“When I hear people say that wine is just grape juice, it annoys me,” huffs Bruno Queinoux. “Wine isn’t the same color as the fruit itself. If it were just grape juice, I would quit my job!” The wine shop owner knows what he’s talking about: the son and brother of winemakers who grew up surrounded by barrels of wine, a sourcer of gems for nearly forty years now, the founder of Bibo Vino in 2004 and the owner of PhiloVino since 2010 (camped out in the 5th arrondissement until 2018), he boasts a collection of nearly 750 labels that extends across the various regions of France: Aviet in the Jura, Durand in Cornas, Loberger in Alsace, Clos Cibonne in Provence, Rousseau in Burgundy… His recommendations, the day we went? A Greek Xinomavro rosé from the Thymiopoulos estate (€19 a bottle) and Renaissance, a 2015 Chinon red from Martine Budé, aged for five years in vats (€24). Expensive wines, budget-friendly wines, it doesn’t matter, so long as the terroir is present! // A.N.
The bullet-proof bottle: La Tâche 1996, a vintage from La Romané-Conti that you can acquire for the modest sum of €4,200.
