About us
Reading France through its wine.
Launched in January 2025, Grand Cru and Etiquette is an independent French media platform dedicated to exploring and analysing wine, culture and society. Born from a blog about wine and the French art of the table, it has grown into a space for exploring the ideas, stories and customs that shape contemporary France.
Through articles, essays and interviews with wine and cultural professionals, we seek to understand what wine reveals about our relationship with the world: our traditions, our imaginations, our ways of living, as well as the tensions and transformations running through French society.
For wine is about more than what we drink or what we eat. It tells the story of places, craftsmanship, class relations, changing tastes and ways of inhabiting the world. It is at once a living heritage, a cultural phenomenon and a remarkable vantage point on society.
Neither a wine magazine nor a cultural review in the traditional sense, Grand Cru and Etiquette explores the links between wine and French culture to move beyond received ideas, shed light on the world around us and sharpen our cultural intelligence.
From Paris, we publish in French and English for those who wish to discover France differently and grasp its nuances.
What Do We Mean by “Cultural Intelligence”?
Cultural intelligence is the ability to understand what a society takes for granted but does not always make explicit: its codes, customs, cultural references and conventions. It enables us to decipher behaviour, appreciate cultural nuances and gain a deeper understanding of social relationships. We explore this concept through the lens of wine and the wider world surrounding it in France.
The editorial team
Maria Kumessa, founder, publisher and editor-in-chief. She also personally writes the fortnightly newsletter, in which she extends this exploration and shares her discoveries with readers.
A qualified sommelier trained at the Académie Internationale des Vins en Alsace (AIVA), she also holds the Champagne Specialist certificate and the EVS3 French Wine Ambassador diploma from the École du Vin et des Spiritueux. She is as interested in wine itself as in the history, traditions and cultural codes that surround it. Before her career change, she spent several years running health and social care establishments and non-profit organisations.
Our commitments
Grand Cru and Etiquette is an independent media platform championing an open-minded, curious and discerning approach to French wine and culture. Our aim is to explore, challenge conventions and share knowledge, freely and without compromise. Our principles are set out in our editorial standards.