Wines and spirits Rennes

After a spell at Place du Champ Jacquet, aRHUMatisé returned to the port on Rue Victor Hugo to concentrate on its rum and spirits cellar. The cellar offers around 150 references, including agricultural rums from independent, eco-responsible distilleries in the West Indies, Jamaica, South America and England. The cellar's owner, Yannick, a passionate pedagogue, organizes tasting workshops on the first Wednesday of every month, offering the opportunity to discover exceptional rums. It's a fun way to learn more about their history, production processes and, last but not least, how to taste and enjoy them. 100% approved!

Alice, the manager, and Marie welcome us to this cellar on the pretty cobbled rue de la Monnaie. Run by a former airline pilot, the store has recently been given a facelift. Drenched in pastel green, terra cotta and Mediterranean blue tones, the intimate setting exudes conviviality. Here, you'll find a natural and biodynamic wine cellar and a grocery corner. You'll spot Laura David's Loire wines, ciders and perries from L'Aubinière in Janzé... and even a surprising blend of white, rosé and red for aperitifs that's all the rage: Gilles Troullier's Guerilleros. The two women also offer tasting sessions, notably on Wednesday evenings.

If Coin Mousse is a beer bar, it's also a beer cellar. Some 120 French craft beers are on offer. After visiting some sixty brewers in France, Nicolas and Anne-So brought back their hand-picked selection. Among the Breton breweries are Tri Martolod, Touken, Menez ar Breizh and Skumenn. We'll tell you which ones we prefer, but the best thing to do is go and taste them, and make your own selection for your next aperitif. Gourmets can share a board, or stop off on the way back from the Lices or Mail markets to pick up a beverage to accompany their find.

When two beer-loving friends decided to make a living from their passion, the result was Dourennan: a craft beer cellar on Rue Victor Hugo. More than 150 references are on offer, from local and regional breweries as well as from Belgium and elsewhere. Dourennan means "to hydrate, to salivate" in Breton. The establishment lives up to its name, with the two partners enthusiastically passing on their taste for hops. And because there's no substitute for tasting, a dedicated space is available for afterworks and workshops. We enjoy our beers, accompanied by charcuterie and vegetarian spreads. Not forgetting, of course, a selection to take away with you!

Stéphane Foucher, sommelier, has, in addition to his address in Les Lices, a second cellar in rue de Nemours. We come here for Stéphane or Mathieu's sharp advice but also to discover a selection of 900 to 1,200 references of organic, biodynamic and natural wines! There is something for every budget, with a very promising entry-level price that is accessible to small budgets. In this cellar, small producers are in the spotlight and you will taste with delight the work on the grape varieties. The winery knows how to look for and find the right bottle at the different exhibitions but also directly by going to the winegrowers (45,000 km per year travelled to meet them). You will find a good selection of small Languedoc wines, which are well worth some Bordeaux in value for money. There are also some surprising vintages and creative "coups de coeur" that the cellar master speaks of with passion. You can also take your taste buds on a trip with foreign wines from Italy, Spain, Greece, Georgia, Austria but also wines from the New World (including Chile and Argentina). For those who would like to perfect their oenological knowledge, things become more serious during the tastings hosted by the cellar master, twice a month. Also to be discovered are 200 references of whiskys, rums and brandies, a selection of 60 beers and a few ciders from Brittany and Normandy. A cellar that assures you the advice of a professional with a warm welcome so as not to make any false notes and to offer you good tasting moments.

A paradise for Breton beer lovers! Among the many references, we stop at the Grodziskie, a smoked white beer that is a nod to the Polish origins of Tony, the boss. In addition to the hopped beverage, there is local cider as well as some nuggets such as Ar Menez Are, an organic lemonade with Mont d'Arrée spring water, Beuk Cola ("Beuk" means "burp" in Breton, if you want to know everything!), an organic fair trade cola, Roc'Elf Breton whisky from the Sainte-Colombe brewery or red absinthe from the Awen Nature distillery.

Bright with its large bay windows overlooking the Mall, mineral with its counter made of black Huelgoat rock and its engraved monolith, Fabien and Alex's wine cellar exudes naturalness and authenticity. It's not for nothing that 85% of the wines here are biodynamic and sourced directly from independent winemakers. The two friends have made four trips around France to select more than 250 wine references, and they'll be going back again! A little literary wink: a bookseller's ladder gives access to the highest bottles, because there are literally bottles from floor to ceiling! In addition to the wines, there is a nice selection of beers from here and elsewhere, including more confidential breweries that Alex discovered during his years in London and New Zealand. Gins, whiskies, vodkas, rums and ports are also on offer. To accompany these beverages, you can choose from cheeses matured in Brittany (Ma Belle Fromagerie in Étrelles), fish rillettes from Finistère or organic sausages and pâtés. A good idea: tasting evenings to exercise your palate in a friendly atmosphere.

Behind Kystin lies a passionate man, Sasha Crommar, who has one conviction: exceptional ciders and perries exist, you just have to put your heart into them. After working for some fifteen years as a cellar master, the man founded the Kystin house, first with a boutique in Vannes, then in Rennes. Here, we're treated to tastings of the company's creations, such as the surprisingly delicious PDO chestnut cider or the roasted buckwheat cider. The house also offers its ice cider, a sweet delight that works equally well as an aperitif or dessert. All original creations can be combined with a wide range of dishes. It's hard not to fall for them!

Antoine Picaud's wine cellar boasts more than 1,000 references: small, affordable wines from friends and exceptional bottles, with a vast range of magnums (most of them organic), local beers, spirits, notably with bottles produced in Brittany (gin is well represented...) and a grocery corner to liven up the aperitif. Visitors come especially for the expert advice of Antoine, an inveterate enthusiast. The tasting workshops allow you to explore a whole wine-growing valley over the course of an evening, drinking a wealth of highly interesting information, washed down with 5 or 6 different wines... and accompanied by charcuterie and cheese boards.

We discovered this new Rennes brewery by chance during an evening at Hibou Grand Duc. Enthralled by the Hyperpop IPA (a short-lived beer) and the Vitrine lager, a delicate and refreshing beer, we then went to discover this new Rennes brewery, which opened last November. At the studio, you'll find the work of Rennes-based visual artist Tom Nelson, and above all, you'll be able to buy his craft beers direct, and why not a banana or a Smash t-shirt in the process. For those who prefer to sit on the terrace of a bar, head for La Piste, La Cavale, Le Saint-Germain, La Nouba and Le Hibou to feast in moderation.

In her cellar-counter, opened in 2022, Margaux distills her love of wine into conversation, but not just any wine. The young woman selects only natural, biodynamic wines, vinified without inputs or additives. In particular, she highlights wines from Provence, her region of origin, as well as women winemakers... with an emphasis on small, committed operations. She also offers local beers, organic ciders and delicatessen products from Brittany. In the spirit of a neighborhood bar, the cellar also serves as a bar on weekends, where visitors can extend their conversation over a drink. It also organizes wine-tasting evenings several times a month.

He assures us that he has tasted almost all of the 200 or so wine references! Sébastien Auberville is the proud owner of L'Amuse-bouche, a new winery in the town center. Originally from the South of France, his wine-growing experiences led him to open his own store, in his own way. Here, bottles are presented by food and wine pairing. It's easy to go from specialties for an aperitif to wines to enjoy with white or red meat or fish. The wine merchant selects ethical wines, mostly organic or biodynamic.