As sommelier a great deal of my time consists in selecting, becoming acquainted with and tasting various wines. At the Ciel Bleu Restaurant I complement the taste experience of the dishes with matching wines. Once in a while I meet guests who do not enjoy drinking wine. For these guests, I have sought out some alternatives.

Wine sometimes has a high level of acidity. An ardent wine drinker has become used to this taste; one’s taste buds become acquainted with this flavour, so to speak. It’s likely that your first wine was a sweet, white wine. Sweet wines in fact have lower acidity, which makes the wine milder, with a smoother taste. Pinot Gris from the Alsace is such a wine. It has a relatively low level of acidity, through which the flavour seems fuller and softer, tending toward velvety (a bit like peach).

An alternative to a glass of wine might be a cocktail with fruit flavours. The sweetness of the alcohol might then be lacking but we can manipulate that with sugar. Or a cocktail with clove and black currants could replace a glass of Chateauneuf du Pape.

Perhaps you don’t like the taste of alcohol? If this is indeed the case, then I have an appealing proposal. As it happens I recently tasted a non-alcoholic wine for the first time, Jus de Raisin by Paul Giraud. This could serve as an alternative to sparkling wine. The type of grape Paul Giraud uses for his Jus de Raisin is the Unie Blanc, a grape with nuances of freshness. Jus de Raisin is made from hand-picked grapes from Paul Giraud’s 35 hectares in the Grand Champagne in the Cognac region. Jus de Raisin has never been fermented and thus contains no alcohol. Fermentation is avoided by pasteurising the grape juice; then carbonation is added to maximise the refreshing effect.

I hope to be able to welcome you in the Ciel Bleu Restaurant soon, so that we can together consider which beverages match your personal tastes.

Culinary regards, Noël Vanwittenbergh