La Cale

Things are swaying high up in Belleville! Especially since the pirate Matthieu Lévy, who is always on the lookout for beautiful natural wines, opened up a second spot a mere stone’s throw from his Mediterranean bistro Petit Navire. Like a lighthouse in the night, his jazzy, funky wine shop (ocean-blue walls, portholes everywhere) is home to no fewer than 150 impressive labels, which you can savor by the glass (a blend of Grolleau and Cabernet franc from Anjou produced by the Vaillant family at €6 a glass), or by the bottle for a €10 corkage fee – a Gard Grenache-Muscat pet’ nat’ from Imogen Berry and Robin Althoff (€22), a Gaillac Braucol from the Domaine de Brousse (€16), or a rare Aude Chasan from Frédéric Palcios (€21). And to stay afloat in this sea of wine: black and green Kalamata olives from Profil Grec, homemade lumpfish roe taramasalata served with bread from the nearby Urban Bakery, scallop and pear carpaccio in a summer berry vinaigrette, lemony yogurt mousse with sponge cake and caramelized almonds… // Henriette Ma 

The bullet-proof bottle: A skin-contact Cartoixà Vermell, a Catalan rosé grape varietal cleverly vinified by Cellar 9+ (€20).