Food and drink

Sitting down in a wine bar means giving priority to congeniality. The setting, food and drink all play their part in the success of a moment dedicated to the good life.

The atmosphere changes, depending on whether you’re having lunch or dinner. At lunchtime, especially on weekdays, wine bars welcome customers in a hurry yet nevertheless eager to taste life’s gustatory pleasures, just for a break. More often than not, this will mean the daily special and a glass of wine. Great French trad-itions invite them-selves into the dishes, thus offering “cassoulet”, stuffed cabbage, “blanquette de veau”... In the evening, everything changes. You push open the door with family (though children are rarely brought along) or friends, and no longer bother to check your watch. While the plate of cold meats and cheese is still popular (mostly straight from Italy and Corsica), tasty little dishes also have their fans. Chalked up on the slate, they give priority to fresh and seasonal produce. At La Part des Anges and Vinivore, run respectively by Olivier Labarde and Bonaventure Blankstein, you’ll find grand’ma’s recipes long tried and tested : ribs of pork, dumplings and grated truffles, shoulder of lamb with Albenga lemon, Saint-Jacques scallops and creamy pumpkin soup or stewed pork with lentils and “Brie de Meaux”... At La Cave de l’Origine, the chef proposes a long forgotten vegetable gratin, fresh “foie gras” with unrefined salt and thin strips of duck in soy sauce, in a very “wine bistro” atmosphere with shelves and racks for bottles and jars. Requiring neither plates or dishes, there are also the “tapas” or sandwich options, eternally popular. And what about wine ? After all, that’s the real reason why we choose these addresses. All connoisseurs, our hosts like to share their favourites, their discoveries ; they advise, suggest associations betweens dishes and wines and, of course, recommend moderation. “We too often wait for a special occasion to open a good bottle of wine, yet it should be just the opposite. Opening a bottle is already an event in itself,” says Franck Obadia of Les Caves Bianchi. He knows what he’s talking about, he who invites his guests into his vaulted 17th-century cellars to share and appreciate the products of France and Navarre. La Cave Wilson, another wine bar in Nice, counts on its “sommelier” Antoine to select the best labels from around the world. Here, no boundaries to contain reds, rosés, whites or champagne, with jazz every Saturday night to accompany wine tastings and tours of the realm of Bacchus. In Cannes, at La Cave Croisette, it is not really about music, but rather theme nights revolving around products, vine stocks, local gems. At all these addresses, one finds the same motto : enjoy the fun, forget inebriation.

Carnet

Two addresses, one in Nice, the other in Cannes, for La Cave Bianchi, an essential rendez-vous dedicated to wine. Both worth a visit, as much for their decor as for their bottles.

Vinivore, a wine bar/cellar all decked out in light wood. Here, as at La Part des Anges, pride of place goes to discoveries, small producers and vineyards that are little known but deserve wider renown. As a result, pleasant surprises are on the agenda.

Cave Croisette, 151 rue d’Antibes, Cannes (04 92 59 14 22). Cave du Marché, 5 marché Forville, Cannes (04 93 99 60 98). Cave Bianchi, 7 rue Raoul Bosio, Nice (04 93 85 65 79) et 5 rue Maréchal Joffre, Cannes (04 93 39 44 56). La Part des Anges, 17 rue Gubernatis, Nice (04 93 62 69 80). Vinivore, 32 avenue de la République, Nice (04 93 26 90 17). Cave de l’Origine, 3 rue Dalpozzo, Nice (04 83 50 09 60). Cave Wilson, 16 rue Gubernatis, Nice (04 93 85 33 10).

By Cécile Olivéro.