I once brought my semi-adopted French granny -- an impossibly cultured & preposterously erudite Parisian haute-bourgeois intellectual -- this wine for dinner. She was a) of the opinion that the only red wine worth drinking was Cabernet Franc from Saumur, and b) that Beaumes-de-Venise was exclusively sweet and fortified... which it was, in her day. She was certain that her Cali kid had committed a grave vinous faux pas -- and was then mind-blown (époustouflée!) at how much she liked it, and how well it went with the coq au vin. Even without all that sentimental claptrap? This is one the best wines from southern France in the store, and often beats Chateauneufs at twice the price.
