Wine and life: Paris and Philadelphia, what a difference

I would like wine to be as much a part of my life in Philadelphia as it is when I am in Paris.

Now, it's always different on vacation than normal life. More free time, more flexibility, more time to drink.

But even if I was on vacation in Philadelphia, it would not be the same. Not even close.

In Paris, wine is part of the rhythm that makes the city go. It adorns most, if not all, tables in restaurants. It is consumed at zinc bars, at standup bars, at tabacs, and at cafes. Red wine, newspaper, cigarette. Good wine shops pop up on most shopping streets.

One can duck into any of the establishments and get a good glass of red or white for 2-3 euros. A pichet for a couple more euros. At one wonderful bistro in the 1st, Le Rubis (10 rue du Marche-Saint-Honore, Tel: 01 42 61 03 34, Metro: Tuileries) a delightful Champagne can be had for 5.50E. (I spent about 3 hours there on my January visit and watched one elderly lady have a coupe de Champagne before AND after her shopping trip. Bon marche!)

In many places, a small glass of Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Muscadet can be had for 1.60E, such as at the spectacular Le Duc de Richelieu (5 rue Parrot, 12th, Tel: 01 43 43 05 64, Metro: Gare du Lyon), which offers Beaujolais crus made for them at that price! (The Chiroubles is like raspberry in the glass.)

Just try getting that in Philadelphia. Almost nowhere is a decent glass of wine less than $8, and for that one often gets the very basic California varietal or Italian mass-produced plonk. Some bars have glasses of wine for $5-6 but that will get you over-oxidized dreck at best and ... urrrp! ... at worst. Then, of course, any decent bar customer will leave a tip, at least a dollar a glass. So a stroll around Philadelphia fueled by wine will cost ... $35-$40. It would be 1/3 that in Paris, helped hugely by the fact that 20 cents Euro is a good tip and leaving nothing is acceptable.

Of course, much of the cheaper wine comes from the fact that the vineyards of Beaujolais are much closer to Paris than Philadelphia -- but it can't be all that, because local PA and NJ wines often cost dramatically more than imported wines in Philadelphia. The exchange rate makes a difference, too, but, again, U.S. wine is often just as expensive, and Latin American wines, where the dollar goes a long way, are expensive too.

And the wine isn't THAT much cheaper in Paris. The Perrin brothers' acceptable Cotes du Ventoux brand "La Vielle Ferme" sells for $8 a bottle in Philadelphia. I suggest similar wines that Paris bistros and the like sell for 2.50E a glass (or less) are not much cheaper in France. But a glass of "La Vielle Ferme" would be $7 in Philadelphia at best.

Is it that much cheaper to do business in Paris? Evidence would suggest the opposite. I realize stupid Pennsylvania liquor laws are a part of this, but the same general situation exists in other U.S. cities.

What seems to be different is the attitude towards wine. In Paris, wine is regarded as an integral part of the meal. In Philadelphia, it's a profit center for the bar/restaurant. In Paris, drinkers do not subsidize non-drinkers' meal tabs. In Philadelphia, they surely do (if you doubt this, check out BYOB places where food prices are considerably higher than in comparable licensed establishments). In Paris, bartenders and bistro owners don't mind pouring small glasses of wine for customers. In Philadelphia, they do.

I doubt this attitude will ever change -- too much money involved. There is no reason -- none -- why a glass of Beaujolais Villages, from a bottle that sells for $7, should be more than $3.50 except for sheer greed (and since Philadelphia restaurants pay their (tipped) staff about $2.36 an hour and notoriously offer no health benefits there's a lot of greed going on).

Any wait person will tell you drinkers (and smokers, too, but that's another post) spend more and tip better. So shouldn't a restaurant be ENCOURAGING wine consumption? At the very least, shouldn't the people who order just food and tap water at least pay the going rate and not be subsidized by the drinkers? In fact, THEY should subsidize the drinkers, given the differences in their checks and tips! By turning wine into a luxury with the emphasis on short-term profit, Philadelphia restaurateurs are hurting themselves long-term big-time. Meanwhile, in Paris, the bistros bulge with wine drinkers spending generously.

But change is unlikely. Too bad.

I walk by a nice French bistro every day en route to work. I'd love to stop in and have a glass of wine every day, read the paper, have a conversation. But it would cost me $7-$10 to do so, and I wind up paying for part of the teetotaler suburban couple's steak frites. No thanks.

I'll save those occasions for Paris, thank you.