EDITOR'S LETTER
QU'EST-CE QU'ON BOIT, XAVIER?" It's a rainy night in the 11th, and we've managed to snag a coveted table at Clown Bar, a thoroughly likable bistro with an unlikely name in the shadow of Paris's Winter Circus. Our sommelier appears with a wine list, but we hardly bother to look: Tonight, we're in his hands. "What should we drink, Xavier?" we ask. He gazes around the table for clues, as if reading our fortunes. "Ah! I have it," he says with a grin, then darts off to the cellar, returning with a bottle of Festejar, a pétillant naturel from cult Auvergne winemaker Patrick Bouju. As the rain pounds a drumroll on the awning above, we huddle around a sidewalk table overflowing with plates and glasses, marveling at this lively and wild-tasting pét-nat.…
