As you might have known, our former Managing Editor Stephanie Cernivec was Beverage Industry’s resident wine enthusiast, always ready to delve deeper into the subject. As I transition to her former role, I’m trying to expand my own wine knowledge and fill those shoes. So, when I was given the opportunity to learn more about French wine at the Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne event in Chicago in April, of course I jumped at the chance.

Through interviews with wine experts and some educational experiences in the event’s “Immersion Room,” I learned more about how different grapes
and the terroir of the wines impact their characteristics. However, I think one of the most interesting tidbits I picked up at the event was a small side note shared with me by Export Director Jeanne Marie de Champs of the Domaines et Saveurs Collection. She says the caps on the label’s Crémant de Bourgogne wine have become collector’s items. The winery uses different images on the caps, including a picture of what looks like a family riding in an old-fashioned truck and a group of men standing in front of some wine barrels, to encourage consumers to collect them, de Champs says.

 This tradition reminded me of how my friends and I used to collect Snapple caps as children. We were first intrigued by the cool clicking noise you can make with them and then hooked on the fun facts under the cap (Did you know that the patent for the fire hydrant was destroyed in a fire?).  It’s heartwarming to see how these small beverage connections are shared by consumers of various ages around the world, making this yet another way beverages bring people together.