On Twitter, Mike Steinberger (wine columnist for Slate.com), Jon Bonne (wine Editor from the San Francisco Chronicle) and Jordan Graham Mackay (wine & spirits critic for San Francisco mag and Chow) were recently mentionning the book "A fabulous Year at chateau Gruaud Larose". They made some very good points which help the author Guillaume Jourdan to give some more details about his novel.
Jordan Graham Mackay mentionned: "Title not exactly drawing me in. Maybe smthg more like "The Gruaud Larose Code" or "The Gruaud with Larose Tatoo" would improve."
Guillaume Jourdan: " I love these ideas but it was a bit hard for me to make this decision. To give a title like " The Gruaud Larose Code" would have brought a lot of expectations on the readers' side. With such a sophisticated title, they may have expected a 300 pages book, with a sophisticated story like in any famous novel, rather than a 100 pages book with chapters built like a monthly report. I wanted "A fabulous Year at Chateau Gruaud Larose" to be a "relax and interesting" way of explaining some of the work done in a prestigious Chateau over 12 months. I think many wine lovers already know much about the taste of fine wines - when they are bottled - and now want to know more about what happens before, I mean the origins of the wines they love. It is as simple as this. But, of course, this novel offers more than that, with for example, a brief overview of this beautiful Bordeaux region which I only discovered 10 years ago and that I love."
Another comment: "I wonder if Gruaud Larose is a client? It would certainly be an interesting PR strategy." And a guy responded: "heh. author is director of company that provides specialized marketing & communication consulting for prestigious wine estates."
Guillaume Jourdan: "Gruaud Larose is a client of VitaBella. In fact, this collaboration is a unique opportunity for me to be at the chateau on a regular basis, to meet the people in the vineyard and also those in the cellars. Speaking with them, looking at what they do and also participating to some tasks, all of this helped me to make the book more interesting and complete for readers. In fact, having the privilege to work with Chateau Gruaud Larose, I personnally had opportunities to see and judge the work done in the vineyard from October 2009 to October 2010. I also "felt" this vintage, all along the 12 months, like only a very privileged person could have done."
Mike Steinberger, the wine columnist for Slate.com : " Product placement run amok? New novel called A Fabulous Year At Ch. Gruaud Larose. Release timed to en primeur, natch."
Guillaume Jourdan: "This is not a product placement. In fact, the "adventure" started when we tasted the first grapes of Merlot that were to be soon harvested. I heard team members saying that these Merlot were concentrated and delicious and that it would make delicious wines. And a few weeks after, we were saying the same about Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. So, at this early stage, we were already feeling that 2010 vintage would be an exceptional vintage. And I was sad to prepare just a few pages to introduce this vintage to the wine professionals who would ask, very soon, to receive some early information about 2010. I immediately said to the team that something very particular happened during this year and that writing just a few pages would miss the point. I wanted wine professionals to understand more about the evolution in the minds of people who, month after month, have lived a unique experience at Gruaud Larose. And so I said a novel would be a better way to introduce the 2010 vintage rather than just having a "technical and fact sheet". "A fabulous Year at Chateau Gruaud Larose" was born. And, of course, the best time to release it is the "En Primeur" week when wine experts, from all over the world, gather."
To know more about this novel, the first chapter is available on this link: "A fabulous Year at Chateau Gruaud Larose".
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