I met Olivier Magny of O Chateau in 2007 when he was first starting out doing wine tastings at his loft. He’s come a long way since then with a two-story wine tasting and restaurant facility, world wide recognition, two books, a popular blog, and a TV series.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
Born and raised in Paris!! Everybody in my family is full-on Parisian (and you thought your family was dysfunctional!).
How old were you when you had your first taste of wine and what was the experience like?
Can’t really recall that one precisely. So I guess blur would be a good adjective to describe that experience. I’m afraid it still very much applies to a number of my more recent wine drinking adventures.
When and how did you come up with the idea to start wine tastings?
We’ll be celebrating the ten years of O Chateau in a few months. It’s a wonderful milestone to pass – the support and enthusiasm of our clients over the years has just been incredible. I feel indebted to each and every one of them.
Now, the idea for O Chateau came first from my desire not to fall into the trap of corporate life. I decided to follow my heart and my instincts instead. It was very silly and when I look back at this 23-year-old boy with a passion for wine, I think he was officially loco!
I could not stand the wine jargon and all the snooty aspect of the wine world (still can’t to tell you the truth): I thought to myself that there had to be another way to talk about wine and help people gain confidence and knowledge. That’s how it all started.
Obviously you have many Americans doing wine tastings at O Chateau. Are their notions and ideas about wine different than the French?
Yes. Big time. One of the most surprising elements these past ten years have taught me is that on average, Americans know more about wine than French people. It sounds hard to believe, but if you look at the bigger picture of how wine drinking has evolved on either side of the pond over the past two or three decades, it actually makes sense.
Now obviously, with wine becoming more mainstream in the US, a whole culture is now associated with it. Words like “Fun”, “Elegant”, “Healthy”, etc. come to mind. What’s surprising is that these words are pretty much a 180 from the ones French propagandists have been shoving down French people’s throats over the past twenty years. In short, with friends like the French government, the wine world needs no enemy.
What are some of your personal favorite affordable wines?
So many of them. One of the greatest things about France is how affordable wine is. It is not a myth.
So, if you’re looking for good value whites, explore Alsace and the Loire. For good value reds, the Beaujolais, the Languedoc or the South West.
What are some of the wine trends in France now?
Well, French wine is clearly going through a Renaissance right now. It’s tremendous – and it’s going unnoticed by a lot of people who view French wine as too complicated or too fancy for some reason.
More and more châteaux have been turning their back to excessive usage of chemicals. So organic and biodynamic wines are clearly on the up.
Another trend is wine made with little (or no) added sulfites. Overall, it’s a very exciting time to be drinking wine!
Now as far as wine drinking goes, the culture of wine bars is picking up in Paris. It’s great and truly heart warming to see that more and more Parisians are keen to spend an evening just trying new wines and having fun doing it! At O Chateau, we offer 40 wines by the glass every night: it’s just a great feeling to see Parisians and foreigners mingle and have fun, just because they all love wine.
Please tell us about your latest book Into Wine: An Invitation to Pleasure.
It’s a very special book for me. The idea behind it was to help the reader gain a much better understanding of wine. That means zero jargon and zero BS. Instead, a bit of humor, a few busted myths, and lots of tips and recommendations.
At the end of the day, learning about wine changed me, it changed my views on a number of topics that go far beyond wine. That’s also the story this book shares.
Le Monde recently wrote “No one had explained wine like that before”. That’s always nice to hear. But all in all, my greatest pride is the reviews on INTO WINE’s Amazon page.
What are some misconceptions people have about wine?
That it’s complicated. Wine is really not that complicated. What matters is to have the keys to understand it. I give these keys both in our classes and in the book.
Another frequent misconception a lot of Americans have is that the French keep their good wines for themselves. Or that wineries add sulfites when they ship their wines to the US: urban legends!
If you were stuck on a desert island and had to choose one wine to drink, what would it be and what one food would you have to go with it?
It’d be between Léon Barral’s Jadis, and Château de Fonsalette’s Côte du Rhône.
Food’s easy: profiteroles.
That would be a glorious way to die.
What do you prefer about Paris?
The tremendous beauty and the boulangeries.
Click here to order Into Wine: An Invitation to Pleasure on Amazon
New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour
