Science, Grapes, and Adventure: A Wine Student’s Summer at Chateau Haut-Bailly

A few years ago, a young woman was interning at the Original Wine of the Month Club. Her internship revolved around social networking, office duties, and one particular job that may have set her career path. Lisa Kassabian was to write the talking points for all my podcasts that featured a woman in wine.
She would research the guest, write up peritnent points, present the to me and together we would redirect or correct. When that work was completed, Lisa was invited on set to hear how her questions worked and how the guest would respond. Maybe I had something to do with it, it would certainly make sense...because eventually, Lisa became an Enology student at Cornell University.
At the University, all students in this curriculum are required to do an internship before they graduate. This is the story of Lisa's internship at the famed Chateau Haut Bailly.
For sure, if you want to know the insights a young wine Enology student might gain from the academic side and the practical side of wine...this is the episode.
Lisa Kassabian never expected that an afterschool “All About Grapes” club would spark a journey from a Los Angeles vineyard to the heart of Bordeaux. In this episode of Wine Talks, you’ll discover how a childhood passion for science—and a hobby vineyard at home—led Lisa from California to Cornell, and ultimately, to an eye-opening internship in France. You’ll gain a rare behind-the-scenes view of the very real intersections between wine, science, and culture, as Lisa reveals how pruning and fermentation chemistry connect to centuries of tradition. Listen closely and you’ll learn what really happens when theory meets the terroir: from tackling grapevine netting and barrel racking to navigating French hospitality, language barriers, and immaculate cellars. Through Lisa’s first-hand stories, you’ll hear what distinguishes French winemaking—the meticulous attention to detail, relentless innovation, and deep cultural ties that set Bordeaux apart from Napa. Ever wonder what it’s like to balance the academic rigor of soil science classes with tasting your family’s Sauvignon Blanc in sunny California? Or how it feels to pour wine at a charity gala in a historic French château? This episode peels back the reality of building a global wine career, from landing international internships to learning the business beyond the classroom, and even discovering which French pastries pair best with your morning commute. By the end, you’ll understand not only the pathways women are carving into the industry, but also why every bottle holds a world of stories, science, and adventure—a revelation sure to inspire future vintners and aficionados alike.
Cornell University
https://www.cornell.edu
UC Davis (University of California, Davis)
https://www.ucdavis.edu
Château Haut-Bailly
https://www.haut-bailly.com
Sequoia Grove Winery
https://www.sequoiagrove.com
Smith Haut Lafitte
https://www.smith-haut-lafitte.com
Château Lynch-Bages
https://www.lynchbages.com
Château Giscours
https://www.giscours.com
#wineTalks #LisaKassabian #PaulKalemkiarian #viticulture #enology #CornellUniversity #wineinternship #ChateauHautBailly #Bordeaux #NapaValley #womeninwine #Frenchwine #wineeducation #vineyardmanagement #winemaking #winescience #Frenchculture #wineindustry #winecareers #winepodcast
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I've always loved science and nature, and I feel like wine,
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viticulture and enology just pairs both of the
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science and the wine together. Sit back and grab a
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glass. It's Wine Talks with Paul K.
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Hey, welcome to Wine Talks with Paul Kay. And we are in studio today in
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beautiful Southern California, about to have a conversation with college
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student Lisa Casabi. And introductions in just a minute. Yes, I am the
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guy that sold 17 million bottles and tasted 100,000
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wines the way all by myself.
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But that's not why we're here today, because Wine Talk started because of those 100,000
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wines I tasted. There's 100,000 stories to tell.
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And today, I'm really delighted and excited to hear from Lisa Kazabian.
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She is a student at Cornell University, going into her third year
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of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a
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specialty in viticulture and enology. Welcome to
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the show. Thank you. And thank you for having me. You're welcome.
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Well, you sat on the other side of this studio before, right? You
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used to write. I used to write the little notes for you
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about the people who you had on the podcast. And I
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remember sitting on the couch over there on the other side of the podcast, watching
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you ask people questions, and now I'm on the other side. It's
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cool. It's like, what the heck? Yeah. What is he talking about? And
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you actually. But you were. You. I don't think you were even
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thinking about the wine trade then, were you? No, I was. I
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mean, I was just thinking this is such a cool experience, and
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it would just be nice to apply my sciences into something.
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But this. This adventure is amazing.
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Actually. I had this idea yesterday because a guy delivered
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your chateau by you wines, and he goes, is this a bar?
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And I go, no, but wouldn't that be cool if this, like, setup
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was like a wine tasting room, and then once in a while there's a podcast
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going on while people are enjoying their wines? It would be really cool. That'd
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be fun. Yeah. Well, we'll pour some Chateau Bailly while we're doing that.
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So why did you get. I know that your parents built a little
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vineyard in the Valley in Los Angeles and
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growing Cabernet and Merlot, I think. Right. And was that just
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for fun that they did that? Yeah, they've always had
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a little passion for wine and wine making,
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and they started this little passion project,
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and it's been growing ever since. We sell about
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5,000 bottles, which is so small, but
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it's growing. I didn't Realize it was that much. Yeah,
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It's a really cool adventure. And that's what
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brought me into the wine industry because I've always loved science
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and nature, and I feel like wine and viticulture and
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enology just pairs both of the science and the wine
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together. And like their wines. Yes.
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Not to be biased, but I. I love it. I had to put that out
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there. Yeah, no, I absolutely love it. So,
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like, I don't know, this must be on their third or fourth vintage by
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now. And they're picking the grapes, they're fermenting them. And you
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participated in most of that. Yes, and I have a
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bottle after my name, which is
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a Sauvignon Blanc. And
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it's an amazing, nice, crisp, easy, drinkable
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wine. And I think it's perfect for a nice hot summer day,
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especially in sunny California. You sound like a real
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wine person. Yeah. Learning to be.
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Is it what it's called? Lisa's blend? I wish. What do they call
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it? Just Lisa. Oh, just Lisa. Just. Okay, great. Yeah.
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So we, along the way, which we are, I've tasted
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the wines, of course. In fact, your dad brought in the first vintage of the
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Cabernet grown on the property, and he was a little disappointed in what it
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tasted like the night before. But then when we opened it here in the shop,
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I go, you know, this is very palatable, you know, particularly for a first vintage
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from an area that's not known for wine, et cetera, et cetera. And the wine
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had flattened out. He goes, I didn't realize it would change like that. It changed
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a lot because of the acid, but
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slowly then it seems that this sort of interest in enology,
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you always like science kind of developed. You sat here, wrote some
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talking points, and I think I deliberately had you do talking points for most of
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the women that came in here, because women in wine is a very
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hot topic right now. Right. And winemakers,
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there's like 25% of all winemakers that come out of college are women. But that's
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gone up considerably and they're still looking for more executive
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positions for women in the business. But when
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did you say, you know what, I think I'm going to pursue this?
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It was my junior year in high school, and
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I wanted to do something with the science and the nature,
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and I started All About Grapes club
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at my high school. And I think that's where it really just took off because
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I. We worked at the vineyard at my high school
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and I brought in so many different things that were grape
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related products like Concord Grape
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Jam and just grapes itself and juice and
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this and that. And I think that's where it really just took off, because
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somebody had mentioned that you could use grapes not only for wine,
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but also for, like, you know, topical cosmetics
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and this and that. And I just, I just fell in love with the
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idea of science and using grapes for
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wine and just everything. Just. I was a member of the
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backgammon club in high school and like the
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old movie club, and here a young girl starts the All About Grapes
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club. Yeah, they didn't allow this. I mean, they allowed this because you didn't say
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it was all about wine. You said it was all about grapes. It was. It
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was all about grapes. Yeah. You're not telling me that you had little wine coolers
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in the back at the meetings or anything like that? No. You
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know, it's funny, you said that about the curative and the health benefits
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of, of grapes in general, which is in the book in front of you,
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the French Paradox. But, you know, you. Were
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you getting it? When we get to France, we're going to talk about Smith Old
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Lafitte, because they have a very famous cosmetic brand. Right. That came from there.
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But. So when you went out to find college to
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decide where you're going to go and your brother had gone to Cornell, you applied.
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Did you only apply to enology schools or did you apply? No, I
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applied to a bunch of other schools as well, but the
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three schools that really spoke to me were
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all related to viticulture and enology, and
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I got into Cornell and UC Davis as well. And
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I mean, I picked Cornell because my older brother was there,
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and it was a familiar school to me, but I think just
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vidiculture really spoke to me, and
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I honestly would not think of another school to be
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in. And you went to Napa a couple times and sort of talked to some
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people, essentially through Sequoia Grove. Yeah. And
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would that. Was that interesting? Yes, it was very
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interesting to see just everything, like,
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from. You could see everything from the start of the
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grapes, the vines, all the way through to the
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actual product of the wine. And I just, I loved
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seeing the whole entire process being able to see and even
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implement everything into it. So I, I.
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So you went, you got accepted and you got excited. I remember, I remember the
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day. Yeah. The phone calls, texts Lisa got,
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and you got there. What was your first. Were you
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intimidated? Was it, Was there. Was the science too much? Was it, Was it
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what you expected? It's okay for it not to be what you expected. Just wonder.
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Your initial Impressions were when you got there, started this thing. I didn't
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realize how much of science was actually
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applied into the enology and the viticulture
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side. So I was just a little bit like,
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whoa, there's so much in the sciences. But
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it's amazing learning about all these
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different types of science classes and all these different stuff.
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It's cool seeing how much applies into it. So
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you studies, you're studying fermentation sciences.
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Yeah. Agriculture? Yeah. Like soil
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science, plant science, like orgo, chemistry, bio,
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all those types of classes. And so was that what
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you expected? Were you like, I don't know,
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I want to do that. I should have gone into architecture. I mean,
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I knew there was a lot of sciences into it, but I didn't, I wasn't
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really expecting anything. I just, I, I knew science
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was going to be in it. But, you know, it's interesting and I've brought this
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up many times, there are two paths in this industry and then
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there's the hybrid of the path. One path is what you're doing and then
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now you became a hybrid of that path. But the other path is, you know,
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these people start in the cellar, washing down the tanks and cleaning the
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vineyard and I mean, cleaning the winery. And then they go in the vineyard and
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they don't go to any school for it. Right. To me,
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that's a really interesting dynamic for this, for an, for any industry. Like, you
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probably couldn't do that with semiconductors because you'd have to know something
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about computer science. But you can with
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wine and you can make good wines on, on both paths. One of them
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gives you a more worldly look at it, you know, more detailed look of the
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science and the chemistry, etc. But the other one is like, you know, the way
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they made wine all the time. Right. It's
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such an organic product. Right. So I
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want to know at Cornell, at school, and you're in New York,
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right? Is it New York? Yeah, yeah, I forgot.
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How do you get any practical experience on what
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is going to go on in your career besides classroom and
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learning about the chemistry? How do they sort of prepare you for
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the idea you're going to be in a vineyard? Well,
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I mean, our classes are more so catered towards that. We
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have last year I
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viticulture or vineyard management class
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and I learned about netting, pruning
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and all these different types of
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subjects that are involved in vineyard management.
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And then I also took a bunch of wines
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classes like Grapes to Wines with Gavin Sachs. And
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it was, it's a cool
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place to learn about all the different molecules that are
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involved in the winemaking process. And
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in one of my other classes, you know, we learned about
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how much fermentation actually exudes
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out carbon dioxide. So I feel
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like with all these little different, detailed things
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within the class, we learn about wine. And then outside of
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class, it's at our vineyard, at home,
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or just, you know, searching up different types of things. If
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anything comes to mind, it's. Well, the reason I brought that up is
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like, you know, business school. Business school's great.
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And what I find really interesting in the wine trade is that many, many, many,
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many come out of their master's program at Harvard, and they come out
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of Cornell, they come out of Columbia, and then they apply to it, they
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try to apply their business school methods to the wine business.
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It never works. Right, right. And so I'm wondering
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then what you're learning so far, and you're going into the third year, so you've
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had enough under your belt. And understand when you got to France, and we'll tell
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the listeners in a second what happened, that
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there was a huge distance between sitting in the
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classroom and going in the vineyard. Let me
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explain to the listeners real fast. Lisa worked
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here. Then at Cornell, they said they want you to.
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They want you to have an internship. Right. Or is it required to have an
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internship? Yeah, it's required to have an internship. Before you graduate or
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like at some point. Yeah, before you graduate. I mean, anytime
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before. Yeah. And so when we heard this, we were going to
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find a place and it could be anywhere in the world. Right. They don't really
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care. Yeah. Why did you, why did you want to go to France?
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Well, because your mom speaks French. Yeah. But also
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because France is a well renowned and well
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known winemaking region. So I thought
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it would be perfect. I mean,
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I could live there, so it's okay. I just wondered because there's so many places
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to go. And Napa, of course, in California, which is, and I think one of
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the big differences between the two. Let's just say California would be the
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New World versus Old World being New World being Australia,
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New Zealand, America, South America. Those are all what they
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consider New World appellations. And then you got this history
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like that's been developing for hundreds of years and the wine trade
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in France, and that's why it's so inspiring. Right. So we set out to
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find you an internship, Right? Yeah. And you, you
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researched a lot. I, I did, I did. And I
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mean, you introduced me to Veronique and her team
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at Chateau Haute Bayou, which was an amaz
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with such an innovative and wonderful team. And
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I want to thank you again for. For
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that introduction. But it. I mean, I
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honestly wouldn't have asked for
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really anything else, because as you were saying before,
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that internship really did open
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my eyes to how much Cornell preps
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you for the real world, because everything
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that we were doing in the vineyard or in.
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In the racking as well, in the cellar, the
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vineyard really just like, it was
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basically what I studied at school, which was
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so amazing. That's pretty much what the question. But let's go back to. For the.
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For your. For your fellow students
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and anybody that's listening, that has a child or a.
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Is going to think about going in that career
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you set out. We. We sent a bunch of emails out.
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We didn't even know if. If wineries had internships,
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particularly, you know, in June, which is not. There's not a whole lot going on.
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Right. In the winery. Right. And you. You put a fair amount of work
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into trying to at least send letters, you send questions. You send
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all kinds of things. Right. Did you. I don't. Did you
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send anything to Napa Valley at all?
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No. You did. It's just all France. It was all France. I love it. I
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looked for Napa, but I. I thought it would be such a. More
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interesting. Yeah, it would be way more interesting. And then when. When we got the
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offer, when. When Veronique responded,
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were you scared at that moment? A little bit, yeah. Yeah. I was
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nervous to see how. I mean, I would be there for my whole summer. I
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was like, oh, my God, that's so much. But, yeah. But now looking
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back, I want to go back. Yeah, of course. Yeah.
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I desperately. Sandra and I desperately tried. We started a big
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project here in Monroe, and there's no way I could leave because the contractor was
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on a billion questions. And so I felt. I felt cheated
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that didn't get. Come visit you guys while we were doing this. So we'll have
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to do it separately. A different occasion when you go back.
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So you get to France, your mom went with you to get you
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settled. And what was your first
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like? I mean, look, you're in a foreign country. They're speaking a foreign
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language. You're exposed to the language, or you didn't know the language, and
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you're not sure about what your education brought to the table
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at this point. Right. And you're probably a little nervous standing there with these people.
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Oh, I was so nervous the day before.
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I was like, oh, my God, what am I gonna do? Like,
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I don't even speak their language. I was so nervous, but actually
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getting there the first day, even with the language, barri barrier, I
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felt so welcomed, and they were all super
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nice, and I got a tour of the vineyard, the office,
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everything, and everybody just had a welcoming smile, and
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I. I just felt like I was at home. Well, that's great. Yeah. Well, she.
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She was the reason. It was because of her demeanor, Veronique
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Sanders Van Beek, that I even suggested that.
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Because she just wanted a woman in wine. Right. And her
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famous quote, which you probably heard a few times, he had the
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audacity to hire a woman. And that was about the owner, who I think
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the son lives in la. Right, Right. In Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz Chateau
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Bailly. So I thought, okay,
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this might be a great match because she is very
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welcoming. And one of the comments she made to me after we were
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done on our podcast, and I'm going to start producing some reels out of that,
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was she goes, I felt very comfortable having
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a conversation with you, which I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but
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the idea, I thought, wow, she felt comfortable. And this is. And I didn't
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know her English level. I didn't know anything at that point that this would be
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potentially a good match. So. But one thing that I think is very funny and
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ironic is one of the things you told me when we were looking into doing
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this. You said, well, I don't really want to be in the vineyard.
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And the first thing they did was put you in the vineyard.
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Because I didn't know how much I knew and
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how much they were expecting of me. I was just nervous about.
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About that. And actually now going
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through with the vineyard and going through with everything,
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I realized there was really nothing to be nervous about,
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which is really good because Cornell had prepped me and I was ready.
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But also, they were also very nice. What
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was your impression of Bordeaux? Now, I'll tell you
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mine. Before I went, you're thinking, this
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is rural, you know, countryside, and that's all it is. And
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you go from winery to winery, and it's actually not that.
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It's a pretty big city. Yeah. And how did you find the city? Do
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you find it friendly? You find it food, the whole thing?
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Yeah, it was. It was really cool. It was
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massive. There was a bunch of different stores, a bunch of different
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restaurants, and it was like a mini Paris. And
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I wasn't expecting that once I got there, I thought it was going to be
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like that, like, more so rural and vineyards kind of Like Napa.
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And I got there and I was like, wow.
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So, I mean, everybody there were. They were very welcoming
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and they're very nice. There was a little hairdresser
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right below our apartment, and they,
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they were very nice. We. My mom went there to get her
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hair done, and I went there to get my nails done as well. And
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they were just English, no problem at that point. Yeah. But
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they're, they're. They were super nice. And I feel like that goes with everybody
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there as well. You know, the, the, the. I went there in
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1993. I went to Bordeaux, the
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biggest wine tasting event of the world at that point. I was
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so angry that I couldn't speak the language. I was so angry
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I couldn't communicate because English was not nearly as prevalent as it is today. Right.
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And your mom and I were discussing how we want to work on our French,
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and her French is much better than mine, but she want. We don't want to
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work on our French and they want to work on their English. Yeah. So there's
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like a little bit of a push pull when you first meet people like what
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you're going to do. Right, right. But. But I was so angry at it.
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I. I swore I would never go back. And then my father
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speaking French. I decided before he passed away that I would learn so
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we could just chat and remember his childhood, because that's when he learned it.
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And now I can't wait to go back and have become this Francophile because
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there's something so amazingly interesting about the history of.
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Of that part of the world. Right. How did, how was
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your French? No problem.
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I mean, I, I learned a little bit. Do some words out there.
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Right, right. You know, because there is a. There is a hybrid language which
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is like, you throw. You speak English, we throw some French words in there. Vice
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versa, you know, French with some English. Right. But are you inspired to possibly
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learn now? Yeah, no, I definitely am. Especially
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after this. I for sure am. Because for me, when I
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go, I don't want to leave because I don't. I don't want to ever want
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to have to give it up. Right. And I want to continue practicing. So you
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know what I did yesterday? I went to chapter because I.
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And I said, write me a lesson. This is my level of French.
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Write me a lesson. I want a vocabulary lesson. I want grammar, and I want
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to be able to speak, you know, so wrote this whole thing. So
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hour one, then I did hour two, and yesterday. Tomorrow I'm going to do hour
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three. It does the whole thing for You. It progresses. I don't have to pay
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somebody. It works really good. It
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looks really cool. It really works. Oh, my God.
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You're in the vineyard, you're working in the winery. And it
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sounded like they put you through all kinds of things, not just vineyard management, but
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you went into the office. You went into the winery itself. What did you do
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in the office? And what did you do in the winery? So to start with
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the winery, I was part of their racking.
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So we clean the barrels, move the wine
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from the barrel into the tank, and then back into the
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barrel. And I was helping out with
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that. And then also in the office,
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I helped out with their charity
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event that they had, which was called Back to Care. Oh,
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you did. You worked on that? Yeah. Wow. And
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I just helped assemble some of their little
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parting gifts or. And the speaking
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notes as well, and
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just here and there, whatever they needed help with. And I also helped with
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their hospitality. So they had a bunch of industry
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tours, and I helped set up for the little
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dinners and put, like, the silverware in
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a. Very nice and precise. In the setting.
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Very important. Yeah. And.
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How was. How was your opinion of this is
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what amazed me about my daughter Lisa, when we went and visited her at
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pastry school. How immaculate
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the French keep their kitchens, their. The
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wineries, and of course, the winery requirement because of bacteria and yeast
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and everything floating around the air. Right. Was that revealing to
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you? Yeah. Even just
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through the. Through the tours, everything was just so precise. It
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had to be like, all in a straight line and
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it was all very precise. And then in the winery as well, they
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had little hidden cupboards for the water or for the
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electricity. And the tanks
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itself were under all these different panels to make it as if
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there was nothing there. And I just thought that was so cool
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and how their attention to detail was amazing.
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Do you think that's a major difference in cultural
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exchanges between American America, which I'm not dissing America, of
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course, but that there's. You see a stark difference
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between the way the cultures treat those things.
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Yeah, no, I definitely did see that. Can you imagine a kitchen, a restaurant
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in America? Well, there are many, but I mean, a typical restaurant
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in, like Los Angeles have a kitchen is spotless as
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they are in France. Yeah. I mean, both. I think
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both can get. Can do it. Yeah. And get equally
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as spotless. But it was. It was so cool walking
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through the winery and everything was just so tucked away and
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put away. It was. That winery, for the listeners,
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is touted as one of the great innovations in wine
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trade. Let's get in the wine business a little bit, see. See if we can
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peel some things back. You know, the industry is in a difficult period right
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now and innovation is this big word, right, that. Then I even
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interviewed the professor of innovation and the business school of
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USC to get an idea from him and he had. It was very difficult to
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explain what in the wine trade would be considered
401
00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:12,800
innovative. Like you're a student. Would you think putting
402
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wine in a can is an innovation? Yeah, I mean, I suppose
403
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from a definitive innovation is a good innovation. That's the difference. You don't have to
404
00:25:19,670 --> 00:25:23,470
answer that bag in the
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box, you know, these bladders. Is that a good innovation? It's innovative. Is it? Does
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it advance the needle of the kinds of things, you know, Chateau Bailly
407
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does? I don't think so. But what she did,
408
00:25:35,430 --> 00:25:39,230
that winery is extraordinarily innovative. Right. So when they did
409
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this charity event, which is a famous bike ride, how much? Been a
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few years they've done this. I think three or four years. And they raised a
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lot of money. Yeah, but did they do it
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upstairs on top of the barrels? Is that where they were on top of the
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tanks or the one underneath. It for the event? Yeah, it's like the
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dinners or whatever they did. Yeah, they did it in their old winery.
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So it was. Oh, really? It's now turned into like a boutique and a reception
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area where they have massive dinners and they had
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hosted it there. Oh, man. I thought because they got that
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cool winery and they got the glass tasting room and then they got. You
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walk around the new winery and then they. You can have events
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underneath and on top. On top of the barrels and everything. Yeah, they
421
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did. Do they have done events over there? But
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this event, they didn't. Huh. So it was the other building
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and. In the back across the. The way from the
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chateau. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. Well, she,
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she's. And then if. What's interesting to me about
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Veronika is that, you know, her husband is the director of Chateauguy.
427
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Score. So, you know, that's. I wonder. Okay, let me ask you,
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what do you think they talk about when they get home? I. I have
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no idea. I was actually thinking about that. Yeah, I didn't. I have
430
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no idea. I think, you know, I would go home with Auntie Sander and
431
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we, we would continue to talk about what happened during the day. And then that
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got, you know, like, wow, we're doing this 24 hours a day. But, you know,
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wine. Let me ask you this, this different. Do you
434
00:27:12,490 --> 00:27:15,930
feel like there's A difference in the lifestyle of
435
00:27:15,930 --> 00:27:19,490
wine in France, in the lifestyle of
436
00:27:19,490 --> 00:27:23,330
wine in America? Probably, yes. I
437
00:27:23,330 --> 00:27:26,370
don't know how to pinpoint and what to pinpoint it at, but.
438
00:27:28,370 --> 00:27:32,130
Probably yes. It just seems to me that at least in the Napa Valley
439
00:27:32,130 --> 00:27:35,050
and I had a conversation yesterday was from Paso Robles, and it was a little
440
00:27:35,050 --> 00:27:38,250
bit different viewpoint of the business,
441
00:27:39,050 --> 00:27:42,650
but seems like so much of the Napa Valley is wealth
442
00:27:42,970 --> 00:27:46,650
that's been created elsewhere. And then they come and we want to buy
443
00:27:46,650 --> 00:27:50,410
the lifestyle of the wine business. Right. And then we
444
00:27:50,410 --> 00:27:54,250
realize how hard it is. Yeah. And then. But France,
445
00:27:54,730 --> 00:27:58,210
particular place like Chateau Bay, where she's been running it for like 20 years or
446
00:27:58,210 --> 00:28:01,770
something. Right, right. Where it is. It is the lifestyle. It is
447
00:28:01,770 --> 00:28:05,510
life as part of the culture of
448
00:28:05,510 --> 00:28:09,310
the business. That's the part that's romantic to me.
449
00:28:09,790 --> 00:28:13,390
Yeah. No, I really like that too. Especially that
450
00:28:13,390 --> 00:28:17,150
everybody's just so into it and all the workers,
451
00:28:17,390 --> 00:28:21,030
too. Everybody just loves it. They love the lifestyle.
452
00:28:21,030 --> 00:28:24,750
They are really just drawn to it. Is there
453
00:28:24,750 --> 00:28:28,230
any conversation about the current state of
454
00:28:28,230 --> 00:28:30,880
affairs, the current state of business in France about wine?
455
00:28:32,230 --> 00:28:36,030
I Don't they really discuss that. No. They want the harsh reality to settle
456
00:28:36,030 --> 00:28:39,710
in on this. Either they
457
00:28:39,710 --> 00:28:43,110
didn't want to say it or I didn't ask. I. I also didn't ask. So
458
00:28:43,110 --> 00:28:45,710
what are they? What's she making now? They have the Grand Vent, which is the
459
00:28:45,710 --> 00:28:49,510
Chateau Bailly. Right. And then what else do they have? They have
460
00:28:49,510 --> 00:28:53,190
the. The Grandfant Chateau Haute Bailey
461
00:28:54,070 --> 00:28:57,590
2, which is the one lower. And then
462
00:28:57,670 --> 00:29:01,340
HB and. And they have those three lines.
463
00:29:01,340 --> 00:29:04,580
So you guessed it. They stopped making the pop. That
464
00:29:04,900 --> 00:29:08,700
switched. They renamed it. They renamed it to hb. Oh, they did. Okay.
465
00:29:08,700 --> 00:29:12,060
And then Lepard. It used to be
466
00:29:12,060 --> 00:29:15,700
Lepard and Now it's to HB2. So they just
467
00:29:15,780 --> 00:29:18,940
made it. What the. Obviously, the grand vine is the best stuff and the best
468
00:29:18,940 --> 00:29:22,540
barrels, whatever. They do the best vineyards. What's by you
469
00:29:22,540 --> 00:29:26,310
too, it's the one. A little bit lower. And
470
00:29:27,430 --> 00:29:31,190
they also make very good wine, but it's with
471
00:29:32,310 --> 00:29:35,670
the. A little bit lower. But is it the
472
00:29:36,070 --> 00:29:39,750
vineyard difference? So sometimes
473
00:29:40,790 --> 00:29:44,550
when I think it's been happening in Bordeaux, France lately is they're not creating
474
00:29:44,550 --> 00:29:48,390
what they call second labels, even though it's got Roman numeral tune
475
00:29:48,390 --> 00:29:52,230
next to it. But they're actually creating a new brand, which is a diff. There's
476
00:29:52,230 --> 00:29:55,740
a difference between that and what we might do in America, which is.
477
00:29:55,900 --> 00:29:59,660
Well, we have our Caymus and we have the Caymus Blah, blah, blah.
478
00:29:59,740 --> 00:30:01,900
And that's usually in some cases
479
00:30:04,060 --> 00:30:07,140
they go through all the barrels and the best barrels they put in the grand
480
00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:10,300
vault and then the second barrel. So it's really a second label of the second
481
00:30:10,780 --> 00:30:14,620
tier of quality. And I think with Obail and other
482
00:30:14,860 --> 00:30:18,300
chateau in Bordeaux they're actually creating a new brand
483
00:30:18,860 --> 00:30:22,560
that represents something else besides just the
484
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,240
second level of wine. Like an actual sipage difference or
485
00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,960
Malone, you know the different cuvee or grapes from a different
486
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,800
part of the vineyard or grapes that are only five years or six
487
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,200
years or seven years old, the vineyards rather than the 25 year old
488
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:41,000
vineyards. Do you know the differences between those wines yet? I
489
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,280
don't know. I don't know for sure. I'm pretty sure it's,
490
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,380
it's the not as desirable
491
00:30:49,620 --> 00:30:53,300
graves. Right. So it's like because they'll go through the barrels, they'll
492
00:30:53,300 --> 00:30:57,140
taste them all. In some cases they'll say well we're only going to make,
493
00:30:57,460 --> 00:31:00,900
you know, 25000 cases of the grand vault and then the rest is going to
494
00:31:00,900 --> 00:31:04,580
be whatever. Right. So the La Pop then, which means
495
00:31:04,580 --> 00:31:08,100
the Pope as we know your French is coming along.
496
00:31:08,420 --> 00:31:12,260
It is. It came from that vineyard you said you
497
00:31:12,260 --> 00:31:15,800
worked in, which is the other little chateau they have. It's got like a six
498
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,320
bedroom hotel or something. Right. And there's a, there's actually a Pope
499
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,560
bronze statue there in the, in the chateau.
500
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,240
Oh, I didn't see it. Yeah. So I wonder if that's where the grapes were
501
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,840
from that area. From that vineyard. Yes. It's about
502
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,000
like a one or two minute drive from the
503
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,200
Chateau Haute Bayou vineyard and they have their own
504
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,960
little parcels over there and it's,
505
00:31:42,930 --> 00:31:46,610
it's like the hotel and you look out from your
506
00:31:46,610 --> 00:31:50,410
window from probably your room and, and you just see the whole
507
00:31:50,410 --> 00:31:54,090
vineyard. It's, it's magical. Did you go into the little
508
00:31:54,090 --> 00:31:57,810
town right there? Yes. Little cheese shop and a little bakery right
509
00:31:57,810 --> 00:32:00,730
there. Yeah. Do you like that part of the lifestyle? Like you can go down
510
00:32:00,730 --> 00:32:03,410
the street to Boulangerie.
511
00:32:04,690 --> 00:32:07,650
Yeah, Fromagerie. It was, it was nice.
512
00:32:08,610 --> 00:32:11,930
In the morning before I got to work I would, we would go to the
513
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:15,230
boulangerie, get my lunch and then it be like a two minute drive
514
00:32:15,870 --> 00:32:19,670
down to, to work and then I would start my day. It
515
00:32:19,670 --> 00:32:22,670
was, it was such a nice life. So did you think like why don't we,
516
00:32:22,910 --> 00:32:25,630
why isn't this in America? Why can't we go down the street
517
00:32:26,590 --> 00:32:29,070
and have a decent baguette?
518
00:32:30,590 --> 00:32:34,270
Did you think that I did think that, but, I mean, it's.
519
00:32:34,270 --> 00:32:37,870
It's different. It's different. It's different. It's all part of, like. It's all
520
00:32:37,870 --> 00:32:41,570
built into the system. So when you went touring, since you're there six
521
00:32:41,570 --> 00:32:45,210
weeks, where'd you guys visit? We went to
522
00:32:45,210 --> 00:32:49,010
Chateau Smith Haute Lafitte. Oh, yeah. It was
523
00:32:49,410 --> 00:32:53,010
beautiful. The Cathiards. Yeah. Mr. Cathiard, I
524
00:32:53,010 --> 00:32:56,850
heard. Yes. And then I saw him.
525
00:32:58,050 --> 00:33:01,450
He gave a little bit of a tour at the beginning next to the
526
00:33:01,450 --> 00:33:05,010
barrels that they were making. And then I
527
00:33:05,010 --> 00:33:08,520
also went to Lynchbaj, which
528
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:13,000
was spectacular. Pretty fancy. Yeah, you
529
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,720
fancy, huh? Yeah. I
530
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:20,560
saw them do the. It was a whole gravity flow so they wouldn't
531
00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:24,240
use pumping over, and they brought all the grapes
532
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,800
into, like, a little tray, and they, like, lifted it up,
533
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,880
brought it over, down into the barrels. It was. It was cool.
534
00:33:34,210 --> 00:33:37,490
And then I also went to Chateau
535
00:33:37,650 --> 00:33:41,330
Gisco. Yeah. Yeah. I've not been there.
536
00:33:41,570 --> 00:33:45,090
It was beautiful. Yeah. You have to go. It was your husband
537
00:33:46,450 --> 00:33:48,770
at another. Another time. Yes.
538
00:33:49,810 --> 00:33:53,650
Alexander. Alexander. So did you think you'd ever be saying, like,
539
00:33:53,650 --> 00:33:56,530
well, they're doing a gravity flow, you know, here, and they're doing pump over here,
540
00:33:56,530 --> 00:34:00,210
and, like, was that. You say it with such confidence. It's
541
00:34:00,210 --> 00:34:03,910
amazing. Yeah. I mean, you know why I was so nervous getting
542
00:34:03,910 --> 00:34:07,750
into the internship is because I didn't know all of this, and now
543
00:34:07,750 --> 00:34:11,590
coming out of it, I. I feel like I have, like, a little part
544
00:34:11,590 --> 00:34:15,270
of my heart there. That's great. Yeah, you do. It's not like you
545
00:34:15,270 --> 00:34:19,030
feel like you do. Yeah. So that was actually part of the
546
00:34:19,030 --> 00:34:22,790
leading question earlier, which was how stark a difference
547
00:34:22,790 --> 00:34:26,390
was getting into the field, getting into the bowels of a winery. I mean, winery
548
00:34:26,390 --> 00:34:30,000
is not just making wine as business and charity events and all those kinds of
549
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,680
things that go with it. How different. How
550
00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,160
real did that feel compared to the
551
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:40,640
academic side of it? Like, you show up and you're like, wait a minute. You
552
00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:43,920
know, we're in the classroom. Yes. We made. What was that grape you guys made
553
00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,480
wine from that was frozen before? Oh, Riesling. Yeah, it was a
554
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:51,320
Riesling gravy that was like frozen juice. And yet, I mean, that's clearly
555
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,880
not what you experienced in. In France. So
556
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,990
was that exciting? Inspiring,
557
00:34:59,110 --> 00:35:02,750
intimidating? Which maybe all of them, honestly.
558
00:35:02,750 --> 00:35:05,670
Yeah, it was all of them. I was honestly
559
00:35:05,990 --> 00:35:09,790
intimidated and nervous and also excited. Very excited going into
560
00:35:09,790 --> 00:35:13,430
it. But now, after
561
00:35:13,590 --> 00:35:17,350
being through the whole entire internship, I. I look
562
00:35:17,350 --> 00:35:20,950
back and I'm. I'm so happy. And. And so.
563
00:35:20,950 --> 00:35:24,240
Yeah. And the Food. What'd you think of French food?
564
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,160
It was great. I had. I went to
565
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,760
the restaurant called 1925, and
566
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:36,240
it was so. It. It was so good. You were there six weeks,
567
00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:39,920
so you had to experience. Yeah, we. We went. I think we went
568
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:43,600
to a new restaurant every single day. Like, so, like, you go to
569
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:46,960
Armenia and, you know, at least when we first went,
570
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:51,120
everybody had kebab, everybody had tomatoes, everybody had vegetables. That
571
00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,280
was like the cuisine period. And it's not like that anymore. But
572
00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:59,080
in France, you know, if you stick around long enough, you're going to have very
573
00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:02,400
similar meals of very similar places. Beef bourguignon, and there's going to be
574
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:06,040
escargot and all the rest of the things that are typically French. Right. And so
575
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:09,560
sometimes you come away going, I really could go for a hamburger right now,
576
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,560
but. Yeah, but what was so special to
577
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:17,160
Bordeaux is the foie gras. Yeah. Did you like that?
578
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,840
It was okay. Have you had it before in America? No, it was
579
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,510
illegal. If not, maybe still is in California, probably, which is ridiculous.
580
00:36:25,620 --> 00:36:28,820
But I love it. I. I tried it and I.
581
00:36:29,220 --> 00:36:33,060
It was. It was nice. I just don't know. I wouldn't gravitate to
582
00:36:33,060 --> 00:36:36,500
it on a menu another time. Yes. I have tried
583
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:40,260
snails. They're really good. But what's
584
00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:43,940
a little pastry that's actually known for
585
00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:48,500
and known in Bordeaux is the canel. Yes,
586
00:36:48,500 --> 00:36:52,080
the canele. And, yeah, it's like
587
00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:55,600
a. Maybe like this big, and it's a little bit
588
00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:59,360
domed in the inside or on the top. It was
589
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,680
really good. Is that the little pastry that's like a little mini tower?
590
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,680
Yeah, yeah. That's very famous. Yeah. You enjoyed that? Yeah,
591
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:10,400
it was pretty good. Yeah, they're pretty good. But there's probably places. So when
592
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:14,120
we go. When I go to Paris or Bordeaux, I listen
593
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,320
to podcasts of chefs and things and where they go.
594
00:37:17,810 --> 00:37:21,250
Right. And so. And that gives you. This is another thing that's interesting about
595
00:37:21,730 --> 00:37:24,450
European culture, that. That Americans don't have
596
00:37:25,970 --> 00:37:29,330
regional and very specific
597
00:37:29,330 --> 00:37:33,170
pastries and breads. Right, right. We don't really have that. No.
598
00:37:33,330 --> 00:37:37,130
But that's. So I'll give you a little insight on why
599
00:37:37,130 --> 00:37:40,930
that is. The French and the Italians
600
00:37:41,570 --> 00:37:44,980
and most of Europe protect those regionalities.
601
00:37:45,300 --> 00:37:49,140
Right, right. So Bordeaux wine, you can't grow Pinot
602
00:37:49,140 --> 00:37:52,980
Noir. Right? You can, but you can't call it Bordeaux. In Burgundy, you can't
603
00:37:52,980 --> 00:37:56,660
grow Cabernet. You can, but you can't call it Burgundy. And same
604
00:37:56,660 --> 00:38:00,380
with cheeses, same with butter. Right. And I think that
605
00:38:00,380 --> 00:38:04,140
does a Lot to protect the culture in America. You can get Texas
606
00:38:04,140 --> 00:38:07,860
chili in New England, and you can get New England clam chowder on the Southern.
607
00:38:07,940 --> 00:38:11,670
Southern California. Right. And that we've kind of
608
00:38:11,670 --> 00:38:15,350
blurred the lines. So here's the interesting thing for
609
00:38:15,350 --> 00:38:19,110
me. The French love this idea of the New
610
00:38:19,110 --> 00:38:22,750
World. Yeah. Because they can come to America and do whatever they want. Right. They
611
00:38:22,750 --> 00:38:26,110
can grow Syrah, they can grow Pinot Noir, they can grow Chardonnay in places that
612
00:38:26,110 --> 00:38:29,870
they wouldn't expect. And they can eat whatever they want. Whatever they
613
00:38:29,870 --> 00:38:33,310
want and feel whatever they want. But I'm jealous of the fact that they protect
614
00:38:33,310 --> 00:38:36,320
their culture. Yeah. And that's why I want to go back.
615
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,400
It was. It was really cool seeing that. And also, we went to
616
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,400
the. Sorry. We went to the Atlantic coast
617
00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:48,280
and we tried the Dune Blanche. It's like a
618
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,960
little puff pastry. And
619
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,720
it had like, a little. It had like a vanilla and a bit
620
00:38:55,720 --> 00:38:59,400
of a rose water type taste for the
621
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,250
inside filling. And it was. It was so good. You have to try it. That's
622
00:39:03,250 --> 00:39:06,850
the. Because you're bars guy. Yeah.
623
00:39:07,090 --> 00:39:10,450
And you like rose water. Yeah. It was kind of like the bone cheek.
624
00:39:10,690 --> 00:39:13,970
That was the most disgusting thing I ever tasted when I went to Sandra's first
625
00:39:13,970 --> 00:39:17,650
Christmas dinner. Really screams disgusting.
626
00:39:18,050 --> 00:39:21,890
Maybe it was it rose water or it was almond something. There was
627
00:39:21,890 --> 00:39:25,610
something else, but. But it was so good. You have to try it.
628
00:39:25,610 --> 00:39:29,410
And so in Paris, what did you find in Paris? We're actually out of time.
629
00:39:30,510 --> 00:39:34,190
What. What did you like about Paris? Is that you've been to Paris before, though,
630
00:39:34,190 --> 00:39:37,790
right? Yeah. Yeah. It was just a weekend trip because the
631
00:39:37,790 --> 00:39:41,590
weekends I had off, we went up to Paris and we just walked
632
00:39:41,590 --> 00:39:45,070
around, went into different restaurants. Nothing
633
00:39:45,150 --> 00:39:48,910
really is coming to mind right now, but nothing
634
00:39:48,910 --> 00:39:52,550
like, spectacular. I want to go back to this because having this podcast with the
635
00:39:52,550 --> 00:39:56,270
clad stripes. When I explained when you walked in, just for the
636
00:39:56,270 --> 00:40:00,050
listeners, the Clatstrops have written four or five books on the wine trade, but
637
00:40:00,050 --> 00:40:03,690
her last book was on the last Empress of France called.
638
00:40:04,090 --> 00:40:07,890
Her name was Eugenie. And you went to Chateau Guiscord.
639
00:40:07,890 --> 00:40:11,450
And we'll call this the last subject. And so I brought that up.
640
00:40:11,690 --> 00:40:14,690
I told them, I said, you know, my intern was there and she went to
641
00:40:14,690 --> 00:40:18,410
Giscourt and they were talking about Chateau, talking about Eugenie.
642
00:40:20,090 --> 00:40:23,340
Then I realized there's so many
643
00:40:23,340 --> 00:40:27,100
connections between the culture of France and she
644
00:40:27,100 --> 00:40:30,900
had a lot to do with. With Paris. And I'm going
645
00:40:30,900 --> 00:40:34,340
to encourage you to get the book and listen to the audiobook because much of
646
00:40:34,340 --> 00:40:38,060
what you enjoy in Paris is because of her. Wow.
647
00:40:38,060 --> 00:40:40,340
This unsung woman of French
648
00:40:42,020 --> 00:40:45,500
patriarch that literally designed
649
00:40:45,500 --> 00:40:49,340
Paris. Wow. And changed the way it was perceived by the world
650
00:40:49,340 --> 00:40:53,060
was done by this woman. And what did they tell you at Chateauguy Score about
651
00:40:53,060 --> 00:40:55,690
her? Do you remember? Yeah.
652
00:40:56,730 --> 00:41:00,010
They said that on her way down from Paris to beat
653
00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:04,050
she. They made Gisco the castle that
654
00:41:04,050 --> 00:41:07,690
it is now to have her come and
655
00:41:08,330 --> 00:41:11,690
have a little stop on her way down to
656
00:41:11,850 --> 00:41:15,650
Viaris, which is also a very beautiful place that you should go
657
00:41:15,650 --> 00:41:19,010
to. Did you guys go to the hotel there? Yeah, her place. That was her
658
00:41:19,010 --> 00:41:22,770
house. Yeah. Isn't that amazing? Yeah. I didn't realize
659
00:41:22,770 --> 00:41:26,310
that before until I had gone to Jisku and I learned the story. But
660
00:41:27,910 --> 00:41:31,270
everything's. You should go to beauty. It's. What I did was
661
00:41:31,750 --> 00:41:35,510
I told the way this book reads is very seamless. You can just
662
00:41:35,510 --> 00:41:39,190
read it without stumbling. And. And I kind of
663
00:41:39,750 --> 00:41:42,630
liken PD Cladstrup, the author of the book, to
664
00:41:43,510 --> 00:41:46,630
Gertrude Stein, who is a famous art and
665
00:41:47,110 --> 00:41:50,230
author critic of the 20s. But
666
00:41:52,700 --> 00:41:56,380
the way this book reads, you can either been to Paris many
667
00:41:56,380 --> 00:42:00,220
times and know what she's talking about because of what Eugenie
668
00:42:00,220 --> 00:42:03,820
did and she. The way she explains with it, or you could read the book
669
00:42:03,900 --> 00:42:07,340
and then go to Paris and go, wow, this is what she did. Wow.
670
00:42:07,740 --> 00:42:11,540
That's how important what this woman's contribution was to. To
671
00:42:11,540 --> 00:42:15,380
Paris and France. And then she got exiled. Wow. And lived her life in
672
00:42:15,380 --> 00:42:18,590
exile after that. They ran her out. Did you go to.
673
00:42:18,830 --> 00:42:22,190
I'll finish it. Did you go to Plus Concord,
674
00:42:22,670 --> 00:42:26,430
which is where the Tall Tower is? And. And Van Cleef
675
00:42:26,430 --> 00:42:29,350
is in there and the Ritz and the Ritz Hotel is there. It's all in
676
00:42:29,350 --> 00:42:32,990
this big circle. I don't. I don't know. You've probably been here, but
677
00:42:33,070 --> 00:42:36,750
I probably have. I just don't. It's not like coming to mind. So this
678
00:42:36,750 --> 00:42:39,910
story, when she ran out, there was like
679
00:42:39,910 --> 00:42:43,710
60,000 people. You're talking about 1890. Something like you talk
680
00:42:43,710 --> 00:42:47,160
about a long time ago. Wow. Yelling off with her head.
681
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,520
And she's holed up in this room. And they had to get her out and
682
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:54,520
she ended up in Spain and then left her life span in exile. But.
683
00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:58,120
And I. And when you go to Paris, you go to Concordia. Oh, my God.
684
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:01,720
This is like history standing in the middle of this amazing place.
685
00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:06,040
And. And you did in
686
00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:09,760
Chateau Bailly and in Bordeaux and then rounding
687
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:13,490
out your. Your, Your career or beginning your
688
00:43:13,490 --> 00:43:17,090
career in this industry. Yeah. It's been really fun. To hear your story.
689
00:43:17,570 --> 00:43:21,090
Thank you. And I. And I wish the best in this industry.
690
00:43:21,170 --> 00:43:24,930
You're. You're. Every day is something new
691
00:43:24,930 --> 00:43:27,970
in this trade, and it is really fascinating to live.
692
00:43:28,450 --> 00:43:32,130
Yeah. And when do you go back to school? I go back in two weeks.
693
00:43:33,010 --> 00:43:36,410
And you're just going to tell stories? Yeah. Let's just wrap up with it. You
694
00:43:36,410 --> 00:43:38,130
have to write a paper. What do you have to. What do you have to
695
00:43:38,130 --> 00:43:41,900
tell them? I have to tell him what I did and what I learned from
696
00:43:41,900 --> 00:43:45,300
it, and I'm in the process of writing it right now,
697
00:43:45,700 --> 00:43:48,740
but I have so much to write about.
698
00:43:49,300 --> 00:43:53,020
It's great that it's fresh in your mind. Yeah. Well, thank
699
00:43:53,020 --> 00:43:55,860
you for coming in and taking the time to talk to us. Thank you. I
700
00:43:55,860 --> 00:43:59,060
hope we inspired a few young, promising
701
00:43:59,140 --> 00:44:02,260
vintners to be, you know, to hear your story and
702
00:44:02,740 --> 00:44:06,420
inquire too. Yeah. Thank you for having me. You're welcome.
703
00:44:06,500 --> 00:44:07,060
Cheers.