I’m not sure exactly what the rules of engagement are here for self-promotion, so for now I won’t post any URLs or company identifiers. But at age 73 I’ve decided to start up a wine tourism business in Bordeaux. My story: when in graduate school in Ohio I got the wine bug and took a number of academic courses dealing with wine appreciation. Then started two different tasting groups (OK, so one was more of a drinking group) along with other members having lots of vineyard and winery experience including in Burgundy. Bought lots of wine for a few years until I got married and discovered my new wife wasn’t down with my continuing to spend 30% of my gross income on wine. Bummer! Work as an engineer ensued, which was a fun if not especially lucrative career.
Over the next 35 years or so my wine buying was curtailed severely, and I had to work down the wines in storage until finances finally improved somewhat (kids out of school and out of the house) and purchases resumed, pretty much coinciding with retirement. But purchases were mostly California and Washington cabernets and syrahs, and mostly for current consumption. Fast forward to 2023, after spending a fair amount of time traveling in Europe, we finally found Bordeaux. Je suis tombé amoureuse de Bordeaux et ses vins. So much so that in 2025 we spent a total of 3 months there, during which time I visited countless châteaux, most of which you won’t have heard of but many of which you will know intimately. I was hooked. Decided I wanted to become a wine guide there, largely to give me a social network - I plan to live there the majority of the year. Also decided I had better get some credentials, so I am preparing to take the WSET Level 3 intensive course in London.
I’ve been asked the following question: “Why would anyone choose you instead of the many fine guides who have been operating in Bordeaux for years?” And it’s a very good question indeed. I guess the answer is that there don’t seem to be many American guides there (so native English will be the lingua franca du jour, to mix both metaphors and linguistic paradigms). And I’m bringing a passion for Bordeaux wines that was born fairly recently but burns very brightly indeed. And I’ll have that Level 3 WSET certification, which will perhaps count for something. Who knows?
My hope is that many Berserkers who find themselves in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (the administrative region in which Bordeaux is located) will look me up, even if you don’t care to use my guide services. I am really stoked about this venture, and it should be a fun and probably wild ride. Wish me luck! (Also, if anyone can let me know whether providing my business’s URL and other commercial identifiers here is kosher, please do so. Thanks!)