Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks who went for a walk in the forest. After walking for awhile, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry (walks in the forest tend to do that) and proceeded to taste the porridge from the first bowl.

“This porridge is too hot!” she exclaimed.

Next, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

“This porridge is too cold,” she said

So (ever the optimist), she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

“Ahhh, this porridge is just right,” she said happily and ate it all up.

While we know that the bears soon returned home to find Goldilocks fast asleep in Baby Bear’s bed, we can learn a lot from Goldilocks (and not just the part about staying out of people’s –and bear’s– homes).

I recently had the opportunity to present a class on the Crus Bourgeois wines to the staff members of Bottle Rocket Wine & Spirit.

Since it was late (9:00 PM on a Thursday night), cold (polar vortex anyone?) and that they were likely to be tired (did I mention it was late?), I knew that I couldn’t give them too many facts and details. Not only would they easily forget them, it would simply be “too much” information.

I also knew that I couldn’t just talk about the Crus Bourgeois because the assembled group of employees possessed a varied set of existing knowledge about Bordeaux. Such an approach would provide “too little” information. I had to ensure that everyone had at least a basic understanding of the Bordeaux wine region.

Thus, I spent some time reviewing the essential elements of Bordeaux – climate, grape varieties, wine styles and appellations – before discussing and tasting the Crus Bourgeois wines. I acknowledged that some of this would be review for them and was careful not to dwell on irrelevant details. In addition, I made sure to emphasize the information that would be most useful to them in selling Bordeaux wine to their customers.

When I was finished with my presentation, the General Manager pronounced that what I had delivered to his staff was “just right.” I’m sure Goldilocks would be pleased.

Looking to expand your knowledge on Bordeaux and the Crus Bourgeois?

The inaugural issue of my Drink Wisely magazine was “All About Bordeaux,” but admittedly might be “too much” content for some readers. For a more general introduction to Bordeaux, see my Examiner article on Decoding Bordeaux (possibly “too little” for others). Finally, my Wine Portfolio article on the current status of the Crus Bourgeois might be “just right” to bring you up to speed on this important Bordeaux wine category.