Food of Paris. Marie-Noel Rio

      A cheese shop worthy of the name will offer a large range of perfectly ripe cheeses.

      We will not discuss pasteurized cheeses here, those mass-produced dairy products sold in refrigerator cases (the surest way of destroying any semblance of taste), but of farmhouse cheeses that generations of craftsmen have made sublime. In Paris they are sold by merchants who have a real love of their profession, who age them in their cellars and sell them only in season and only when ripe. It is not a job for the faint-hearted. Some fragile cheeses have a delicate maturing process, followed by a few fleeting days of perfection and then rapid deterioration. Without any preservatives, a fresh set cheese can quickly turn sour. A scrupulous shopkeeper will discard any product that is past its prime. His reputation, the foundation of continued prosperity, will gain from what he might lose in his short-term profits.

      The most famous cow's milk cheeses are the soft cheeses with a mild rind like the coulommiers from the Ile-de-France region outside Paris, brie from Meaux or camembert from Normandy. There are cured soft cheeses, often in brine, like Pont l'évêque and Livarot from Normandy or Maroilles, that was documented in the 12th century and the heart-shaped Rollot that Louis XIV loved (both from northern France). There are pressed, uncooked cheeses like Reblochon from the Alps, Saint-nectaire (best in summer and autumn) and Cantal, both from central France and described in Diderot's encyclopedia. And finally there are the pressed cooked varieties, including the famous Alpine Grayère, and Comté and Beaufort, from the region of Franche-Comté.

      The Vacherin-mont-d'or from the Jura is eaten with a spoon and is available in the winter months only. Epoisses is aged with marc, spirits of Burgundy wine. Pungent Munster from Alsace is given more character with cumin seeds. Saint-marcellin from the Dauphiné melts onto its straw mat, and was much to the taste of Louis XI.

      Don't overlook the delicacy of fromage frais, fresh cheese, curdled and drained, that is served as a dessert either plain, with salt and pepper, sweetened with sugar or with fruit sauces or compotes. Pick a fromage frais that is not industrial, made from whole milk and has not had air whipped into it. Faisselle from the Lyon region, topped with fresh cream, are a little taste of heaven.

      Blue cheeses, cultivated with penicillium, are made from cow's milk, like the Fourme d'Ambert, or the blues from Auvergne, Causses or Gex, or from ewe's milk, like the most famous blue, the Roquefort, that Casanova claimed to be an aphrodisiac in his memoirs.

      Ewe's milk cheese are generally found in the Beam like Esbareich, in Basque country like Ardigasna or in Corsica like Venaco. In Provence, there is a fresh curdled cheese, the Brousse de Rove, a cousin of Corsican Broccio.

      Goat's cheeses form a large family: Cabecou from Gascony, Crottin de Chavignol, Loire Valley Sainte-maure, Valençay, Pouligny-saint-pierre, Brique de Forez, Pélardon from the Cévennes, Banon from Provence, Picodon de Dieulefit washed in white wines are but a few examples.

      Wine, the crown jewel of French pride, demands, if not knowledge and experience, then at least a degree of respect. So Balzac was seen to stop a diner who was too quick to down a fine bottle "This is a wine, my friend, to be caressed with the eyes." "And then?" "Then you breathe it in." "And then?" "You put it back on the table, without touching it, piously." "And then?" "Then you talk about it."

      The quality of a wine depends on its cru (the vineyard that produced it), its millésime (vintage, or year of production) and its appellation (AOC: appellation d'origine contrôlée, reserved for fine wines from a particular clearly defined area; YDQS, vin déimité de qualité supérieure, used for region wines often of excellent quality; and vin de pays, the most modest appellation, but which includes many honest products that have been elaborated with care). "Table wines" offer no guarantees whatsoever. They are often haphazard blends of the least appealing products the vines have to offer.

      When it comes to tasting a wine, its age is a determining factor. Each wine has its moment of excellence, that must be waited for, but must not be exceeded. Too young, and a wine will not have had the time to develop its qualities. Too old, and these qualities will have disappeared. Other factors include opening the bottle, allowing it to breathe, its serving temperature, and perhaps decanting. If you have any doubt, ask a specialist.

      France has six main wine-growing regions. Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Côtes-du-Rhône, and the Loire Valley, to which are added neighboring regions, doubtless less prestigious but often excellent and—thanks to their prices—extremely popular.

      Alsace produces mostly spicy white wines, from simple light wines (Sylvaner, Pinot blanc) to fruitier wines (Pinot gris, Gewurztraminer, muscat), by way of the Riesling, a fine grape variety with a well-deserved reputation. The vendanges tardives or late harvest wines, made from grapes left on the vine until the first frost, are magnificent, rich in natural sugars and fragrance (not to mention high in price, and rightly so). Let's not forget the Crémant, a sparkling wine made in the same way champagne is, and Pinot Noir, the only red grown in the region.

      Bordeaux country, which has exported its wines to northern Europe since the 13th century, benefits from an incomparable reputation. It should be noted that only a handful of the chateaux mentioned on the labels actually refer to an aristocratic home, or even a particular vineyard. The word is merely a term used for commercial purposes. Along side the cms classes representing some of the most sought after and costliest wines in the world, Bordeaux offers more affordable crus bourgeois, and crus artisans that are modest but often of fine quality.

      The main wines of Bordeaux are the prestigious red médocs (Médoc, Haut-médoc, Moulis, Listrac, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe), plus Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Lalande-de-pomerol, excellent Fronsacs, Graves, and remarkable reds and whites from Pessac-Léog-nan. Reputed sweet wines include Sauternes and Barsacs, and Loupiacs that are a little gentler on the pocketbook. And then there are the Côtes (de Bordeaux, de Francs, de Castillon, de Blaye, and especially de Bourg) and the plain whites from Entre-DDeux-Mers. Beware of generic appellations like Bordeaux, Bordeaux blanc sec or Bordeaux Supérieur.