Pop-ups sometimes appear and then disappear again. The locations are usually unexpected and have that certain kick. So why not sit in the wine warehouse and experience a slightly different evening of enjoyment from the preparation kitchen? Last year, the idea of offering a French menu in many small courses with matching wines from France and from the French (by birth even: Parisian) Saxon winemaker Frédéric Fourré premiered in the "Salon Silbermöwe" at Gräfe's Wein&fein. We liked it, and other guests obviously did too: despite two additional dates (in the larger bistro), the pop-up was fully booked long before the cooking star hours began. How good it was that we had booked in good time!
Matthias Gräfe and Frédéric Fourré had come up with nine courses, each accompanied by a different wine - the idea was, of course, to match. That's a pretty tight program, even if it was called "The Night of Small Plates" and the portions were served correspondingly small. And yes, that's right: it wasn't called "The Night of Small Glasses", there was quite a lot of it... If that sounds like work to you: wrong - because it was an extremely relaxed and entertaining five and a half hours, during which (as they say) there was always something to munch on and drink. Input was provided by the winemaker, who presented the wines, and the host, who always had a story or two to tell about the individual dishes. With such a journey through the simple pleasures of French gourmandie, this is also a series of delicacies - told as well as eaten and drunk.
It's all about the right suppliers
"I'm also working through personal traumas today," confessed Gräfe, revealing that he was the loser of the boeuf bourguignon battle held at his bistro years ago. "Frédéric gave my performance zero points because I deconstructed it. And Monsieur Fourré gave me zero points!" So now, in the Salon Silbermöwe, as the pop-up in the Gräfes Wein & fein drinks store is also called because of the kitsch figure standing around (seagull with scarf, how cute), we had the master's boeuf bourguignon for the main course. A classic that warms the heart! And part of everyday French cuisine, just like the other dishes of the evening, because even if it sounds outlandish or complicated (lobster in a terrine! Foie gras between the brioche halves! Kouignette with Roscoff onion marmalade!), it doesn't have to be. Because of course you don't have to make everything yourself, you just have to know where to get it in high quality. The terrine, for example, is made by a company in Brittany - which is also where the oysters come from, if there are any... The duck foie gras from Gascony was sandwiched between two slices of a cute little brioche from Nancy. Of course, it doesn't always have to be France - the Wohlfahrt family from the Upper Palatinate have been suppliers of the best cheese and butter for years! Origin is important: it has to be good - and together, if you pimp it a little in the kitchen, it's simply so that people sum it up in one word: delicious.
Pairing wine and food
The question remains as to whether the idea of matching the wines to the food worked. Short answer: Of course it did! Longer version: I do believe that there is a lot of talk about this, because outside of specialist circles, there is much more going on than meets the eye. However, under one condition: the wines have to be good, they need character. Then they are usually not affected by the food components that mean the end for simple (and yes, often cheap) wines: too much spiciness or bitterness in the food, too much sweetness - no problem at all. But the fact that some wines work in harmony with each other is almost like with people: a lot of things go hand in hand, but sometimes it just goes boom or something. The wines of the evening were such boom-makers, which not only went well, but even enhanced the taste of the food. Just as the one or other wine won again after a nibble from the fork or spoon: Perfect pairing, I guess you'd say, and congratulate the wine tasters and yourself on having done everything right ;-)
Menu
- Le Carré Camembert
Entenrilettes Label Rouge | Cornichons | Our sourdough bread - Lobster and crab terrine | Fennel salad
- Two kinds of duck | plum chutney
- as a brioche burger with foie gras mousse
- as duck breast gelée with vegetables - Frisée salad
vinaigrette | fresh goat's cheese taler - Couignette with Roscoff onion marmalade | diced sheep's cheese | onion chutney
- Merguez of beef and lamb
Pearls-CousCous | Antipastitatar - Boeuf Bourguignon
Carrot | Pearl onion | Mushrooms | Pancetta - Epoisses AOP 50%
Soft cow's milk cheese | Marc du Bourgogne | Salted butter - Iles Flottantes
Vanilla and orange blossom
Wine pairing
- 2018 Arbois Poulsard, Domaine du Pélican, Jura
- Pinot Blanc, Frédéric Fourré, Saxony
- 2024 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîne, Parallele 45 Rouge, Côtes du Rhone
- 2024 Château Paradis Casseuil, Blanc Bordeaux AOC
- Chimäre de Saxe, Frédéric Fourré, Saxony
- Rosée de Chimäre, Frédéric Fourré, Saxony
- 2023 Domaine Chanson, Réserve du Bastion, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
- 2024 Kerner feinherb, Frédéric Fourré, Saxony
- 2023 Chablis Premier Cru, Montmains, Domaine Chanson, Burgundy
Price
Menu incl. 1 bottle of Frédéric Fourré Pinot Blanc to go: 125 €
Gräfe's Wein & fein
Hauptstraße 19
01445 Radebeul
Tel. +49 351 / 8365540
graefes-weinundfein.de
The winemaker on the net: weinbau-frederic-fourre.de
[Visited on February 6, 2026]
