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Soooo I have been very bad about keeping everyone updated using this blog!! Unacceptable!

So let me do a quick recap...

In August I traveled to Hong Kong for their wine fair. At the end of September I went to Napa for a 2 week intense training session at a colleague;s property. Each trip I was lucky enough to meet up with some Kellogg folks -- so a special thank you for all those that hosted me and planned gatherings around my visit! 

During that time frame -- we manage to seal a deal with British Airways -- be on the look out for Chateau Coutet 1998 when flying first class on BA! A major win for us -- so we are very very excited. I am currently in London for the L'Union des Grands Cru tasting. We will be pouring the 2006 vintage on Tuesday. This weekend was the first mini reunion for the EU Kellogg alumns. Vamsi was kind enough to host us at his place for drinks before we headed out to a wonderful dinner negotiated by Ian. Kudos to both for making it a special evening. I believe the next EU alumni reunion is planned for Paris!

As for my apartment...the search concluded mid-August. Unfortunately, the paperwork took forever. I only got the keys at the end of September. The Ikea furniture has been built (all by myself thank you) - and now I wait for the hot water to actually work. The elevator is undergoing some renovations -- living on the 4th floor (that's 5th floor in the states) has slowed down the migration of belongings from Coutet to Bordeaux... As well as work.

The harvest is underway at Coutet. We completed our second passage last Wednesday. Another passage will potentially take place either tomorrow or Wednesday!

I hope everyone is doing well, 

Aline

Hole Punch

If having A4 paper wasn't enough of a way to say "we do it differently here"--- helllllooooo 2-hole punch. Please explain to me the logic of using only 2 holes, when in the US we use 3 holes for a smaller piece of paper. I miss my 3-hole punch.

In other news, I have finally finished filling. Yes, I file -- it keeps me honest and humble. 

For those that are familiar with my organization skills -- you'll remember that I prefer files over binders. But guess what? At the vineyard we use binders. Luckily, they also write left to right -- otherwise I might just call is quits.

I predicted it

For two years you've all been telling me to grow my short hair out -- which I did. AND now I've got the entire French population telling me to cut it. I told you this would happen. So I say -- deal - it's long and will stay long. How do you say "put a sock in it" in French? Is that even the correct expression?

Random Thoughts

Little by little I am getting settled in...I have even located some apartments to visit over the next two days. 

I am currently planning to Hong Kong during the second week of August to attend the Hong Kong International Wine Fair. So as I search for cheap hotel rooms and flights  -- I wanted to share with you a couple random thoughts related to travel.

Airplane toilets:

Not only are they filthy but they are extremely LOUD. I have to admit that I sometime fear being sucked out of the plane by these machines. How do I conquer my fear? Lean my head to the right so that my right ear is covered by my shoulder, use my left arm to cover my left ear -- and flush using my right hand. I call this the "ear muff." 

Do I speak to you in French or English?

Whenever I fly Air France I can't decide whether I should respond in French or English to the flight attendants. My latest tactic is to respond in whatever language they address me...but then I tend to confuse them when, for example watching a movie (in English), I get interrupted to select my meal and they ask me in French what I want but I reply in English...Then we look at each other confused because earlier when accepting the small bag of peanuts I spoke to them in French. 

Ok, if none of you know what I am talking about -- ignore this random thought.

Work work work

I've survived my first week as an employee (versus an MBA student). 

Accomplishment -- I created a group on Facebook. Visit my profile for a link!

More to come in the very near future -- and hopefully I will have figured out photos too.

I bless the rains in Africa

No no, I didn't go to a Toto concert...but I actually went to Kenya. I did see rain and I did sing this song nonstop -- so I figured it would be an appropriate title.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Sachin's wedding in Nairobi. Sachin and I went to college together. Liz (my college roomate) and I were not going to miss the opportunity to attend his Indian wedding. In one sentence I would describe our trip: Africa by day, India by night. 

We arrived in Nairobi on Saturday morning. We attempted to catch up on sleep upon reading Parkland Parks. We failed miserably but were not too bitter since we were visited by the Shaq attack for our 5 year reunion. The festivities kicked off with a serious evening of food and dancing hosted by the brides' family (her cousin was a fabulous DJ). My hat off to Liz for making it to 1am without sleeping since she left Minnesota.

Sunday morning, Shaq, Liz and I met Mike our Safari guide. We started the bumpy (understatement) 5 hour drive in a really good mood. We sang most of the way there (to Mike's horror). We avoided motion sickness but required regular back stressing to offset the bumpy road's side effect. We arrived at Masai Mara and after a quick lunch (all you can eat buffet) and a quick nap (in our luxury tent with a real bathroom and electricity) we went to capture the elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, secretary birds and hippo on film. Shaq was the official list keeper, keeping track of all animals whose paths' we crossed. Mike had the nack for really finding the buggers and the results in hundreds of photos and even a couple of videos, including a video featuring a conversation between a lion and bird. Another video featuring Shaq's meeting with his ancestors (the giraffes) and lastly a video featuring trucks stuck in mud. On our way home from our first excursion we got a flat. Luckily no lions came to eat us while we (actually just Mike) replaced the tire. The following included another 2 outings to the bush where we came across HUGE amounts of animals. I still have a hard time figuring out what was what  (let's face it I had Mike AND Liz to correct me the entire time so I never bothered to commit the new four legged creatures to memory) minus my favorites: elephants and giraffes. We also had the opportunity to visit the local folks -- the Mesai. We had the unique chance of spending an hour with the chief's son. It was an interesting experience -- unfortunately, this is really a horse and pony show for the tourist and thus a bit weird/fake. At least now I know what it's like to sit in a mud hut and I know what the chief's son looks like with Shaq's designer sunglasses. 

Tuesday morning we left heaven to head back to Nairobi and join the rest of the wedding celebrations. Tuesday night was the stick dance night (I have misplaced the wedding program with all the appropriate names for each event). This was a super fun night of dancing -- think of it as an evening of modified line dancing... Indian music, no shoes and great great Indian food. On Wednesday we visited a Giraffe center and an animal orphanage. And this is when I realized how small the world is -- I ran into some Kellogg folks!!! Not just any Kellogg folks but Cash Cows: Reena and Kristen! My next Kellogg encounter was Friday night at Nairobi's best bar: Gypsy. 

Okay back to the wedding...Wednesday night was the henna night. This stuff doesn't come off for several days -- more like weeks actually. I happy to report that bleach helps...why did I have to use bleach? Well I had this HUGE meeting upon my return and let's just say my uncle was not to thrill with my cultural explorations...

Thursday the Bucknell crew and a few other members of the wedding party went whitewater rafting. Guy will be posting videos and some crazy photos from this event on Facebook in the very near future. Yes, we capsized -- and yes, I have bruises to prove how adventurous I can be. Now that I have gone white water rafting, its been checked off the to do list and I plan on never returning again. Case closed. I like my limbs too much to risk them in this fashion again.

 I know what you are thinking -- what? All this and still no wedding??? No worries -- Friday was the actual wedding. A very beautiful ceremony that took more than THREE hours. With the exception of the foreigners (me and Liz) no one was paying much attention to the ceremony. But even though it was very long and we didn't understand a word-- it was very very beautiful. That night we headed to the bar to properly celebrate. 

The next morning -- actually afternoon (we had to recover from the festivities) -- I packed my bags and headed back to Bordeaux. 

Overall this trip was one of my all time favorite vacations. If you are interested in seeing pictures, send me an email and I will provide you with a link to the online album.

Moscow

Yeah -- so I wanted to put a photo of me on the Red Square but I don't know how to upload a file that is in the iPhoto thingy. I love you Apple -- but you are so different from my IBM that I am a bit frustrated with you!!!

So overall...Moscow was interesting and now I am packing for Kenya. 

Sorry for such a short update -- but with so many people traveling I don't think you'll all really mind that much!

Welcome to France

I know this update is long overdue. But I've had to turn off Skype and wait until everyone left for the day to finally get a moment to write this. Yes, life at a vineyard can be very hectic -- we work hard to make it look calm and relaxing.

Tuesday: arrived in Bordeaux without any obstacles (although I was flying Air France -- so this is really a miracle). I did hang around the Charles de Gaulle airport. Let me just say that this airport is absolutely the pits -- even though its got all this fancy architecture. There are only 2 places to get food (which I guess makes sense since the French only eat at restaurants). Oh yes, I did watch some entertaining movies on the transatlantic flight. First -- the Other Bolyen Girl: I was a bit worried about this one. I absolutely loved the book and wasn't sure they could pull off the movie. The book is still better than the movie but I'd say it was a good movie overall. Second -- Fool's Gold (or something like that with what's her face and what's his face -- I never remember actors' names): silly comedy -- glad I didn't waste my money in the theater. It was a lot of the same dynamics as How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Evidence of internal cultural battle: do I respond in English or in French to the flight attendants? Lastly, have I ever told any of you how much I hate airplane toilets?! Apart from the smell and general nastiness -- they are sooo loud. Please, someone invent a quiet airplane toilet where I wouldn't feel like I will be sucked in.

Wednesday: first official day at the vineyard, yoopi! I woke up early to fetch my uncle from the airport -- got stuck in traffic (yes, there is traffic in Bordeaux) and spent over 2 hours on the road. On the up side I did get the internet to work on my own computer so I don't have to share! Oh yes, Wednesday was also staff meeting day and we announced my official position (I was going to say take over -- but that is too aggressive). I spent the rest of the day following my uncle around and making lists (this family loves lists). We even included making lists as an item...

Thursday: 14 hour of sleep later I now feel like Aline again. The afternoon was spent at the grocery store trying to find the one cheese that would make me happy. The abundance of choice made this a relatively complex situation -- imaging an entire Jewels/Shaws aisle (the big aisle -- with all the pasta and stuff) full of cheese. I kid you not; France rocks. Opposite of the cheese aisle is the yogurt aisle. All this is good until you get to the cereal aisle -- which is 50% of our selection. By the way General Mills packages their Honey Nut Cheerios under Nestle; I tested this am -- same recipe. Please let Professor Corse know that they localized!

Friday: That would be today. An aggressive to do list was writtenin the morning but I am happy to report most of the items have been crossed off. The one hiccup occured this evening when I was looking for my plane ticket to Moscow (for Monday) and we realized that although I was signed up for the trip (via the group that organizes), the travel agency had never gotten me a flight or a hotel room. So--- anyone who knows me knows that this is when I freak out...But I am happy to report that I was calm as a cucumber. The outcome: I got an earlier flight and don't have to travel with everyone that I don't know -- AND I get to play tourist when I get there earlier than everyone else (I also save time between flight with a shorter connection). With the exception of having to wake up earlier -- it is really a win win situation. As for the hotel room -- still investigating but a colleague from a neighboring Chateau has offered to share if the hotel has no availability. Some thoughts: an MBA allowed me to respond calmly to the situation (by the way this all happened during the last hour that anyone is in the office -- any office in France really -- so time was crucial). But this is exactly the type of situation I was dealing with 2 years ago. I am embracing my event planning - ohm.

Tonight? You ask... I work on setting up the cable box that will give me unlimited phone calls to the US for free (if I call a non-cell phone -- which is like 1% of all the calls I make). Therefore -- if I have your cell phone but not your home number (if you even have one) --- shoot me an email with that number. That way it's free for both of us (in terms of $ and minutes).

Oh yes -- the vineyard looks great. The cobblestone courtyard is finally complete. The water fountain is working. The sky is clear.

Life is good.

This weekend is very busy -- so watch for an update Sunday night...

Cheers, 

Aline

My last hour in Evanston

My bags are packed finally! And I will be heading to the airport in less than an hour (thanks to Melinda who is making the trek to O'hare to see me off). I must say that my McManus room looks very bare. Boy am I going to miss the Living and Learning Center (with the exception of my hard as a rock mattress) -- yeah, I know you don't agree but I have to once again say -- McManus rules!

It has really been an honor to be part of Kellogg's Class of 08. I've made some fabulous friends over the past two years. You guys are all so smart and have taught me so much! I want to thank you for your friendships. Please note that this is not goodbye -- cause I hope to welcome each and everyone to Bordeaux over time. AND I'll see you when I am travelling (since there is literally someone I know in each city that I'll be selling wine in).

Nathalie: Thanks for putting up with my mess for two years.
Pati: Or should I say PPAATTTII -- I promise to only wear pre-approved outfits IF you promise to always be on time.
Melinda: I am never going to the gym at 5am ever again -- but will make an exception for you.
Viv: See you on the green and double green slopes; maybe we'll go crazy and go blue.
Matt J: To the Chief -- thanks for inviting me over for steak.
KaNeeTa: Do you want to be the red or black lady bug this coming Halloween?
Matt K: Thanks for not reporting me to the animal rights activists.
Matt C: Stay organized (I'll even let you close the computer plug as a good bye present).
Ashish: See you on Skype to over analyze life.
Mark: Thanks for saving me a seat in Ops; I think we are even now-- you forgot me for the group and I forgot your name -- although you did hit me with a baseball...
Jimmies and Jeanette: See you in Bordeaux for a wine reunion (no other reunion would be appropriate)
Mark Strat group: Thanks for making sure I have something to do when I get to work!
KMC: Every time you break a rule of marketing you'll think of us; every time you follow the rules -- think of Kotler.
Consumer Insight: timeless sophistication tagline belongs to you guys -- collect your royalies by visiting me!

Liz the Wiz: Thanks for always answering the phone.
Boston crew: Late night calls will now be at a reasonable time thanks to the time difference; only problem is finding a place blasting Livin' on a Prayer...I wonder how the French feel about Bon Jovi.

Okay -- last 15 minutes... :(

By the way -- It was exactly 20 years ago (well minus a week) that I moved to the states...

A bientot everyone.

Heart's Delight 2008

The Heart's Delight wine tasting and auction is an annual event organized by American Heart Association. Each year Bordeaux's finest crus come to Washington DC to support this important cause. As always Coutet was there -- but this time represented by the newest generation! Thursday night involved a dinner at a fantastic seafood restaurant called Blacksalt. The chef, Jeff Black, put together a fabulous meal to pair Coutet ('96,'89 and '03), Climens, Guiraud and Suduiraut's finest vintages. Friday we were invited to participate at a Gala dinner; the menu included Krug, Margaux ('99), Haut Brion ('04), Latour ('04), Mouton Rothchild ('95), Pontet-Canet(not sure what year...) and Coutet ('02)! I had the pleasure of spending the evening with the American Airlines sponsors. Saturday included a very detailed tasting of Bordeaux's 2005 vintages. There were a total of 5 flights -- the last being devoted to Barsac and Sauternes. Yes, I had to give a speech -- and we know how much I love public speaking. Overall a fantastic weekend. A special thanks to Katy and Dan for letting me take over their guest room.

Here is a photo of delegation from Barsac-Sauternes:

From the left -- Xavier Planty (winemaker and owner of Chateau Guiraud), me, Bill Blatch (the Sauternes expert), Caroline Dedieu (representing Chateau Suduiraut) and Frederic Nivelle (winemaker at Chateau Climens)

Oh yeah -- the event had its own paparazzi -- the sweetest photographer who was very diligent in capturing the moment by having us stage our interactions...Be on the look out, we might make the next Wine Spectator (who was a sponsor)!

School Memorabilia

Yes, it is time to clean out the closets...I've been asked to reduce my footprint as my parent's place and since I can't imagine shipping my 4th grade report to France -- I must recycle. But before I say good bye forever (although I do have electronic copies of everything from Bucknell onward, so this is only goodbye to the copies marked in red) let me share with you some of my favorite projects. Suprisingly -- doesn't seem to be that long ago that I wrote most of these:

1. The Green Mountain State: Vermont, by Aline Baly -- 4th grade. Lime green portfolio outline state's tree, bird, etc. You get the idea -- CHECK PLUS + sticker

2. Why the Nazis Stole Art from the City of Light for my senior year European History class. Great paper discussing the Nazis take over of Paris! Still proud of it.

3. In depth report on William Carlos Williams. If you know the Red Wheelbarrow -- you know this absolutely boring poet. If you like poetry we can't be friends. This was a team project that tortured my existence...Damn you American Lit class!!! Interestingly I am no longer friends with the classmates that worked on this one with me. Since this pre-dated powerpoint dates -- I located the actual transparency used for the final presentation. Good times, good times.

4. Ah yes, poetry and Freshman English -- I had to write my own poems...You will laugh if you continue reading...

Laughter, by Aline Baly

Laughter is a rainbow.
It tastes like Cotton Candy.
It sounds like an amusement park on a busy day.
And it smells like melting sugar.
It looks like a clown.
It makes you fee jolly.

Okay here is another one:

Papaterian, by Aline Baly

This is a papaterian.
Papaterians live in pathetic pantries in Pamplona of Pamphylia,
Papaterians eat pure Parmesan and pasta with plenty of pound cake.
Papaterians like to wear panty hoses with perky panties under their pants.
Papaterians are passionate to pond (I think I meant pound) puppies and pandas too.
This papaterians pulles out my porky pig with a paper clip.

I want to apologize to my freshman year English teacher -- Mr. M -- and to think he still wrote my college recommendation after these horrible poems.

I've got another one entitled "Copataur" that is just as bad so I will save you the pain of reading such bad work.

5. Okay, let's move on to college. First off let me thank Faulkner for being such a pain that it takes an ENTIRE semester to read and understand his work. At the end I'd like to think that I conquered The Sound and The Fury. So much so that you couldn't pay me to read another one of his books. AMEN.

6. Peace Studies. Conclusion: capitalism fuels wars and we will never see peace in our lifetime --- and our greatest hope of reaching a peacefull international existence ended with Ghandi and MLK. Very depressing class. Yes, I went to a radical left wing school. And relied on toothpicks to keep my eyes opened with our ageing professor who ran out of batteries for his hearing aid on a regular basis. RIP in the recycle bin.

7. "Genji: The Luv Man" written for East Asian Civilization. Yes, I still got an A -- even with that tacky title. Actually, it was an A minus. I am going to assume that the minus is because of that horrible title. What was I thinking???

8. Okay, I need to highlight some great papers that I dominated! First, "The Outcasts of Europe: The Gypsies" for my Human Rights class senior year. Good read. Interesting group to study -- I was really curious after having seen so many of them duing my study abroad semester in Spain.

9. "The Emergence of Blocks: The European Union, NAFTA and Japan" -- this research paper predicted today's economic climate. But trust me I would preferred to by wrong. I had to use the Realist and Marxist theories to analyze and predict trade relations and impact to currencies, etc.

10. The best paper I ever wrote: "Discussion over Turkey: A Comical Perspective on Reality." Ha, bet you have no idea what I wrote about from this title. I seriously want to write up my entire paper but it is so good I am afraid of someone copying it. So here is the overview: this was a commentary on the French, feudal rights and traditions, workaholics, keeping up with the jones, leisure, pillaging and how you can't choose your family. This was for my Intermediate Political Economy class (also known as Radical Economics at Bucknell) -- a semester focused on Marxism and Veblen and other radical thinkers. If you wander about this paper based on my description -- let me just say that any paper that can tie all those topics in a paper and half (single space) deserves a medal.

So the trash bags are full -- but I am still have a hard time letting go of the following:

- Statistics with Acuna
- Baby Biology
- Chemistry with Mr. Murry
- Leadership in the 20th Century -- lessons learned from Cleopatra and Mr. Grazzo.

I hate to admit it but some of these classes and projects are move vivid than last quarter's lectures on the airline industry (courtesy of Competitive Strategy).

Off to the recycling bin. :(

Lobster anyone?

Did you know that you should make sure that your lobster is alive before you cook/kill it? Therefore do not keep the lobsters in a plastic bag -- even if the bag is in a fridge -- prior to assembly. Otherwise you risk poisoning your dinner party with the toxins that lobster release if improperly killed. In my case, 5 of the 6 survived the sufication test. I just wanted to be sure that only the strongest -- and therefore, the best -- were on my dinner table.

A special thanks to Matt K. for preparing the fiesty creatures. And here they are -- still alive and kicking:

Since it was so cold outside -- we left them on the patio to make them sleepy so they wouldn't freak out when dropped in the boiling water. According to our sources, this is the human way of killing the lobsters...You be the judge.

Menu for the night was lobster fricasse (see http://www.chateaucoutet.com/ for the recipe) accompanied by a side dish of brocolli and potatos. Oh yes, we also had tasty mussels as a starter dish. For dessert -- courtesy of Chef Viv -- Lemon Tart (one of my absolute favorites). We paired the main course with Chateau Coutet 1997 and finished a bottle of the 2004 vintage with the cheese and dessert. Chardonnary, courtesy of Mark, kicked off our evening -- we got thristy while killing -- I mean cooking -- the lobsters. Oh yes, we also had the Chimney Rock 2004 -- very smooth; I believe this was to help us finish off the cheese.

A fantastic evening -- not to be repeated in the near future cause - let's face it -- there are easier things to prepare than lobster...

-Aline :)