In a French state of mind

I recently attended the Wine Entrepreneur Conference (WEC) in Washington DC - in a word, WOW!  Laurent Guinand and his team at GiraMondo Ventures put on a fantastic event that spoke to vintners and wine professionals alike.  From the panelists to the participants, I was impressed with the caliber of people who chose to attend and with the advice they chose to impart.  GiraMondo is in the process of planning next year's event - I highly recommend it as a worthwhile investment in yourself and in your career.

The recurring theme?  The wine business isn't about cultivating ROI, it's about pursuing a passion.  That message was reiterated by those who came from a family of growers to those who made a recent transition.  I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that many successful wine entrepreneurs (vintners, distributors, writers) started with a business background and at some point gave up security to pursue something they really enjoyed.  Boy did that make me feel good ... I'm not crazy after all!

The keynote speaker on the first day was Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset Family Estates.  He was eloquent, charismatic and engaging.  Monsieur Boisset stressed "the importance of paying attention to what's below the earth as much as the vine above it.  It's not just the grape."  This resonated with me and is something I continue to think about.  All at once the phrase speaks of nature, tradition, innovation, recycling, and sustainability - much like the company's business practices.

Laurent, Jean-Charles, a couple of panelists, and one of the moderators were all French.  Heck, my hotel concierge was French!  On my last day, I walked around DC thinking of the events over the last few days and noted how many of the historical buildings favored French architecture.  I daydreamed back to my first transformative experience with wine - it was with a bottle of Bordeaux in a small fishing village in the South of France where no one spoke English.  It was the first time I had wine with everything, the first time I had wine with an array of cheeses, and the first time I really paid attention to the taste vs the effect.  Even my favorite dog breed, the French Bulldog, has French ancestry.  Perhaps all these French signs were telling me something ---> it seems all things point to WINE!

And then today I came across the ultimate event for the Burgundy wine connoisseur.  Why not drop a few grand and spend a posh few days at the St. Francis Hotel to attend La Paulée de San Francisco (Mar11-13).  This fabulous dinner party will bring together the top winemakers from the Domaines of Burgundy who will share a range of vintages poured by the top sommeliers in the country.  The event program includes a Collector's Lunch, a Rare Wine Dinner, a Grand Tasting, a seminar in the "Study of Terroir" and a charity auction.  I'd love a video of the Rare Wine Dinner so I can play it back the way a football player studies game moves.  Incidentally, La Paulée is an old Burgundian tradition whereby various vineyard owners would bring their bottles to share with workers and friends and break bread as they celebrate the end of the grape harvest ... a long way from its humble beginnings to the riches of today.

And speaking of wine ... it's been quite some time since I ran into a Burgundy under $25 that blew my socks off.  Any recommendations?  Up until a few days ago, I also said that I haven't had a Malbec I really liked, that is until Day 2 of the WEC, which was hosted by the Argentine Embassy.  Now Malbecs are a new fav and I'm dreaming of Mendoza ... but that's a whole other story!

Until then,
A Votre Santé!