A Sparkling Trip To Bollinger
by: maloy@indusnet.co.in
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Word Count: 729
Normally, trips to wine suppliers are very hard
work (no, honestly) and the preserve of our buying team, trying to find the
best cuvées at the best prices. However, occasionally we are given the opportunity
to take our other staff on fact-finding visits, which are great fun, if a
little hectic.
In February, we took a group to visit the
world-renowned
Such a treasured visit demanded the most treasured staff, so we identified our
‘unsung heroes’ at the company’s front line, who regularly go out of their way
to give extra special service to our customers. Hence, at a really unsociable
early hour on a cold February morning, some of our sales, accounts, warehouse
and shop staff flew out to
to meet the people who make Bollinger.
A two-hour drive from Charles de Gaul Airport
brought us to the home of Bollinger in the stylish little town of
with a light dusting of snow. Ay is the most famous Grand Cru village in
We had an exquisite lunch at the house of Madame Lilly Bollinger, where the
history and ethos of the company was explained.
Madame Lilly Bollinger is one of the most famous
figures in
history. In 1918 Elizabeth Law de Lauriston Bourbers (known as Lilly) married
Jacques Bollinger, head of a small but growing
house. When Jacques died in 1941, Lilly took the reigns and famously traveled
the world, spreading the word about Bollinger. In many respects she was a true
pioneer in creating an internationally recognised brand. Lilly was also a great
spokeswoman for the
whole, leaving several infamous quotes.
"I
drink it when I'm happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone.
When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not
hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it – unless I’m
thirsty." Madame Lilly Bollinger, Daily Mail 17th
October 1961
Today the success of Lilly’s promotional endeavours
is clear from the prestige and familiarity of Bollinger
most to learn just how small their volumes are in the great scheme of things,
producing just 2.1m of
total annual output of 300m bottles. They remain, in essence a small, artisan
producer.
We visited the coopers’ workshop, the last one in
barrels are still made, repaired and restored. Seeing a workshop with such
ancient tools, and complete lack of machinery indicated the depth of
craftsmanship and skill that was being preserved, not for the tourists, but out
of necessity. A tour of the vast chalk cellars beneath the village showed how
manual the whole process is, with teams of cellar men manually racking the
reserve bottles. Seeing such quantities of precious
conditions, was humbling. We emerged from these labyrinthine cellars into the
winery, several streets away, and into a very different world of immaculate white
tiles and stainless steel - the absolute epitome of hygienic, up-to-date
wine-making. This was where the ancient crafts met the modern world.
It’s only now that we realised that we had spent
many hours, discovering the different delights, rapt with attention at the
details of production and historic facts being offered. We had been transported
to a different world for a day, completely removed from ours, yet the fruits of
which we would enjoy by opening a bottle at home. An evening in
and work. But the general impression from all was one of awe, at the passion
and detail that goes into making a bottle of
before. Suddenly, the price of a bottle of Bollinger seems remarkably good
value for money. So if you ever call the Averys office to ask about
an effusive story about how it is made, you’re probably talking to one of the
lucky staff who came on this trip.
You can buy Bollinger online Averys Dot Com where
we are currently listing the
best price for Bollinger Special Cuvee NV- just £25 per bottle.
About the Author
Richard Davis is the Sales and Marketing director of Averys Wine Merchants. For more information visit www.Averys.com.
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