One To Wine

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Interview by Blasting News: How One To Wine innovates during Covid-19

Blasting News, a French Media, has interviewed us about the consequences of Covid-19. Please find below the Interview by Blasting News: How One To Wine innovates during Covid-19 !

French article from Blasting News here and the English translation below!


To avoid losing their entire revenue, some businesses have preferred to diversify their activity. This is the case of One to Wine.



Interview by Yassine Khelfa from Blasting News



For the past four years, One to Wine has been giving the English the opportunity to taste the very best of French and Italian wines. With its tailor-made ranges, this start-up company, which has less than ten employees, has established itself on the British market at small and large London events. Unfortunately, as their activity is essentially centred on events, the arrival of Covid-19 has brought them to a complete halt.

But these young French people quickly rolled up their sleeves to remotely propose alternative solutions to their customers. All this while formally avoiding encouraging gatherings in the English capital.


One to Wine’s Events & Communication Coordinator, Margaux Fassi, answers questions from Blasting News:


The Coronavirus epidemic has had a major worldwide impact on the hotel, restaurant and retail sector like yours. At the beginning of the epidemic, how did you experience it?

Our activity is composed of 70% by events, 30% by specialised distribution to restaurants, cafes etc. Events were booked until May (200 to 500 people) and they were cancelled one by one. We then decided, before the lockdown was effective, to stop our event activity in order to limit the gatherings and avoid the spread of the virus.


With the containment and social distancing measures, consumption habits were strongly disrupted. Have you experienced a significant drop in your activity?

When the lockdown was announced, sales to restaurants obviously stopped as well. Within three weeks, we faced a total lack of income. That’s why we launched an e-shop for wine delivery, at the beginning of March.

We had originally set it up to survive.

But we didn’t want to become only alcohol sellers, so we came up with the idea of creating Starter-packs. These are mixed cases created by us, allowing customers to discover several wines at the same time. We accompany these tastings with online tastings with our founder Maxime Maiano, and recipes available on our Blog and social networks: Facebook and Instagram.


You are known to hold meetings with winemakers at events such as trade fairs but gatherings have been banned, so have you been strongly affected by this crisis?

It’s true that before Covid-19, we proposed different types of events. Some of them were directly aimed at private individuals with tastings and winemaking courses. We also organised events for companies, like teambuilding workshops (competitions, blind tastings etc). Finally, there is a last branch of our activity: our catering service on events. This is our largest share of income.

These changes have certainly pushed you to change the way you communicate. Can we say that with social networks, your business has been able to survive?

In order to remain present in our community and share our new services, we have set up a more dynamic communication on social networks, consisting of sharing recipes, pairings, tasting tips or advice around the world of wine. You can find all of them on our Booklet (free download here)
I think it will still take more than a year to get back to normal activity. When things gradually get back on track, we will resume our distribution activity to restaurants and continue this delivery system with e-shop.



Home office has become a common method in many countries to keep employees connected. Was this also the case for you? Your sector of activity is nevertheless asking for a lot of advice, face-to-face contact with the customer?


We are very close to our customers and in this wine sector, the sharing of passion is really important. So we wanted to keep in touch with our consumers via our new individual delivery offers and these famous Starter packs, in addition to strengthening our presence on social networks.
At the beginning, our aim was to really simplify the readability of French wines with our own labels on the bottles, easier to read for the British, because they are used to choose a wine according to its grape variety (and not its geographical origin as in France): the British buy a Chardonnay and not a Chablis.
We have therefore created our range by selecting our own wines in France, wines that are environmentally friendly, by labelling them more clearly and by importing them to the UK with the exclusivity.



In France, an agreement on the reopening of restaurants is being refined. But in Germany or Austria, for example, coffee shops and brasseries have been open for a long time. In the United Kingdom, do you know what’s shaping up for you?

In the UK, lockdown is certainly effective, but it is less regulated than in France. People can go out on the street without a certificate. If in France the containment has ended, here in the UK it hasn’t. We have had some information on the reopening of shops that are not essential.

But nothing for restaurants. There are rumours about July and August, but it is not certain yet. Of course, we are waiting impatiently for the restaurants to reopen so that we can gradually resume our distribution activity.


Brexit was already a big news in your area. For a start-up company made up entirely of young French people, your activities have probably been shaken up by an announcement like that?

Yes, in June 2016, when we had just launched our business, the drastic fall in the pound has caused us to lose a lot of margin.

That’s when we decided to launch our events activity in order to make up for this lack of income, while continuing our environmentally friendly approach and taking only sustainable start-ups as partners for our events (Elysia, Bisou les Madeleines, Cheezelo…).


With an event as outstanding and unprecedented as the one we have just experienced, certain public figures such as Robert de Niro or Juliette Binoche are calling on citizens to slow down consumerism and their way of life. Is your company sensitive to new perspectives for the future?

We reject mass consumption at One to Wine. We prefer to go through small producers and we don’t sell in supermarkets. With the lockdown, people have rediscovered home consumption and aperitifs.
In London, which is a dense urban centre with a high level of land ownership, people are pushed to live in small apartments, or even in shared flats, and so they’re used to meet outside their homes.
Before Covid-19, we were not intended to reach people in their homes, but today with this crisis, we are “fortunate” that consumption habits are changing and people are getting used to spending convivial moments at home. That is why we will keep our delivery business. One of our plans for the future is to open a wine bar, but this is more likely to happen in a year or two.


You describe on your site a certain awareness of the preservation of the environment. How is this action really taking shape?

Indeed, this is the origin of the One To Wine project, we only select wines that are 100% environmentally friendly and only work with partners who have the same approach.

We are very careful about how we choose our producers and how we distribute our wines in the UK.

In many cases, even if their wines have the organic certification, the winemakers use copper in their production in France, which is a nonsense as this metal is extremely polluting for the soil. (More info about Organic labels here)
That’s why One To Wine has created its own charter and we control each of our winemakers’ viticultural and winemaking practices. Every year we visit them to check that everything is really produced with respect for the environment.

Furthermore, to take our approach further, we have made calculations and determined the quantities of CO2 emitted for the import, transport and (minimum) packaging of our wines.

Thanks to this calculation, we now compensate these emissions by planting an equivalent number of trees!


In the UK, more than 37,000 people died as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. In the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was also contaminated and his hospitalisation has been the subject of a European-wide web tour. He has since regained his position as head of the British government.

We recall that alcohol abuse is dangerous to health and should be consumed with moderation.

Wine Starter Packs on Delivery

Intentions


Due to the apparition of the CoViD-19 in early March 2020, One To Wine has decided to temporarily close its event activities – to reduce gatherings and fight against the spread of the disease – and consequently started selling wine Starters Packs on delivery.

Unfortunately, One To Wine’s main activity is based on events, organisation of workshops and tastings, to present independent winemakers in the UK.


The question was: how can we continue to share our passion and expertise with our consumers?


Simple: we decided to create an e-Shop and started home wine deliveries.

However, selling wine was not enough for us, so we decided to not only be retailers, but also service providers.

The most important thing for us is to share these moments of conviviality with you and teach you about the world of wine, to welcome you in our world.

In order to continue to offer you our know-how, we have decided to create mixed cases, our wine Starter Packs.

The composition of these cases is carefully thought and allows you to discover and taste, in each one of them, many different origins and variety around a chosen theme.

Because we want to stay as close to you as possible, we accompany these blended cases with several services such as an online tasting with our wine expert, recipes to have the perfect pairings and tasting tips.

We first created a survival kit with a bit of everything: the “Quarantine Starter Pack“, offering a selection of white, red, sparkling and sweet wines. Our best products, at an attractive price.

Then, we wanted to get closer to everyone’s tastes and added a “White Lovers” and a “Red Lovers” to our range of Starter Packs.

This way, everyone can find out which wines they prefer.


What is coming next?


One to Wine wants to continue to diversify its offer.

In addition to selling wines by the bottle, many new Starter Packs are yet to come.

A Cheese & Wine box is in creation with our partner Cheezelo; Starter Packs for summer barbecues, or ideal with vegetarian dishes are also part of our plans.

Stay tuned, we still got great things in mind for you!

It all started with the desire to continue to share our passion with you and today we are doing everything we can to have something to offer to everyone!

Thank you all for your support, we are happy to count you among our community!


The range

Quarantine

Starter Pack


This is the first starter pack we’ve created for you.

Therefore, our first intention was to ease up your lock-down by selecting for you 6 bottles for a special mixed case.

We carefully selected the best value wines we had, as always from independent winemakers respecting their environment, to offer you the best wine experience at a discounted price.

Some red, some white, a sparkling and a dessert wine: the perfect selection for a home quarantine!


All in one case delivered to your door!

Please, find the paired recipes on the blog!

White Lovers

Starter Pack


Want to travel in France and Italy while staying in your kitchen / living room / bedroom / bathroom ?

Here is our selection in order to do so.

You’ll get a range of white wines, from dry to sweet, selected among the most charming vineyards of France and Italy!


Degust these wines with paired recipes available on our blog.

Moreover, for every purchase, our sommelier is offering an online tasting of one wine of your selection, with our sommelier Maxime!

Red Lovers

Starter Pack


Since we had a case with many different kinds of wines and one of mixed whites only, we obviously needed an all-reds Starter Pack!

Therefore, for those who prefer a glass of red, here comes your opportunity to discover new wines that we selected just for you.

In this pack you will find six bottles totalising twelve different grape varieties: from international grapes (Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Grenache, Cabernet, Sauvignon), to less renowned ones (Cinsault, Alicante, Marselan), to even rarer, very local grapes (Braucol, Duras, Refosco, Schioppettino).

It is a journey through Italy and France, one that we made and one that we want to share with you through this unique selection!

The selected wines are :


As well as for the previous Starter Pack, for each case, you can choose one wine and you will be granted an online/video tasting class with our wine expert Maxime.

He will tell you everything you want or need to know about the wine you chose and he will accompany you in this tasteful journey, a sip after another!


Please find more details on our Booklet


For the launch of our new Starter Pack for Red Lovers, we’ve created a free downloadable “Booklet.

Both informative and mouth-watering, it gives you a taste of the Red Lovers Starter Pack and includes :

  • Description of the wines

  • Story about the winemakers

  • Tasting sheets and tips

  • For each wine, pairing or tasting advice with exclusive recipes!

Recipe: What to do with leftover Easter eggs?

What to do with leftover Easter eggs?

Since we are all confined in our homes, we opened our cupboards and looked for an easy recipe to make with everyday ingredients.

One to Wine wants to ease up your quarantine and offers you a series of special Easter recipes that are perfectly paired with the wines from our e-Shop !

Here are special recipes for Easter:



Multi Chocolate Chunks Muffins

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Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 25 min

Ingredients for 15 muffins:

  • 400 g Leftover Easter eggs (dark, milk, white, praline or whatever)

  • 250 g Flour

  • 125 g Sugar

  • 60 g Melted butter

  • 2 Eggs

  • 250 ml Milk

  • 10 g Baking powder

  • 1 pinch of Salt


Recipe :


Begin by washing your hands: the most important step to defeat CoViD-19.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.


Melt the 60 g of butter.

In another bowl, whip the eggs with the milk then add the melted butter.

Pour the egg – milk – butter mixture into the first large bowl.

Mix gently.


Cut your Easter chocolates into chunks.

Fold them into the dough.



Pour the mixture into muffin moulds (silicone moulds or paper cups).


Put in the oven for 25 minutes.

Serve hot or cold!

Enjoy with a glass of Domaine Maison – Crémant de Loire !

Find it on our e-Shop!




Brownie Hiding Easter Eggs

Preparation time: 20 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients :

  • 180 g dark chocolate Easter eggs

  • 110 g Butter

  • 80 g Brown sugar

  • 80 g Flour

  • 1 tspn Baking powder

  • 2 Eggs

  • 1 pinch of Salt

  • 180 g of Easter eggs (dark, milk, white, praline, whatever)

  • 100 g Nuts

Recipe :

Start by washing your hands to fight the CoViD-19!

Preheat the oven at 160°C.


Break your dark chocolate Easter eggs.

Melt dark chocolate and butter over low heat in a saucepan.

Set aside about ten minutes to bring the temperature down.

In the meantime, whisk the eggs in a small bowl.


In another large bowl, combine the sugar, butter/chocolate mixture and whisked eggs.

Add flour, baking powder and salt.

Mix until you get a thick and homogeneous dough.


Finish by incorporating the remaining coarsely chopped Easter chocolates and nuts.

Pour the dough into a mould.


Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve warm, at room temperature or even cold.


It is best enjoyed with a glass of Giovanni Dri – Ramandolo

Available on our e-Shop!




Three Chocolate Cookies

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients:

  • 80 g Brown sugar

  • 80 g Sugar

  • 120 g Butter

  • 1 Egg

  • 200 g Flour

  • 4 g Baking powder

  • 200 g of assorted Easter chocolates

Recipe:

Start by washing your hands to kill the CoViD!

Mix the two sugars, flour and baking powder in a bowl.

Then add the butter cut into pieces and the eggs.


Chop the Easter chocolates.

Add them to the dough.


Preheat your oven at 170°C.

Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.


Create cookie dough balls with spoons or your hands.

Place them on a baking sheet.


Bake for 10 minutes at 170°C.

Let them cool and taste them…


… with a glass of Domaine du Petit Clocher – Blanc !

Find it on the e-Shop

Easy Recipe for Quarantine: Cantonese Rice

Since we are all confined in our homes (sweet homes), we opened our cupboards and looked for an easy recipes to make with everyday ingredients.

One to Wine wants to ease up your quarantine and offers you a series of special quarantine recipes that are perfectly paired with the wines of the Quarantine Starter Pack !

Here is our 4th recipe to combine with your White Wine :

Cantonese Rice with Château Pech-Celeyran – Ombline Blanc


Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 People

Ingredients:

  • 200 g Rice

  • 75 g Chicken fillet

  • 75 g Bacon

  • 2 Onions

  • 2 Eggs

  • 3 tbsp of Peas

  • 2 tbsp of Oil

  • 2 tbsp of Soy sauce

  • Coriander

Recipe:

Start by washing your hands!

Cook the rice and rinse with cold water.

Dice the chicken and the bacon and fry them in a pan.

Chop the onions and fry them in an oiled pan with the peas.

Cook the eggs in a pan into an omelette and cut it into small pieces.

Finally, in a large frying pan, mix the rice, chicken, bacon, onions, peas and omelette pieces.

Add salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of oil.

Heat for 3 min with continuous stirring.

Serve very hot.

Season to taste with soy sauce and/or coriander to travel straight to Asia!

This dish will be delicious with a glass of Château Pech-Celeyran – Ombline Blanc !


We made the recipe for 6 food lovers, don’t pay attention to the quantity on the pictures.



Would you like to complete your menu with a delicious French Tarte tatin?
Here is the recipe!



More info about:

Wine Shop


Other recipes


Our Instagram


Our Facebook

Easy Recipe for Quarantine: Penne Chorizo

Since we are all confined in our homes (sweet homes), we opened our cupboards and looked for an easy recipe to make with everyday ingredients.

One to Wine wants to ease up your quarantine and offers you a series of special quarantine recipes that are perfectly paired with the wines of the Quarantine Starter Pack !

Here is our 3rd recipe to combine with your Red Wine :

Penne Chorizo with Château Pech-Celeyran – Ombline rouge

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 People



Ingredients:

  • 1 Chorizo

  • 400g Penne

  • 1 Onion

  • 1 Pepper

  • 4 Tomatoes

  • 1.5l Vegetables stock or 2 Stock cubes

Recipe:



Start by washing your hands!

Prepare the stock:

Bring 1,5L of water to a boil in a saucepan and add 2 vegetable stock cubes.

Set it aside covered in order to keep it warm.

Cut the chorizo in half on its length and the in slices.

Dice the vegetables: onion, tomatoes and pepper.

Brown the chorizo in a frying pan, without fat.

Add the vegetables: onion, pepper, tomatoes.

After 5 min, pour in the raw pasta and let it coat with the juices of the preparation for about the same time.

Add the stock little by little and stir from time to time until the pasta are cooked.

It will allow them to get the perfect al dente you were looking for years!

Enjoy with a glass of Château Pech-Celeyran – Ombline rouge !

Here are the pictures of our preparation!

PS: We made the recipe for 6 food lovers, don’t pay attention to the quantity on the pictures.



Would you like to complete your menu with a delicious French Tarte tatin?
Here is the recipe!



More info about:

Other recipes

Our Instagram

Our Facebook

Easy Recipe for Quarantine: French Tarte Tatin

Since we are all confined in our homes, we opened our cupboards and looked for an easy recipe to make with everyday ingredients.

One to Wine wants to ease up your quarantine and offers you a series of special quarantine recipes that are perfectly paired with the wines of the Quarantine Starter Pack !

Here is our 2nd recipe to combine with your Dessert Wine :

French Tarte Tatin with Aroma Nea Wine !

Preparation time: 20 minutes / 50 minutes*

Cooking time: 30 minutes


*You can use a already-made shortbread dough from the supermarket, or make your own home made dough, which will lengthen the preparation time by half an hour.

Garnish Ingredients:

  • 8 Golden apples

  • 150 g Butter

  • 150 g Sugar

  • 1 Shortbread dough

*Dough Ingrendients:

  • 200 g Flour

  • 100 g Butter

  • 25 g Sugar

  • 1 Egg

  • 1 pinch of Salt

Recipe of the Shortbread Dough:

*You can skip these steps if you’ve bought a ready-made shortbread dough from the store.

First of all, wash your hands!

It is very important to kill the virus.


Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Cut the butter into small pieces.

Add the butter and knead with your finger to obtain a sand.

Add the whole egg, knead and form a ball of dough.

Wrap the ball in plastic film and keep the dough in the refrigerator.


Recipe of the garnishing apples:

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Peel the apples, remove the seeds and cut them into quarters.

Set the apples aside.


To make a caramel:

In a frying pan, add the sugar and butter.

Stir regularly with a spatula until the mixture muddles and turns a blond colour.


Remove from the heat and place the apple quarters on the caramel, forming a pretty tight rosette.

Then sprinkle some cinnamon.

Cover and put back on medium heat for 10 minutes so that the apples begin to cook and soak up the caramel.


*Take the dough out of its plastic film and flatten it out on a floured work surface, using a rolling pin or a bottle 😉

Remove from the heat and place the shortbread dough in your pan over the apples. Tuck the edges back into the pan.


Bake the tarte tatin for 30 minutes in a 200°C oven.

Remove the tart from the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven, being careful not to burn yourself.

Serve with a scoop of cream or vanilla ice-cream.


Enjoy with a glass of Aroma Néa !

Easy Recipe for Quarantine: Salmon Wraps

Since we are all confined in our homes, we opened our cupboards and looked for an easy recipe to make with everyday ingredients.

One to Wine wants to ease up your quarantine and offers you a series of special quarantine recipes that are perfectly paired with the wines of the Quarantine Starter Pack !

Here is our first recipe to combine with your Sparkling Wine :

Salmon & Salad Wraps with Risposta 110 from Domaine Kurtin

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 3 minutes


Ingredients:

  • 1 slice of smoked salmon

  • 1 leaf of lettuce salad

  • A few drops of lemon juice

  • ½ onion

  • 4 pitted black olives

  • 2 tablespoon hummus

  • 2 pita wraps

  • some butter

Recipe:

First of all, Wash your hands!

It is very important to kill the virus.

Then, cut the lettuce, the black olives and the onion in slices, put it all in a bowl and add a few drops of lemon juice into the preparation.

Mix it all.

Next, spread a bit of hummus on the pita wrap, place some of the preparation on top of it then some sliced smoked salmon before rolling the wrap.

Finally, toast the wrap a few minutes with a bit of butter on both sides.

Serve the wrap warm, with a glass of cold Spumante on the side.

Enjoy the pairing!

CoViD-19

What is it?

The CoViD-19 is a new zoonotic virus, which means it’s transmitted from animals to people.

The most common signs of infection include fever and breathing difficulties.

The standard recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus include washing your hands regularly, covering mouth and nose when coughing/sneezing, avoiding close contact with anyone showing symptoms of flu.

What are the countries doing?

The first country affected by CoViD-19 was China and more specifically the city of Wuhan.

Very quickly, the government closed everything and told the citizens to stay home to prevent the further spread.

Today, China seems to be recovering and there are currently more cases of CoViD-19 outside of the country.

We can currently count 164 countries, areas and territories infected and a total of more than 194,000 registered sick people. If you’re looking for a specific country :



The virus is spreading fast and one of the most impacted country is Italy, where the number of registered cases has exceeded 28000, and the number of deaths is around 2500.

The Italian government took strict precautions to avoid the further spreading and the overcrowding of the hospitals.

President Giuseppe Conte, on the 11th of March, said on tv to “stay apart today, to hug tomorrow” (Restiamo lontani oggi, per abbracciarci domani) to incite people to follow the rules but also to spread a message of hope that was truly needed.

More countries like Spain, France, Germany and the USA are copying the guidelines used by both Italy and China: closing of schools and of most of public transports, home-office (except for a few workplaces), regulations for going out and penalties for those who don’t respect them.

However, some countries like the United Kingdom, don’t apply such strict measures.

This is one of the latest report from CNN, dated 17 March 2020:



How is One To Wine coping?

For now, One To Wine has postponed or cancelled its upcoming events, mainly because we care about you and because your health is our priority.

We prefer not encouraging people to meet and risking the spread of CoViD-19.

For now, the situation is a bit blurry in the UK because it’s quite new, but we don’t have to worry. The only thing to do:

STAY HOME AND DRINK WINE!

On our side, we are developing a new way to keep our costumers (all of you!) happy and drinking good wine while waiting for this period to end.

We’ll soon offer a new delivery service for online purchases!

You can book your wines here :



You can find more specific information here:

Take care of yourselves!

Organic Vs Natural Vs Biodynamic Wines

Organic standards are in place to guarantee the quality of production of the wines we consume.

How can you make the difference between Organic VS Natural VS Biodynamic wines certifications?

These Organic, Natural and Biodynamic certifications seem clear at first glance, but since there are too many of them, they become unclear.

Each label is different and doesn’t guarantee the same quality. We count today 12 labels in France and 20 worldwide.

Even if these organic standards are a great step forward for the planet’s welfare, they still have their limits.

Indeed, most of them allow producers to use copper as a fungicide, but this seriously pollutes the soil. One To Wine would like to clarify everything for you so that you can make the right choice when buying a bottle of wine.

The difference that stands in organic vs natural vs biodynamic wines?

The principle of organic production is first of all to respect biodiversity: any chemical addition such as synthetic pesticides and herbicides is forbidden.

This corresponds to the labels AB, Bio (leaf in stars) and Nature et Progrès.

This last label adds to the respect of biodiversity, the follow up of the natural cycles of the vine.

Natural wines correspond to a winemaking method that adds to the organic criteria, the fact that they contain very few sulphites and no additives.

They are also poorly filtered and therefore often have a blurred appearance.

Good news!

Since March 2020, there’s finally a first state recognition of Natural Wines, agreed by the DGCCRF (a French organisation in charge of Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression).

They are certified by the label Vin Méthode Nature.

Finally, biodynamic wines also comply with organic standards but also follow the lunar and planetary cycles.

This is the only method that guarantees a truly eco-friendly wine since it doesn’t allow the use of copper.

Moreover, mechanisation can be replaced by draught animals.

Some of the most famous domains follow these methods which seem ancestral, such as the domain of Romanée Conti.

The Biodyvin and Demeter labels guarantee this.

How to choose a certification as a small producer?

As a winegrower, the question is: which certification to choose from the market range?

The task is complex.

They decide according to their values, the market they are distributed in and the prices of the certifications.

Is the wine industry really tending to produce more responsibly or is it greenwashing ?

Greenwashing is the misuse of ecological positioning or practices for purely marketing purposes.

Most consumers don’t understand the difference between the certifications.

It is therefore necessary to simplify the information to get closer to an honest approach to the consumer.

Nowadays the qualities of bio, biodynamic or natural are not put forward by the industrialists.

First of all, wine must be perceived as good; it is thus its quality and its taste which are highlighted.

Organic certifications are presented in a second time.

Let’s take the example of the implantation of bees to improve the quality of wine production.

This process is costly, but in the long term improves the quality and durability of the product, as well as the image of the domain.

It can, therefore, be considered both as a sustainable investment and a marketing tool.

What about prices?

Obviously, production techniques have a direct influence on prices.

In order to satisfy their customers, some industries keep their sales prices unchanged while their production costs increase.

It is an investment in the long term. The customer still concentrates first on the quality of the wine and its price, then its organic character comes in a second time.

We talked about the impact of organic production on the planet and on humans.
Does it affect wine in terms of taste? 

Tasting a wine is based on many criteria, you can’t feel blindly that a wine is produced in a biodynamic way.

However, more and more wines tasted and considered to be very good, are found to be biodynamic.

Can organic production methods be applied to all types of producers, from the smallest winemakers to the largest groups?

It is true that some certifications require high costs, but there are many ways to produce sustainably.

This variety makes it possible to offer solutions at lower costs.

Thus, at every scale, it is possible to make efforts that are beneficial to the environment. 

What does the One To Wine Charter guarantee?

Based on the fact that 70% of organic wines use copper in viticulture, One To Wine has decided to select clean wines and to implement the “One To Wine Charter” on the environment and sustainable development.

No preventive treatment, no use of copper, respect for biodiversity and vine development.

Even if some of our winegrowers do not have the AB label on their bottles, because they are in conversion or because the label is too expensive for them, we can guarantee the quality of their wines thanks to the charter to which they’ve agreed.  

We regularly visit our producers, assisted by an agricultural engineer, in order to check that the wines we offer respect the environment and still comply to our charter.

Recap:


Through this article, you understood :

– That organic labels work on protecting biodiversity and mankind.

– They are very expensive for producers and confusing for consumers.

– You have to understand the difference between these organic certifications, which do not confer the same environmental precautions.

– In addition, “greenwashing“, rather than a real policy of respecting the environment, can mean just a marketing strategy in which the certifications are sometimes too highlighted

– Indeed, the majority of them unfortunately authorise the use of copper, a very polluting heavy metal which is dangerous for the vines and the soil.

This is where One To Wine expertise comes in.

Pierre Hermé Macarons & Wine Tasting for Valentine’s Day

For Valentine’s Day, Pierre Hermé Paris and One To Wine have organised a very intimate private tasting.

In his charming Seven Dials shop, the director of Pierre Hermé welcomed 10 of TEN Group Concierge members for a Macarons & Wine Tasting Event.

These lucky ones were able to taste a selection of macarons, composed of timeless macarons such as :

  • Ispahan (Raspberry, Rose, Litchi)

  • Mogador (Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit)

  • Mosaïc (Morello Cherry, Pistachio, Cinnamon)

  • Crème Brulée (Vanilla, Caramel Bits)

What a better way to complement this evening than to combine these delicious macarons with well selected wines?

Wine Tasting


The principle of a pairing is to combine the right wine with the right macaron in order to create something even more delicious!

Indeed, some wines will enhance certain macarons’ aromas, and some macarons will enhance certain wines’ ones.

It’s a real delight!

Conversely, a wine can mask the aromas of a macaron or even create an unpleasant sensation if the two are badly paired.

This is where the sommelier’s expertise comes into play.

He is able to identify the best combinations that will ravish your palate.

Several weeks in advance, both experts come into contact.

After agreeing on the purpose of the event, its date, its location and its number of participants, they each proposed different products.

Pierre Hermé’s General Manager in UK, Samuel Behr, offered us a selection of 7 macarons.

According to this, Maxime Maiano (MSc Wine and Spirit) came with a selection of 15 bottles, composed of white, red and rosé wines.


Two weeks before the date of the event, the One To Wine team visited Pierre Hermé’s offices.

Then, two people from One To Wine and two from Pierre Hermé proceeded to the tasting.

Each macaron was tested with several wines, under the advice of Maxime Maiano.

Let’s take the example of a great classic: the Ispahan Macaron, composed of Raspberry, Rose and Litchi.

It has been paired with Château Pech Celeyran – Ombline (from Languedoc).

The acidity of this wine balances the fat and sweetness of the macaron and creates an incredible harmony.

Whereas the association of this macaron with Domaine GayrardLoin de l’œil (Gaillac) revealed more buttery aromas and the macaron seemed fatter.

Finally, thanks to the notes taken about each association, the pairings that worked best were selected by our four professionals.

What about the Tasting?


Then came the D-day.

Our teams met before the event to prepare the layout of the room and welcome the guests.

Tasting glasses, a tray of macarons and a tasting leaflet are placed on the counter, above an endless stall of pastries.

Each participant takes place in front of this.

The tasting begins with Maxime Maiano explaining how the pairings were made, then how to taste a wine (observe it, then smell it and finally taste it) and finally, how to proceed specifically to the Macarons and Wines Tasting.

“Smell the wine and take a sip before eating the macaron”

Finally, Mathew Johns (Store Manager) explains the story of each macaron, and their different aromas.

What a fantastic tasting!

Pierre Hermé Macarons were delicious and the wines exquisite.

The associations made everyone travel

Did you enjoy the backstage of the pairing and did it make your mouth water?


You want to participate to one of our next events?

We can already say that a public macarons and wine tasting is in preparation on our side!

Don’t hesitate to regularly consult our events tab to find out more.

You will be able to find tickets and to join us to share a moment of conviviality!

Conception & development : Cereal Concept