Category: Food & Wine
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The Burgundy Ritual That Happens Before a Single Grape Is Picked
Every autumn in Burgundy, before the harvest begins, winemakers walk their neighbour’s rows as carefully as their own. This is the unwritten ritual that has shaped the world’s greatest wine region.
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Why the French Never Eat Lunch Alone, Standing Up, or in a Rush
In France, lunch is never rushed. Every midday, brasseries fill, streets quiet down, and the two-hour lunch ritual plays out as it has for generations. Here’s why.
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Why France’s Most Famous Oysters Are Eaten Before 10 in the Morning
At the Arcachon Basin, France’s oyster heartland, the real ritual happens before tourists wake up — fresh oysters, cold white wine, and a wooden dock over the water.
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Why Every Bottle of Champagne Spends Years in the Dark Underground
Beneath the chalk hills of northeast France, 300 million bottles of Champagne sleep in ancient Roman tunnels. Here is what really happens underground — and why it matters.
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Why the French Treat the Hour Before Dinner as Sacred
Discover why the French treat the hour before dinner as sacred — and how a simple glass of wine became one of France’s most beloved daily rituals.
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Why France Has a Law That Decides Exactly What Goes Into Your Baguette
France has a law protecting the traditional baguette. Discover the 1993 Bread Decree, why it matters, and how to spot the real thing in any boulangerie.
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The Forgotten Villages Living Inside Bordeaux’s Greatest Wine Estates
Drive east from Bordeaux on a summer morning and the landscape changes quickly. The suburbs dissolve. The vines begin. And then, almost without warning, you pass through something that no wine map has ever bothered to mark — a village. Stone houses, a church tower, a fountain catching the light. Life, happening between the rows.…
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Why Every French Family Disappears for Three Hours Every Sunday
Sometime around noon on a Sunday in France, something remarkable happens. Villages go quiet. Car parks empty. Cafés pull down their shutters. And from behind closed doors and kitchen windows, extraordinary smells begin drifting into the street. France has gone to lunch — and it will be a while before it comes back. Photo: Love…
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The French Breakfast: What to Order in a Boulangerie
What to order at a French boulangerie for breakfast — from fresh croissants and tartines to café crème. Your practical guide to le petit déjeuner.
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French Markets: How to Find Them and What to Buy
Your guide to French markets: how to find them, what to buy from cheese to lavender, market etiquette tips and the best marchés across France.