This episode features a live audience conversation at The Oenophile Institute in Smyrna, GA with Laurent Noblet, the Director of Sales for USA & Canada for Henri Bourgeois Estates. He is based in Atlanta, GA but manages sales for three French wineries and one estate in New Zealand. In this current role, he researches and assigns distributors in new markets across the U.S. and is responsible for yearly sales plans, goals, and developing new business. Laurent, however, has been working with wine for 30 years and has held various positions in restaurants, retail, as well as wholsale – in the room we laughed that he basically has had all of our jobs at some point in his career. We talk about how the skills he acquired as a sommelier and working in other customer-facing roles have contributed to his skills in his current role, and he shares his insights about the U.S. market along with advice to all of us looking for ways to make an impact on the wine industry going forward. It was also so much fun to have our friends in the room for this tasting and cheese sampling session - we were joined by Jade Palmer from the forthcoming Madeira Park, Ryan Mullins from Winebow Distributors, and Chelsea Young from The Oenophile Institute. You can visit www.famillebourgeois-sancerre.com/en to learn more about these wines and follow @domainehenribourgeois on social media.

Recorded LIVE at The Oenophile Institute on December 16, 2024