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La Tour d’Argent, one of Paris’ fanciest and oldest restaurants, is auctioning off 18,000 bottles of wine next week. The restaurant’s wine selection is considered one of the best anywhere. And the auction is capturing the imagination of wine buffs from around the world. The goal is to raise money, but also the profile of this historic restaurant. Genevieve Oger reports from Paris. Download MP3
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MARCO WERMAN: Next week, one of Paris’s oldest and most venerable restaurants is auctioning off part of its wine collection. The Tour d’Argent hopes to sell about 18,000 bottles.
The wine collection is considered one of the best in the world. The goal is to raise money, and also the profile, of this historic restaurant. Genevieve Oger reports from Paris.
GENEVIEVE OGER: Entering the wine cellar of the Tour d’Argent in Paris is a little like stepping into an ancient fortress. The dusty bottles are protected by an antique metal gate that head sommelier David Ridgway keeps locked at all times. Ridgway personally selected the 18,000 bottles that go on the auction block next Monday and Tuesday. They represent only 4 percent of the wine and spirits in this legendary collection, all stored in a large but cramped cellar right next to the Seine.
DAVID RIDGWAY: So this is part of the cellar. This metal work came from the Café Anglais in…
OGER: The collection is so rich in part because the restaurant itself is so old. It opened in 1582 and has seen kings, revolutions and several wars.
RIDGWAY: This doorway was bricked up in May 1940 by Claude Terrail.
OGER: To protect the cellar from thirsty occupying Nazis, the owner walled up one of the passageways during the Second World War. This story, among others, built up the mystique surrounding the wine collection. Ridgway says the sale will help the restaurant raise cash, and make room in the cellar too.
RIDGWAY: It means that we can move a little bit of space around so that we can bring in new wines. It helps finance these new wines and maybe finance a little bit of refurbishment in the restaurant.
OGER: The planned sale includes six bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild estimated at nearly $5,000 and some 19th century Armagnac. Other bottles will probably go for less than $20.
RIDGWAY: The least expensive could well be maybe from Jurançon from the south west of France or maybe a Creux Hermitage from the Rhone Valley. The most expensive will probably be a cognac dating back to 1788. If only for its historic value, made before the revolution.
OGER: The Tour d’Argent is counting on its status as a Paris landmark to generate international interest in the sale. But this restaurant, like many luxury establishments, is going through difficult times. It used to be booked three months in advance. Now you can often reserve a table with just a week’s notice. Aspiring chefs still line up to work in this kitchen, but critics have been harsh in recent years. They’ve accused the restaurant of being too old fashioned. It enjoyed the top three-star Michelin rating for most of the 20th century, but lost one in 1996 and another, three years ago. Owner and manager André Terrail hopes that will soon change.
ANDRE TERRAIL: Our most important aim is to go back up, all the way back to three stars. It will take the time necessary. For a gastronomic restaurant, such as the Tour Argent, we need to have a certain number of stars. So definitely they are very important.
OGER: André Terrail is the third generation to run this restaurant. The critics are said to have deeply affected his father, who died just a few months after the restaurant was downgraded to one Michelin star. In a way, the auction is as much about rebuilding the restaurant’s image, as it is about raising funds.
TERRAIL: We thought of it as proving to many people around the world, how competent, how experienced we are in term of wines. So we are proving a point. And that is very important for us in terms of prestige and reputation.
OGER: The auction is also proving to be a remarkable marketing coup. Media outlets from five continents have contact the restaurant to cover it, and excitement is spreading beyond the regular wine circles. From that vantage point, the sale is already a success. For The World, I’m Genevieve Oger in Paris.
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