About Us

Our family moved to Fairfield, Iowa in 1979 where we have lived since then uninterruptedly except for our regular trips around the country or to our home in France, the Bassin d’Arcachon, on the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux. In April 2004 we, mother and son Marie-Hélène and Matthieu Tourenne opened Petit Paris.

Matthieu’s original desire was to open a little casual place for lunch; a little 'French island' for our customers to escape to, to have a mini French vacation, a truly relaxing and refreshing time. Yet it didn’t take long for our customers to realize that we had more to offer.

We have long been fascinated and charmed by the wonderful historic wines of France. We regularly consult with André Vaset, a renowned French wine chemist from the Bordeaux region, to offer you a variety of 'off the beaten path' high quality wines of character.

We feature the wines produced in small historic family owned vineyards, some of which have been in operation since the 12th century, and whose wines have been recommended by famous connoisseurs, such as the Mas Deu Wines recommended by Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe.