Bistrot de Serine is one part lunch bistrot, one part local wine store…read more
We were warned by the owner of our B&B "Bistrot de Serine does not do tastings, but they carry most bottles from the wineries and they sell at the same price".
This was interesting to us, since in the US, you go to Napa or Sonoma and feel robbed if you purchase bottles at the (undeservedly) pretentious wineries since you go to a store and quickly realize that the bottles are *cheaper*.
Anyways, when we came back from Bistrot and showed our B&B owner that not only did we get a complimentary tasting, an employee of Bistrot de Serine brought out complimentary snacks and showed us a great time, her jaw dropped (I think it's because we said we were staying w/ Nine from La Gerine... her reputation precedes her).
Anyways - we did not eat a meal here (which we would do in the future). We had a budget and we wanted to use that budget on wine... we WERE in the Capitol of Cote Rotie for heavens sake... so most of our meals consisted of yummy cheeses/fruits/veg/smoked fish that we bought at grocery stores.
BUT we were able to buy another bottle of St. Joseph "l'amarybelle" from Yves Cuilleron here (since Yves is closed to the public most days) and the employee recommended a great and affordable Cote Rotie that had 10% viognier, so it was great "for drinking now" at our B&B...
**This is the wine shop you should go to if you can't get an appointment at a specific winery**