Georges Duboeuf

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Back when I began drinking wine…

Oh, wait.  That’s not quite true.  I began drinking wine before I was 2.  But the wine was Schapiro’s. (Believe it or not, it’s motto was wine you could “almost cut with a knife”.)   But, that moniker that disappeared two decades ago.   It was much better than what most Jewish folk drink now on Friday nights, Saturday nights, and other holidays.   (Manishchewitz, of course.)

Schapiro's Kosher Wine

But, when I began drinking wine to enjoy the taste- and not for the ritual- one of the brands I trusted (because it was reasonably priced and reasonably good) was Georges Duboeuf.

George Duboeuf

Most folks associated Georges with Beaujolais.  No, that’s not quite it.  Most  folks associated Georges with Beaujolais Nouveau.

I know that’s considered all the rage- the first Beaujolais of the year.  But, that NEVER appealed to me.  His Brouilly, his Grenache, his Syrah- they were the adornments on my table.  (I also savored a bottle of his wonderful Pouilly Fuisse on my honeymoon in Quebec some 55 years ago.)

But, his Beaujolais and his marketing allowed him and his name to become synonymous with French wine to many an American.  (One might say he was the Gallo of France!)  George managed his family wine business (400 years old when he took the reins) adroitly.  But, he established his own firm, Les Vins Georges Duboeuf, back in 1964, when he was 30 years old.

As opposed to many other wine merchants, Georges was a “négociant”.  That meant that he bought the products of a bunch of small vineyards  and marketed them under his own moniker.  By the time of his death on 4 January 2020, his stable of providers approached 400 growers and about 20 coops.  Most importantly, his brand sold some 20 million bottles annually- to over 120 countries.

How did he publicize his wares?  I could say by any means possible.  But, consider these true choices.  He created an international festival- including the introduction at MIDNIGHT on the 3rd Thursday of November.  (Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrive!)  Or, by inventing a “Bastille Day of Wine”, replete with brass bands in his home town of Romaneche-Thorins.  Oh, yeah- with a foot race, to boot.  Marathons.  Wines parachuted to London. A Concorde (the defunct SST [super-sonic transport]) to arrive in Manhattan.  Bringing the Beaujolais Nouveau to the top of the World Trade Center- via window washing cranes.  Inviting folks to soak in large heated baths of wine. (The scary part is that made the water a bright purple!)

This is not to say he didn’t have his critics.  (One wine snob decreed that Duboeuf, with his mass produced wines, was nothing but “an industrial product made by chemists”.  [Although that same critic admitted the wines were high quality and rarely over-processed.  Sounds to me that he was just jealous.  What think you?])

He retired two years ago at the age of 84.  Franck, his son, took over the reins; he has maintained his father’s mission of bringing the taste of great wine to as many folks as possible.

Raise a glass

Here’s to you, Georges.  Thanks for the memories.

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8 thoughts on “Georges Duboeuf”

  1. Surprised I never heard of Shapiro’s, only Manichewitz, which I haven’t drunk in many years. I have partaken of Beaujolais Nouveau and I like it, considering I’m not a huge fan of dry reds. so now I know the marketing around that‘mystique’
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