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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!

This past weekend was full of events. On Friday night, the fantastic Toast of the Town, organized by Wine Enthusiast, took place in the beautiful National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The event was an awesome evening of wine, food, and music; the ambiance was very convivial. Many elegant wines could be tasted with delicious hors d’oeuvres. I really like the Kona coffee rubbed beef tenderloin from The Capital grille! During the evening, I met Hank Rosen, the President of Wine Enthusiast. What a great guy! Here we are:

(L to R) Greg Tuttle, product education manager; John Jordan, CCO; Hank Rosen, President Wine Enthusiast; Jean-Hubert Fabre

This week, another big event will happen for Total Wine & More. On Thursday, June 28th, we will open our first store in Washington State located in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle. The opening of this store is a big deal for Total Wine and the residents of Washington State, who recently decided by referendum that the state should privatize all liquor stores. So, if you are in Washington this week, do not hesitate to come over and see our newest store!

I have greatly enjoyed my time in the country thus far. The weather here was wonderful this past week and it was a beautiful weekend to discover more about life in the USA. I went shopping and sightseeing in Georgetown, a small historic neighborhood in D.C. along the Potomac River, and it was a lot of fun. I’ve been working on improving my English, and at the same time I am teaching my new friends some French! I was really surprised when I asked a saleswoman to try on a casquette, which is pronounced as “casket”. She was very surprised!  In France, a casquette is a baseball cap. Funny misunderstanding, eh? After five minutes of explaining, I got to try on the hat and I ended up buying it. I had the same problem with another word; someone asked me about my studies and I said that I would be a bachelor in one year. A little embarrassing! I did not know that in English bachelor means “single”. We use it in France to mean “graduate”.

During the upcoming weeks, I will continue to report back to you about news and events at Total Wine and my stay in the United States. And, of course, my funny language experiences!

Bonne semaine,
Jean-Hubert