Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

2015 approaching fast.
The 15th anniversary of BWE!
Crazy.

Some potential locations for the 2015 convention:

Bordeaux, France
Chicago, Illinois
Miami, Florida

As for Bordeaux: At one point Stuart had suggested a shortened trip to Bordeaux... say, Wednesday to Sunday.
People could wrap other personal travels around four or five days in Bordeaux.
For me personally, a trip to Bordeaux raises several issues:
1. I would not want to do it unless we had a critical mass of about 20 participants. (I would be good for two, a couple of my lawyer friends, Tony and Jennifer Ferguson from Lewiston, also would want to attend. With Alex and Timmy, that would bring us to six, and counting.)
2. I would not want to do the crazy schedule that you guys did in 2005, that sounds like too much to me. I want to relax.
3. Everything I do these days is contingent on my father's health, as I am one of his primary caretakers. A trip across the pond could be tricky in this regard.
What dates would we be looking at?
As much as I would love to go to Bordeaux, I have my reservations.
But, we need to start thinking ahead....

Jim,

Depending on when dates are confirmed we would be in for two to Bordeaux. I don't think a minimum number of 20 will be an issue. I'm sure many of us could fill out the numbers with friends if we couldn't get enough BWE'ers but I'd like to initially see it kept participants on BWE with friends to fill out numbers. I think 20 -30 should be the limit total as many spots could not handle larger groups and intimacy lost.


Schedule last time in Bordeaux I thought was busy but not overly so. I think the problem arose when people all started in Paris and the group that split off to go to Beaune for a tasting and dinner seemed ragged by the end of the week in Bordeaux. Too much travelling for them in a short period of time. The Bordeaux schedule although full.....I wouldn't have changed a thing. Three visits a day with lunch and dinner at different chateaux for 4 days was certainly more than doable with a leisure day in Bordeaux while people were in Beaune worked great. I think my preference would be to start in Paris again with group dinner Sat night early. Travel to Bordeaux Sunday and begin Monday tour of Bordeaux through Thursday or Friday with a down day on Wed if we went through to Friday. Back to Paris Sat and home Sunday.

We'd be all in but decision for me is getting late in the planning stage already because by Sept Spring vacation block will be locked for me so Date needs to be set soon. I'd suggest end of April beginning of May.

My 2 cents.

The second or third week of May would be fine for Lucie and me. That is also a great time to be in Bordeaux. We definitely should avoid the barrel tasting season. It is in April, I think.

Agree with Stefan. Avoid the en primeur barrel tasting rat race, usually late March or early April. May was a great time to visit when we all went in 2005. Can't believe it will be 10 years!

I would definitely be up for Bordeaux.

If it came an issue with numbers there are a couple of other people this end I could tap up...and there are a few inactive forumites this side.

I could also help arrange chateau visits

That would be excellent Comte.
How's the second or third week of May shaping up for everyone?

Either is good. Just need a fixed date.

Yes that works.

Obviously Alex could hopefully be a key cog in the wheel but I don't want to speak for him. He is over in another part of the UK for a very happy family occasion.

I was down in France in June about two hours from Bordeaux and had a fantastic holiday on the top of the Gironde Estuary which would be a good option if anyone wanted to take a vacation next May on the French Atlantic Coast. I think it is simply fabulous.

We didn't get down to see Alex but we did manage to drop in to Ch. Rausan Segla...LLC and Pichon Lalande were also lined up, but we couldn't see them. But I am sure if we give these estates sufficient notice and a taste of how serious a bunch of Bordeaux nutters we are we could get a fabulous schedule.

I would be more than happy to muck in to do the spade work. It would be brilliant to have a posse of American BWErs over this side of the pond. And it would be fitting to have it ten years after the first BWE pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

As before, I'm happy to help. I can also manage the Paris part of the excursion. There are a few interesting venues that we could potentially use for a BYOB dinner.

The important thing for me is that we should try to have several meals at the chateau, if possible. Those were the highlights of the trip in 2005. We can also take what we learned from 2005 that didn't go well and fix it.

What made 2005 successful was teamwork. There was a group of five or six people that really contributed to the organization, plus some additional assistance, so that it didn't fall on any one person to coordinate everything.

Is it worth create a list of interested people so we can get a count?

One other comment, May has four national holidays in France, pretty much one each week for four weeks. I'm not sure how that affects the chateaux, would need to get some guidance from Alex as to whether or not that impacts our ability to visit any one particular week. Usually you want to avoid May 1st, which is Labor Day, it is the one day that many things are closed.

Put us down as interested. We may be in Europe in May anyway.

Based on the holidays and the proposed schedule, I'd propose that we target the week of May 17th with one of the following two itineraries:

Option 1 (5.5 days): Paris dinner Sunday May 17th, train to Bordeaux Monday May 18th, see city, dinner Monday night, tour Tues-Friday night, free Saturday May 23rd to travel back home or wherever.
Option 2 (4.5 days): Paris dinner Tuesday May 19th, train to Bordeaux Wednesday May 20th, see city, dinner Wednesday night, tour Thurs-Sat, free Sunday May 24th to travel back home or wherever.

thoughts?

I like option 1 better Jim. Allows travel Fri night..adjust Sat and Sunday fun begins. Well maybe Saturday night if some wish. Home following Sat or Sunday.

As a quick reminder of what we did last time:

Once we had enough people that said they were interested, we formed an organizing committee. At that point we asked everyone to give a deposit in order to determine who was really committed to going. For 2005, we also had the trip to Beaune, and the total budget per person including Beaune was around $1500. Beaune was over 1/3 of that. This included meal and touring, but it did not include transportation to/from Bordeaux nor hotels. At the time, we asked for a $500 deposit from everyone, and if we didn't hit a minimum number of deposits, we would have cancelled and sent the deposits back. We had 22 people in total for Bordeaux 2005. In the end, we got lucky with exchange rate fluctuations and we ended up providing a significant refund to those that had paid in dollars.

This time around, given inflation, change in exchange rate, etc, I would budget a cost of between $1200 and $1800 per person for Option 1, excluding hotel rooms. That should cover four/five dinners and four lunches, a well-air-conditioned bus, some wine, train between Paris and Bordeaux, plus a bunch of miscellaneous stuff (tips, drinks for the bus, exchange fees, etc). Of course we wouldn't get an exact figure until we actually begin contacting restaurants and chateaux, but I think it will likely come out on the low end of that range.

I think it was $1500 + some additional amount for Beaune, tim.

I think I can talk Gail into going.

Count us in. Two people.
Michael-P

Count us in for 2 and if we need more numbers to fill up a bus I'm sure my brother/?wife would love to make a return visit with the gang. We'd try to avoid the memorable luncheon at au Pied-de Cochon this time round. I can still taste the fat and grizzle to this day sliding down my throat and dripping around my lips....Sorry Tom and Tim but I'll never forget that most forgettable meal that I've ever had in Paris let alone the world!! Pretty gross. No where close to the Pate de Cochon that we enjoy around home. If we need others I sure my wino buddies would jump on board. Lets see the dates and how many we need.

Danny

Lucie and I are in if it is in May.

Of course your brother and sister in law would be welcome regardless Danny.

Sounds like we have a little critical mass developing for BWE France '15 in May....

We might be able to scare up some ringers.

May 25th is memorial day in the US. How does that impact the proposal for May 17-23rd?

Victoria Day weekend in Canada May 21 and I'd be happy to raise a glass to the old queen from Bordeaux. No issues with the week from my point.

For information, here is a list of public holidays in May 2015:

Friday, May 1st: Labor Day
Friday, May 8th: VE Day
Thursday, May 14th: Ascencion Day *PLUS* many businesses closed to make a long weekend
Monday, May 25th: Whit Monday

As you can see, the month of May is chock full of days when châteaux will not be open.

This may very well not interfere with plans, and leave some time to rest, go shopping, see the city, etc., but it is useful to know beforehand.

Best regards,
Alex R.

Looks like Tim's proposal avoids all of Alex's listed holidays Alex. Looking forward to reconnecting in May.

In order to move this along, I propose that we form the organizing committee as we did before. The purpose of the committee is to begin the planning process and propose how the overall excursion will work. Until we get to the point where we start taking deposits, I don't think we should consider BWE Bordeaux 15 confirmed. But we should at least get the ball rolling.

Alex and I have volunteered to be part of the planning team. Any other takers? We probably need 2 to 4 more volunteers.

Cheers,

Tim

Tim

I am based in London. But I would be happy to help out. I think I could arrange for some visits on both banks, without mentioning names but including a lot of top chateaux including at least one FG. I have not discussed with Alex but could co-ordinate with him, assuming he is in on the gig. I would be happy to do some spade work in terms of arranging appointments etc.

If it comes to numbers and having reserves there are people I could tap up this side of the pond. When it comes to issue like flight logistics and herding you American cats that is something I am less equipped to do.


Cheers

Ian

Fantastic Ian, that would be great!

We need at least one or two U.S.-based folks to help out, particularly as we look to collect deposits, etc. Any volunteers?

Cheers,

Tim

I can help out, Tim, with whatever needs to be done on this side of the pond.

Fantastic, thanks!

I'm here, too.

Perfect, looks like we have enough to get started!

Looking good!