The opportunity to begin my internship with Keeper Collection over the next 4 months has finally arrived. I am studying “Wine Marketing” in a business school in Bordeaux, France, which requires a final 4 month internship in order for me to graduate. And so, I’m very excited to have the chance to learn Wine Marketing with the Keeper Team while discovering the Texas culture.
Traveling French Intern – The Journey from Burgundy, France to Austin, Texas with Keeper Collection!
Contributing Author: Clothilde Lafarge, Keeper Collection Intern
On Sunday, the 3rd of May, a few days after my arrival in Austin, I experienced my first ever Crawfish Boil at Lenoir restaurant! It’s a very typical event in Louisiana that is also celebrated now in Austin. This was a very special day for me. The concept is to eat boiled crawfish, corn, and potatoes cooked in a special seasoning. Of course, Keeper wanted to tie-in my Wine Marketing studies, so the Keeper Team and friends offered wine for me to pair with these new food flavors.
I learned that Crawfish are sometimes called Crayfish, but in France we only have one name, Ecrevisses. This shellfish is rich in flavor and texture, and in this case, had some spice from the boil. So, I was curious if the wines I would be offered would pair well with the Crawfish.
The three wines were from three different countries, three different grape varieties, and three different producers. All three wines were very good both when tasted without any food, and all three paired well with the food. One wine was “Grgich Hills Estate 2012 Fume Blanc” from Napa Valley, which the label also noted as a “Dry Sauvignon Blanc”.
The second wine, a Chenin Blanc, was The Sadie Family “Skurfberg 2013” from South Africa.
The third wine was an “Aligoté Raisins Dorés 2008 from Domaine Michel Lafarge” in Burgundy, France. I was pleased to see that all three wines paired well with the Crawfish.
As this was the first time I had ever eaten Crawfish, I had no idea how to get the meat out of the shell. They were a lot of Crawfish put in front of me to eat, but without knowing how to get the meat out of the shell, it didn’t matter how much was put in front of me. Thanks to the Keeper Team, I was shown very quickly how to peel the Crawfish so I could enjoy this delicacy. I am now able to appreciate “Ecrevisses” in the US, and I really love the idea of a “Crawfish Boil”. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day for this outside event. With live music in the background (what else would you expect from Austin, “The Music Capital of the World”), the atmosphere was very nice. We ate on big, long, rectangular tables that we shared with other people. The conviviality was the key word of the day, sharing good food, good wine, with good friends.
I can’t wait to see what I learn next with Keeper Collection. Stay tuned for more adventures.
