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My first taste of Kir was in 1983 when me and a fellow hitch-hiker arrived in a swelteringly hot Aix-en-Provence, stood at the counter at le Bar du Commerce or someuch and questioned the patron as to the nature of the drink served up in the arcoroc beaker glasses to the old regulars .
For a time, I used to be able to get cheap, cold, sharp white wine , and add a slug of Creme de Cassis as a summer drink.
Over the years however, its been increasingly difficult to get hold of that harsh Languedoc white or similar. which I consider essential. Nowadays its all fruit and sweetness at the cheap end.
Does anyone know of a white wine âof a certain qualityâ ( ie low) for me to make Kir the way I like ? A perverse request, I know !
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Cheap aligotĂ© is also traditional, I believe. Where you get your hands on some I donât know but it should taste right.
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Iâd say Picpoul de Pinet is your safest bet for lip-smackingly tangy acidity from the Languedoc, isnât it?
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Even itâs gone up market these days. Should have kept some of these grubbed up neutral, lowish alcohol, bone dry whites for something. Cheap Picpoul or Clairette might fit the bill. Cold as possible, you donât really want to taste it too much.
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Perhaps a cheap Muscadet would fit the bill? It can be very bracing.
Go over to Spain and get something cheep and Airen based or still wine made from Cava grapes?
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In theory Aligote, however thatâs gone upmarket - so Iâd suggest a âGros Plantâ from the Nantes region - will strip the enamel off your teeth. Cheap as chips in Brittany, yet rarely seen in the UK - if you find a bottle give it a go, well chilled.
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Isnât Gros Plant the same as Picpoul?
edit: my bad, no it isnât, Gros Plant is actually Folle Blanche, which makes wonderful Armagnac, precisely because of itâs very high, fresh acidity. Sounds just the ticket!
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Sorry to quibble here, but Aligote isnât also traditional - it is the traditional wine.
The Kir - Aligote and Creme de Cassis - was named after Canon Felix Kir who drank it in the cafes and bars of Dijon. During WW2 Kir was a hero of the resistance and after the war he was mayor of Dijon.
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Indeed it is⊠however current versions are not the same thing (IMHO) - and the ones I have tasted recently are made as Burgundy lookalikes - lacking the harsh acidity to balance the Cassis.
Hence Gros Plant.
Good price !
Sadly, Bourgogne aligotĂ© isnât as cheap as it used to be.
I used a bottle of the Societyâs Cantoiseau blanc for kir recently. It worked pretty well. Iâve also used the Societyâs CĂŽtes de Gascogne too, and that also works well.
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