the Domain of Taste
prepares the end of the year from the start. This Dijon-based company is experiencing growing success for its Advent calendars that thrill the taste buds but also the curiosity of wine and other spirits lovers. In addition to its classic version, the Advent calendar is now available in several series. An XXL version with bottles, a version for two, a “prestige” version but also a version with spirits such as whisky, cognac, etc. and always 100% French. Interview with Sébastien Bricout, the founder and manager of Domain of Taste
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© Radio France
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Christophe Tourne
You have already launched your 2022 Advent calendar. When are you starting to think about Christmas?
From January 2! Barely finished the Christmas of the year before that we think of the Christmas of the year after. It’s like Christmas all year round.
We recall the basic principle of this calendar. Behind each box, there is a vinote containing a wine to discover and try to recognize. Is it this principle that appeals?
Exactly. It is certainly the blind tasting that pleases the most. Beyond the selection and all the fun part that we have developed around the calendar, with blind tasting, the scratch card and the big changes that we are offering this year. On each of the vinotes or each of the samples, there is a QR code that can be flashed. We then arrive on a web page, with the description of all the wines, the food and wine pairings, the vinification and also advice in terms of conservation. It’s really a complete experience that we offer around this calendar.
How is the wine selection made?
It’s a very complicated part of the job and I say that with a smile. We will preselect about 140 wines in the different regions of France and then we will taste these 140 white, rosé and red wines over two days to select only 24 at the end.
It’s been five years since you launched this Advent calendar, are sales up?
It is progressing every year, both for consumers and individuals in France and for companies, since we have developed a large market for corporate gifts. And then also internationally, because we have a lot of foreigners who are very happy to be able to buy our wonderful wines from all over France.
There are several new features this year. The first is that you offer prestigious wines?
We had a lot of requests. So inside, there are 24 wines. These are Premier Crus or equivalents from all over France, therefore Burgundy, Pic Saint-Loup, Saint-Émilion, Languedoc, Loire wines, Alsace wines. They really allow you to take a tour of France on wines with much more prestigious appellations. This year, we also offer XXL calendars with 24 bottles of 75 centilitres. It’s a big tower that weighs 50 kilos and one meter 60 high, that we deliver on a pallet and that works just as well for individuals to have parties at home, as for companies that need to make money. event. We are able to personalize the calendar with their logo, their design and then come with Thierry, Nicolas or another of my sommeliers, to do a tasting in their company.
You are eight full-time employees. What are your development prospects for the coming months?
If we continue to grow as has been the case for five years, there will be new hires in 2023, both in the manufacturing part of the various products and in the commercial part and in the part to manage the team.
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Domain of Taste
A calendar that is attracting more and more people abroad
The Advent calendars offered by the Domaine du Goût also work very well for export. “It is very popular with our neighbours. Whether they are near or on the other side of the world, this type of international clientele is precisely looking for the quality of our wines. And for them, it is always a pleasure to to be able to taste 4 or 24 French wines with very good appellations when they are in Berlin, Tokyo, New York or Sydney.Even if Christmas in Tokyo is not quite the same as at home but the concept of the Advent calendar is all the same international now, and in general, these are people who have a slight affinity with European culture, who know a little bit about what an Advent calendar is Advent, and they appreciate it all the more.” rejoices Sébastien Bricout.