Has this ever happened to you? You’re in a fine restaurant and someone hands you a wine list the size of the encyclopedia Britannica. They simply assume that since you’ve been successful in business you know something about wine.
Call it unfair, call it antiquated. But the expectation that business success equates to knowledge of the finer things in life persists. I’ve found that especially true here in the greater Washington, DC metro area. This expectation can set up successful executives for stressful situations when choosing wine in a business setting.
A colleague of mine shared a story from when she worked in communications for BT. She was out with her boss and two important customers for dinner. He ordered some French wine, and was acutely embarrassed when a white wine was brought to the table, since he thought he had ordered red. More importantly, this was a distraction from the important business matters to be discussed over the meal.
These events can happen because the French don’t usually make it easy for the uninitiated to discern much from a wine label. Usually the most prominent name is the name of the chateau or town where the wine is made, not the type of grape used as with American and Australian wines. So without some background knowledge of French wine regions and the grapes typically grown within them, you can be out of luck.
Arguably the most famous and prestigious wine region in the world is Bordeaux. So let’s start there. Here’s a crib sheet for any executive ordering Bordeaux at a closing dinner or end of the year celebration.
- Left Bank, Right Bank – Left Bank Bordeaux is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, Right Bank Bordeaux by Merlot.
- Prominent Left Bank regions – St. Estephe, St. Julien (personal favorite), Haut Medoc, Margaux, Pauillac, Graves.
- Prominent Right Bank regions – Pomerol, St. Emilion, Fronsac.
- Vintages – 2000, 2003 and 2005 are considered excellent, and 2008 good. (The famous wine critic Robert Parker has said about 2009 “it may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux,” but those won’t be on most wine lists yet.)
- There are five so-called Premier Crus (First Growths) Bordeaux – Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateaus Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild – that will cost you a mortgage payment. Unless you really want to make a splash, there are plenty of other Bordeaux that can deliver a better value.
- Don’t hesitate to ask the server or sommelier – It’s always better if you can provide some direction, not just lateral in desperation.
I’m sure there are oenophiles out there rolling their eyes right now over this column. There’s so much more to say about Bordeaux, and it can’t be done in one post. But hopefully this is a useful framework next time you are pondering a wine list under the watchful eyes of direct reports, partners or prospects.
Have a story to share along these lines, or a good French wine recommendation? Drop a comment below, or message me directly.
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Christopher Parente is managing director and partner of Strategic Communications Group, a social media and public relations consultancy based in Silver Spring, Maryland and Tysons Corner, Virginia. He also publishes Work, Wine and Wheels, a global top 500K web site as measured by Alexa, an online measurement company. You can follow Chris on LinkedIn or Twitter.