A ‘chai’ in the heart of Paris 9th arrondissement
I’m going to talk about Paris. Not about the buildings or the monuments, but about un bar á vins. Located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, at 6, Rue Marguerite de Rochechouart you can find Chai Parisien, a wine and tapas bar, wine cellar and a shop all in one. When I visited Chai Parisien I did not catalogue the wines, nor made tasting notes, but let myself be guided by Benjamin, one of the masters of the house.
Chai (pronounced “shay”) is the French word for a wine or barrel storage room, Chai Parisien has both. Besides the cuvées on the shelves, there are two vats of 5 hl and two vats of 3 hl filled with natural red wine from the Côtes Catalanes region, a Sauvignon de Touraine, a Cabernet Franc/ Merlot blend from Château Pardaillan and wine from Domaine Poujol near Montpellier.
A place where grapes are king
The Parisian cellar is above all an adventure for wine lovers and friends. And that’s how wine bar Chai Parisien came into being too. Childhood friends Camille and Benjamin – students at the same high school Lycée Français de Tokyo – imagined one beautiful evening in 2017 a place where the world of wine could be celebrated, where friends could drink a good bottle of wine munching on a plate of tapas. A successful crowdfunding campaign helped them realise their dream.
The two friends found a former bazaar spread over two floors in the 9th district in Paris, where they created a refined and unusual light and airy bar and cellar with exposed stone walls. The two friends asked the young chef Elena to create the tapas menu using fresh, quality products from artisanal producers. Charcuterie from Aveyron, cheeses from the Frescolet house in Paris, small truffled croque-monsieur, a juicy burrata from Italy, and more.
Padam Padam
The passion of the two owners is felt throughout the place. Hundreds of bottles are displayed in a large wine library with more than 250 wine references. What makes Chai Parisien different from other wine bars is the idea of transporting a wine cellar -un cave ou chai- into the heart of Paris. In the cellar, you can tap the wine directly from the vat with a piston. These vats work with a thermoregulated tap system under nitrogen so as not to oxidize the wine when you tap it.
The origins of wines in the vats change regularly and, once the returnable bottle has been purchased, you can come back to “refuel” and discover new flavours. Some in-store cellar wines are bottled under the Padam Padam brand. The two owners created Padam Padam as a Parisian cuvée to revere Paris and France’s great music star Edith Piaf.
The conviviality at Chai Parisien makes sharing easy
The atmosphere at Chai is friendly and warm, just a bit different than ordinary wine bars. A light wooden bench runs the length of the establishment and takes your eye to the back of the room with the wine vats. Here you can taste wines from all French regions but also from the rest of the Old and New World. Moreover, the spirit of conviviality and sharing wine, food and knowledge with friends and others is just as we like it.
Camille Masson & Benjamin Sibilat
Chai Parisien
6, rue de Rochechouart 75009 Paris
Phone: 06 59 53 86 47
Unfortunately Le Chai Parisien closed its doors forever.
