Les Caprices de l'Instant

I learned late last year that Les Caprices de l'Instant was sold by its longtime owners. Situated in the Bastille-Marais neighborhoods of Paris, I was taken there one afternoon three years ago by a good friend from Japan. There we found Roberto Petronio, photographer and writer for La Revue du Vin de France, sitting at an office desk in the corner of the cramped floor minding the shop. Perhaps he took me for a high-roller Japanese wine collector so he showed me the backroom and the basement, which were stacked floor to ceiling with cases of top labels of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Chateauneuf du Pape. He mentioned they stock more wines at a storage in Bordeaux. This made me wonder.

After the tour, Roberto attended to some customers, while I perused a thick catalog of reserve wines they stock. I noticed there's no cash register, computer or any electronic gadget in the store. Presumably, there's a telephone at least somewhere. But clearly, business here is conducted personally and concluded by handwritten receipts.

Now, I wonder how things would change at this shop with the new owners. I do wish they don't change the name.