Learn Storytelling From the Best Sommeliers.

Happy Friday everyone!
 
This week I read several business articles emphasizing the importance of story-telling in luxury retail and hospitality - it made me reflect on the ingredients of a memorable story and an effective storyteller.
 
During my recent travel experience in St-Emilion, I encountered some of the best sommeliers and storytellers in the world! Some similarities among these brilliant storytellers are:

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀: All of the sommeliers I encountered ask for our names and welcomed us to their places sincerely. They are curious about what we wish to get out of the experience and they adapt the approach personally - this could be the split of red and white wines we wish to taste, the type of red wine we are interested to know more or the time we wish to spend between touring the vineyard and tasting.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼: Vincent (the gentleman in this video) is the 7th generation of a family-owned vineyard - Chateau Guadet. He personally hosts tours of his wine cellar on a daily basis. Despite the fact that he is probably sharing the same story with thousands of tourists every year, he understands it’s the first time for each of us to experience it and let his passion for winemaking, family heritage and wine-tasting knowledge radiate through the whole journey.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲: Vincent doesn't let what’s physically available in the wine cellar (which is quite a small space) limit him. On the contrary, he brings us on a “tour of imagination” by using powerful metaphors like “Imagine grapes harvest each year various just like our kids - they are all going to be different and it is up to us to bring each of them to the best.”

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟳, 𝟯𝟴, 𝟱𝟱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲”: Only 7% of our impact comes from the words we say, 38% from the tonal quality and 55% from what our body is doing while you are saying it. Throughout the wine tour, the sommeliers vividly use their hand gestures, constantly make eye contact to maintain our attention and use different tones of voice to convey a range of emotions.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻: Whilst most of us are keen to learn a thing or two about wine during the tour, we are also here for an experience, not a lecture. Vincent and the others share their knowledge vibrantly, always including a joke to two at the right moment to make it light-hearted for everyone.