Life is too short...
... to miss on the good things. One of them being, good wine. There's lot of magic in wine: how to turn grapes into delight, soil into gold, and people into buddies.
This week-end I went to Burgundy with INSEAD friends to enjoy a nice weather and bond before we part. We had so much wine and good food, but so much fun as well. The thing I like with some INSEAD people is, they are very curious about Hows, and relate pleasantly experience to learning.
Example: we visited Romanée-Conti domain. This must be the most expensive wine in the world (see pic). From this 1.8 hectares of land come out 5.000 bottles a year at 6.000 euros each... How is it possible? Soil into gold (sustainable competitive advantage), grapes into delight (savoir-faire), and people into buddies (pleasure and marketing). Magic uncovered... And perfect discrimination when the Company produces wine from the land inches away from Romanée Conti at different prices: La Tâche at 1.200 euros apiece, Echézeaux at 400 euros... A whole summary of Prices and Market and ICA on the field...
I'm exaggerating slightly. But we shared some business and personal problems, and then you realise you could really count on these great guys. And get great insights on things.
Example: Burgundy is very different from Bordeaux. Bordeaux is sophisticated (blend of grapes) and noble. Burgundy is simple (mono grape, Pinot noir) and rustic. Wine producers are just the same... A Domain is basically a house, and inside most people treat you like bloody aliens. Frustrating experience. When we were kicked out, we analysed customer orientation, impact on sales etc. And we went to enjoy a very, every good Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru to remind ourselved that, thank God, life is much cooler with a smile enjoying good company and good things.
I'm not going to share the personal issues, but the bottom line is, it was an awesome trip to know one another even better. We even pictured us doing some regular Wine and Food and Culture trips for our 1 and 5 year Reunions (at least)...
Other topics debated: Are you Theory X or Y? Are there still ugly people today? Is it an undertone of Wood or Game in this wine?
The must-drink:
The trilogy of White Wines (the best in the World) - Chassagne Montrachet, Puligny Montrachet, Meursault...
We had cool Morey St-Denis, Nuits St-Georges in red...
The must-see: Vosnes Romanée, to pay hommage to Romanée Conti.
The must-NOT see: Domaine Guillemard-Clerc, unless you haven't experienced the rude, arrogant, drunk French people yet...
Labels: Social Life
posted by DomoDomo@INSEAD @ 11:13 PM
2 Comments:
I am an Armagnac guy, I adore Armagnacs, one of the greatests inventions the French have done :)
Best regards
Hey Gabriel are you French? Armagnac must be somewhere in Normandy or so no?
Do you work in Paris or abroad?
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home