It began as “What if…” with Dan Hoffman, wine buyer for Marriott International. What if I put together an elite team of national account executives, planned a wine excursion extraordinaire to Vinexpo Bordeaux 2005 in June, and recruited a group of quality French wine and spirits producers willing to help fund expenses, which would include visits to top vineyards and lunches, dinners, and entertainment to die for.
Dan said he would be my first victim, guaranteed. My mind raced ahead, trying to catalogue influential French wine guys. I just had to assemble a collection of key chain hotel and restaurant executives and the support would follow.
Before I knew it, I had the team:
- Dan Hoffman, Dir., Equipment & Beverage Specifications, Marriott International
- Debbie Allison, Dir., Beverage & Food Procurement, Darden Restaurants
- Roberto Deiaco, Exec. Chef, Cipriani USA
- Fernando Salazar, Corporate Dir., Food & Beverage Operations, Omni Hotels
- Jean-Marc Jalbert, Corporate Dir. of Food & Beverage–North America, ACCOR
In a blink it was 17 June, and we were on Air France to Bordeaux. And then the party, I mean work, began: Off to Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien with a tour of Deuxieme Cru/second growth, followed by dinner at Chateau Le Crock in St. Estephe (Cru Bourgeois), hosted by Guillaume Cuvelier, managing director, Spirits Marque One.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Mercure Bordeaux Airport, our haven in Bordeaux from all the lavish treatment. It was our daily lull before the storm.
We went to the Vinexpo site and strolled about for the rest of the morning. Next was lunch at the Club des Marques, the tent of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, hosted by Olivier Lebret, president, Baron Philippe De Rothschild USA, and I think the grandson of the old boy, who was every bit as debonair as expected.
The president of Vinexpo, Robert Beynat, and Jean-Marie Chardennier welcomed us at the Commissariat General. We pledged to be Ambassadors of Bordeaux, and they promised to revitalize the French wine business.
It was then off to Cognac, hosted by Hennessy with the one-and-only Cyrille Gautier-Auriol for a tour of Quais Hy and Fondateur cellars for an interesting tasting. They treated us like royalty at Chateau Bagnolet, a little castle of a chateau on the river whatever, former home of the Hennessy family.
It was Monday morning, and we explored Vinexpo before going to lunch at Marguax: Chateau Lascombes, Chateau Duhart Milon Rothschild, and then Chateau Lafite Rothschild.The cellar is a cathedral to winemaking, and the untold perfect barrels are the celestial choir on high.
That evening, DIAGEO’s car deluxe was at our door for the trip to Chateau Magnol and a big party. Tuesday morning took us back to Vinexpo. For lunch, it was back to Club Marques and one of the most elaborate stands on the Marque, Concha Y Toro. Before long, we’re off to another legend, Chateau Lynch Bages, where we toured the facility and learned its history.
It’s off to the evening’s main event at Chateau Ormes des Pez. Jean-Michel Cazes, the eternal showman, has engineered plenty of surprises to delight his guests. Everybody enjoyed being a player at yet another Cazes spectacular.
The next morning we were on the road to Margaux again. We visited the lovely Chateau Labegorce-Margaux, more like an elegant resort than winery. But the Baron is real, as is his impeccable wardrobe, and everybody took away a CD of the experience and having tasted their best.
A trip to Vinexpo is incomplete without a journey to St. Emillion, which restores one’s confidence that at least some of the small traditional family wineries of France are alive and well. It is a magnificent rural setting that contrasts with the Bordeaux mega development. We visit, taste, and dine several courses of country foods, complete with rich sauces and tasty carbs at Chateau Dassault.
The evening took us to Vinexpo Club Cars to Brasserie des Quincones in Bordeaux, hosted by the Bordeaux Wine Council. We were then entertained at the Grand Theatre de Bordeaux, followed by another lavish wine tasting.
Thursday arrived and, knowing this dream trip to wine tasting heaven is over soon, everyone intensified their search for new products, wine and spirits suppliers, and tasting, tasting, tasting. DIAGEO hosted lunch at their nearby (BG) Chateau Magnol.
That evening, Remy-Cointreau whisked us away to the north of Bordeaux, landing us at Bordeaux Castle, a medieval castle—now a lavish country inn. Dominique Jouson, international brand ambassador, and Vincent Gere, director produit and head cellarmaster of Remy Martin, hosted us to an evening of culinary delight with a Cognac for every course, followed by a proper Cognac tasting.
Our last day included a cultural tour of Chateaux Pichon Longueville and Chateau d’ Arsac, followed by lunch prepared by the resident chef at Chateau d’ Arsac. We beat it back to the Mercure to freshen up for a final assault on Cognac, courtesy of Kobrand.
And then we were at Cognac Delamain. Like a graduate course in the history of Cognac, we enjoyed a simple dinner at a B&B and drank Cognac Delamain.
The real meaning of the trip was seven souls becoming one for a week on what amounted to an F&B fantasy that could only be arranged by FTA and its client base. Bordeaux did what Bordeaux does best: It opened it’s heart and soul to the faithful with warm hospitality, Hollywood-like sets with castles, private baronial residences, elaborate gardens and ponds, and an endless parade of French haute cuisine ... the ultimate working holiday of which one would dream.
Fred Tibbitts, president of Fred Tibbits & Associates Inc., is the foremost global wine-by-the-glass consultant, working with onpremise chains around the world. Contact fredbev@fredtibbitts.com.
