Hello America & Total Wine & More fans!

I am Jean-Hubert Fabre. I will spend the next six months in the USA and this is my first blog post of many on my experiences during my internship here at the headquarters of Total Wine & More in Potomac, Maryland.

I come from France and my parents run a winery in Bordeaux. They sell a part of our Chateau’s production to Total Wine and More.  Maybe you know Château Landat or Château Lamothe-Cissac in Haut-Médoc’s AOC? These wineries are owned by my family!

I study at an engineering school and my major is manufacturing and quality control within the food industry.  My goal is a Masters degree and part of my final study program is an internship. That’s why I’m here at Total Wine. I’m also excited to learn more about American culture, here “outside the beltway” in the Washington, D.C. area.

I arrived last Saturday and already I’ve discovered much about the fantastic world of Total Wine. For me, it is very new because in France, there are no wine Superstores like Total Wine and More. We have many wine merchants but it is not comparable.

My internship has started by working with the Customer Experience Group. There are three pillars here at Total Wine, these are service, selection and price, and I’m working on projects that touch on each of these areas.

Currently, we are searching some new products in order to enhance our food selection to add products unique to an area, in Italy as an example, that will pair well with an Italian wine. I understand that we will have some new wines from Sicily in a few months, so I’m researching food products from Sicily that would be desirable to our customers.

Work here starts early in the day, and continues until the evening, but it is not all work. I have found that Americans work and play hard.  For what I have seen so far, I can just say – wow! It’s a big change for me compared to my life in France, but it’s fantastic! During my first week, I went to the Verizon Center to see Neil Diamond and then last night I saw the Washington National’s baseball team – the American pastime is a great time!

Regularly over the next 5-months, I will tell you more about my internship here at Total Wine and my adoption of American culture.

A bientôt!

Jean-Hubert