It's not everyday that I get an invitation to go to Bordeaux to see what's happening on their wine scene just a few days short of the 2008 Harvest. But yes, it's true and I'm back.
The areas of St. Emilion, Fonsac and Pomerol were our hosts and while the city of Bordeaux has become a mecca for those with an interest in a more contemporary lifestyle the countryside of Bordeaux has remained relatively unchanged. Still beautiful. Still pastural. Still devoted to the passion of making wine for drinking and enjoyment in spite of rising prices for recent vintages.
One thing that has changed, however, is the number of women in the wine business. Many of the chateaus that we visited or tasted wine from are not only managed by women but women are the winemakers as well. Truth be told - that even in this region known a tradition of winemaking that goes back hundreds of years - the age of the woman in wine has reached Bordeaux as well.
With the dollar at an all time low, it obviously is on everyone's mind how to market these handcrafted wines to the American consumer - especially women who make most of the wine purchases in the U.S. Will American women become more curious and seek out wines from this region in France? We were here to meet, greet and discover - and the answer is yes if the wineries can tell their story and take the fear factor out of buying a wine with French writing on the label.
With the American consumer obsessed with labels like Dior, Chanel and others - those of us in the "wine biz" need to do a better job of educating women about wines from the different appellations in Bordeaux and welcome their interest by making these wines more approachable. That's the job of the American wine retailer who needs to make sure that their female customers don't feel like they have two heads when they walk into a wine store.
And while the new trend is to put words like Cabernet or Merlot on French labels to make it more comfortable for Americans to understand the wine, for my money I'd rather preserve the purity and tradition of the all French labels.
So thank you to all of our new friends in Bordeaux for opening your homes and your minds to visitors from the U.S. and after I recover from a bit of jet lag there will surely be more to write about this great visit.
