Eustache Deschamps in Paris

Showtime in Paris.

At its busiest moments the Maison du Danemark has quite a few guests both friday and saturday. Along the walls each of the 16 tables presenting different wines each have both guests to serve and talk to, and in the middle of the room and in the peripheria of the tables, more are queing up to be served.

The Danish Embassys presentation of Danish winemakers in Paris each day attracts around 200 guests, who cover a range from highly specialized winejournalists to sommeliers and restaurant-owners to Danish foreign correspondents, wineclubs and people with a general interest. You will find anything from the uttermost expertise to ditto lack of the most general knowledge. Common however is a big interest in learning more.

We use - like most of the others - a simple decoration: Table, white tablecloth, a couple of chairs and a map to be able to point out our area - Cote de Blancs and the smalltown Vertus - and leaflets that present the cooperative and its wines. Amongst the other winemakers some have brought their fields into the room with a little collection of dry branches, leftovers from the winter pruning of the plants. Some have brought a piece of their field, a rather big and pretty piece of slate. And then others presents samples of local specialities to eat with the wine. The cheese and sausage is presented on blue and white Royal Copenhagen porcelain. A true holy trinity of French and Danish culture.

We pour drinks from the entire range of Eustache Deschamps: The normal Brut, a couple of Blanc de Blancs-champagnes made of pure white grapes to the rosé champagnes, one is the colour of salmon and the other a pretty and dark pink. In general a lot of people appreciate the new Millésimé Blanc de Blancs champagne with made of grapes from 1999 - Le Vertueux - others think it tastes too much white wine and prefer the normal Brut, a blend of red and white grapes. Also the visitors pay quite some interest in the Rosé Saignée with its extraordinary deep colour, which originates from leaving the skin of red grapes in the juice for some days.

Pictures from the exhibition: BK wine
List of participants: Maison du Danemark