés on the list at a surprisingly reasonable price and couldn’t resist. When I say it’s one of the best Chenins I’ve ever had, I’m not exaggerating. There was a perfect matchstick reduction layered over Chenin’s hallmark honey, apple, and mineral notes, truly a special bottle, and one we feel fortunate to have experienced.
If you do want to try his wines, I believe Flatiron Wine and Spirits has a tiny stock:
That’s it for today! We’ll be sure to share a list of some of our favorite Paris spots sometime soon.
Thanks so much for reading along and as always, drink responsibly. 🥂