What's Going On in the World of French Wines

Wow – it has been a crazy last few couple of days. The Masters of Wine Symposium in Bordeaux was a terrific event, but boy, did it keep me busy. There were a number of really interesting sessions, including a keynote address from Sir John Hegarty, Chairman & Worldwide Creative Director of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, an advertising agency. One quote from Sir John really stood out to me – he said that “wine is the flavor of life.” I found that to be a really profound message. Wine is, as I have said before, such an interdisciplinary subject and capable of being so many different things. It can be both a beverage and a work of art. While we sometimes struggle with our understanding of wine, is there any other beverage so associated with both the major and the minor events of our lives? From religious ceremonies to celebrations to the sharing of a meal with family and friends, wine goes from being simply a beverage to being a part of the very fabric of our lives.

But Sir John said something else that I thought was important. He said that those of us who work in the wine industry need to work harder at “losing the mystery and keeping the magic.” As I drove from Bordeaux to Cahors today, that is something I spent some time thinking about. For me, even with my knowledge as a Master of Wine, there is still something about the winemaking process that I consider mysterious. That being said, I think of wine as BOTH mysterious and magical – and in some sense, even miraculous. In a nutshell, that is one of the core ideas of this blog: to share information about French wine (a topic that many people find intimidating), and illustrate just how magical and delicious it can be.

What about you, fellow wine lover? Do you think of wine as mysterious? Is there too much mystery about wine? Is there enough emphasis on the magic of wine? I’d love to hear from you about this topic, so feel free to drop me a line in the comment section below. While I am in France I am having some difficulty with sending email responses, but I will be sure to reply to you first thing when I get home!

Cheers!