Barton 2001-2008
June 19th 2008, by GQ
Thank you to everyone for the messages of support following the tragic death of our great little dog, Barton. For those friends and visitors to Bauduc who haven’t seen the news in our Gazette in the post, we are sorry to report that he was killed on 18 May.
For the first time ever, a family brought a dog with them to stay in the farmhouse and we had made it clear that we had two (harmless) dogs. Their dog, an obese dalmatian which had apparently come from a refuge, attacked and mortally wounded Barton as soon as they let it out of the house by mistake. He died in Angela’s arms as we drove him to the vet.
It still seems incredible to us that a dog lover could bring a dog, knowing it was a danger to other dogs, all the way from Rutland to Bordeaux by car, only for it to savage their hosts’ much-loved pet. They had barely unpacked before they left, mortified, just as we were burying the little chap. Added to which, we haven’t heard a word from them since. No flowers, no note, no email.
New AOC Rules: Forgive me for yawning
June 17th 2008, by GQ
There are significant changes afoot with new rules surrounding the Appellation Contrôlée system. From the 1st July it’s all change: previous controls about guaranteeing the authenticity of a wine from Bordeaux are being replaced by, er, a brand new set of controls. The changes are for the good, just like stopping drink-driving is for the good, but we’ll have to wait and see just how well the whole scheme is implemented and policed.
I was invited to what I thought was going to be a routine meeting this afternoon, between a few fellow vignerons and a Directeur from the Syndicat de Bordeaux. I realised when I walked in to the Salle André Lurton in Grézillac that the session might go on for a bit longer than I had anticipated, as there were 200 people in the room and more arriving. There was a choice of standing room only at the back, or a seat in the front row, and I realised my mistake in opting for the latter when the main presenter gave everyone a peep at just how many Powerpoint slides he was about to share with us all as he set up his laptop with the overhead projector. There was to be no escape.
New Bauduc Website
June 17th 2008, by GQ
We are delighted to launch our brand new Château Bauduc website at www.bauduc.com this week, which can be opened by clicking the big red button at the top of this page. The site has been created mainly with our UK customers in mind, with a comprehensive online ordering system (Buy Wine) a key feature.
We have had an online system in place for the past five years on our old site, but we felt that we needed to offer something a little more sophisticated.
I’d really like to know your thoughts on the site - feel free to comment below or contact me.
The next time I hatch a cunning marketing plan, it might just be smarter not to try and design and write everything at the same time, at a time when there is so much to be done in the vineyard: new website, new blog, new Gazette newsletter, new Bauduc Bond offer, and so on. The brain’s gone slightly mushy.
Bauduc in The Observer: Buy Direct for Value
June 16th 2008, by GQ
Our thanks to Patrick Collinson of The Observer for his kind recommendation on how to save money by buying direct from a vineyard online, or rather Bauduc. Does anyone know of any other overseas vineyards
that sell direct to people at home in the UK? Of course, you could order wine from a foreign vineyard and have it sent over, at some cost, and pay duty and VAT as it comes through Customs (that’s the law, folks). But does anyone do that, and do you get caught for the duty?