It was a mistake. But I had to do it.
… and it taught me some powerful lessons
The email subject line said “a mistake.”
I opened it up and started to read. And holy cow, I couldn’t believe my eyes…
It said I could get a round trip ticket to Paris, non-stop, on American Airlines for $230. It was “a mistake fare.”
Now that’s my kind of mistake!
I had already been to France twice that year. But a $230 ticket was too good to pass up.
So I bought one and decided I’d figure out the details later.
Those details are how I ended up here…
… in an apartment on a cobblestone street in Dijon. It was in the medieval part of the city. Right around the corner was the 800-year-old Church of Notre-Dame, shops, cafés and restaurants, and the market.
I had never been to Dijon. And I had no idea why I was pulled to go there. But I was. And I fell in love with it.
Dijon is in the breathtaking Burgundy wine region. And of course, if I was going to be in a city surrounded by some of the best wines in the world, I wanted to learn a little bit about them.
It just seemed like the right thing to do.
So I took some classes, did a bike tour of the vineyards, and went to several wine estates for tastings.
As much as I enjoyed the wine, I absolutely loved hearing how the winemaking philosophy and practices changed in the 1980s.
The Golden Age of Burgundy
The 1980s was considered “the golden age of Burgundy.” But I wouldn’t be surprised if people saw what the Burgundians were doing and thought they were nuts.
At the time, the consumer culture was in full swing in the U.S. It seemed like making and spending as much money as possible was the name of the game. Everything was fast-paced. And companies were looking to squeeze more out of less.
That trend even hit U.S. agriculture. New “advancements” in corn production increased yields by almost 30% from 1980 to 1989.
By advancements, I mean things like genetically modified seeds, new types of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, more efficient planting and harvesting equipment, and so on. (Don’t get me started on what that’s done to our health.)
Meanwhile, over in Burgundy, a quiet revolution was taking hold.
The new generation of wine growers ignored what was happening elsewhere. In fact, they did the exact opposite. They traded in their tractors for horses and grape harvesters for hand shears.
This growing movement rejected high-tech production techniques. And instead of trying to “outsmart” Mother Nature, Burgundy wine growers were doing everything they could to get out of her way.
Why were they zigging when it seemed like the rest of the industrialized world was zagging?
… because of an eye-opening discovery that was made at a wine fair in London.
The Wine Fair Discovery That Changed Everything
For centuries, négociants (pronounced nay-go-see-ahn) had been important players in the Burgundy wine industry. They would buy grapes from the smaller growers and handle everything else about making and selling wine.
Since they were buying grapes from many small growers, they would blend them together. This method allowed them to produce a consistent, quality product.
The négociants were necessary for the smaller grape-growers, who weren’t equipped to produce, market, and distribute wine on their own. Instead, the growers stayed focused on the farming aspect. They’d sell their entire harvest to the négociants and keep just enough for some homemade bottles for their own consumption.
In the 1970s, the négociants started looking for ways to sell more of their wines outside of France. So they organized fairs to help promote and sell Burgundy wines globally.
The grape growers were invited to take part in one of the fairs in London. They brought bottles of their homemade wine for people to sample.
Of course they wanted to join in on the tasting! So they visited their neighbors’ tables and sampled their wines. And that’s when they made a surprising discovery.
Since they all grew the same grape varieties (pinot noir and chardonnay), they were expecting the wines to be generally the same.
But instead, they found each wine had unique characteristics. Even wine that grew on a plot just 3 feet away had a different flavor composition.
This discovery gave the growers a whole new outlook. Because now they had something that’s highly revered in France – They had terroir. (pronounced ter-wa)
Terroir is a French term that refers to a product’s uniqueness. That uniqueness is the result of the specific environment where it’s produced – the geography, soil composition, and climate. So it’s impossible to replicate anywhere else. (You can read more about terroir here.)
But Burgundy wines take the idea of terroir to a whole new level.
If you looked down on the Burgundy wine region from the air, you’d see a patchwork landscape of the different wine-producing plots. There are 1,247 of them.
Each plot has its own, unique microclimate. These microclimates are referred to as “climats.” (cli-mah.) And like terroir, each climat gives the grapes grown there a distinctly unique taste.
When the farmers made this discovery, they started to rethink what they were doing.
Before then, there were only a few larger wine estates that produced, bottled and sold their own wines. These were the highly reputable chateaux, like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
But when the smaller growers discovered their wine had its own terroir, they knew it gave them a distinction. And that would give them an edge.
So they started learning how to make, bottle, and sell wine under their own label, just like the big boys did.
They also looked for ways they could support their wine’s unique terroir. And this led to a radical change in the Burgundy winemaking philosophy.
Instead of focusing on consistency in wine production, the way the négociants did, the winegrowers' new philosophy was based on minimal intervention. The goal was to make each harvest a true expression of nature.
So the growers stopped irrigating their vines and let them rely on natural rainfall instead. This forced the vines to develop deeper root systems to get to water farther below the earth’s surface.
The deeper the roots grew, the more layers of soil they reached. The soil in these layers had a different composition of limestone and minerals. This added to the wine’s unique flavor profile.
In fact, vines that grow in the higher elevations of Burgundy tend to produce wines that are more complex because their roots have to grow deeper. (These are often the more expensive Burgundies.)
The growers also reduced, or even stopped using fertilizer completely. If they did fertilize, the goal was to maintain soil health, and not to change the natural flavor profile or boost grape production.
Many of them also stopped using tractors and other equipment because the heavy machinery affected the soil around the vines.
And when it came to fermenting their grapes, they avoided adding things to the process. For example, instead of adding yeast, they relied on the yeast that occurs naturally to ferment the wine.
This new hands-off philosophy was very in-tune with the French because their food culture puts a high value on terroir. People loved that the wines were a true reflection of nature, and they were willing to pay much more for them.
That’s how the small Burgundy growers carved out their own niches and became full wine estates.
3 Insights From Burgundy You Can Use to Market Your Coaching Business
The smaller wine growers went from blending in with each other, both figuratively and quite literally, to finding their uniqueness. That uniqueness gave them a way to stand out. And that’s how they went from being 1 among many grape farmers to becoming an established wine estate with a loyal clientele.
Here are 3 things these wine estates did, and still do, that you can apply to your own coaching business…
1. Focus on uniqueness
Once the winegrowers realized their uniqueness, they fully embraced it. And from that point on, everything they did, from vine to wine to getting the bottle on your table, was about supporting and showcasing that uniqueness.
You need to do the same. It’s the only way you’ll stand out in the saturated health coach space.
But this isn’t just about your personality or having a “brand look.” It needs to go deeper than that. You need to find (or create) a point of differentiation that’s relevant to the people who need your help. It’s about “relevant uniqueness.” Not just being different for the sake of it.
2. Focus on authenticity
I love the idea that Burgundy wines are a reflection of nature. It makes them exclusive, artisanal products. And their marketing reflects this authenticity.
Your marketing should do the same. It should be unique to you. That’s why I’m not a fan of health coaches and practitioners using AI to write their marketing assets.
I know that makes me a bit of an outlier. Many “gurus” are using AI to make assets for their clients. But I believe your marketing assets should be hand-crafted … not cookie-cutter templates that look the same as thousands of other coaches.
3. Focus on story
The Burgundy wine estates tell their story in their marketing. They talk about the vineyard, the unique environmental conditions, their growing and harvesting practices, and how they make their wines.
This creates a stronger connection between the consumer, the grower, and the wines they produce.
You can (and should) make story part of your marketing, too.
The obvious way to do this is if you healed yourself of a health problem. But that’s entry-level stuff. You can take it even further.
You can tell the story of how you came up with your process, why it’s different, and the discoveries you made. You can add stories to your social content and nurture emails.
This is how people will get to know you as a person, not just a coach. This is crucial. People want to work with a coach they feel they know and like.
Health coaches who have relevant uniqueness … who show up authentically in their marketing … and who use personal stories to connect with their audience attract more people who want to work with them.
Before you go, I’d love to know if you got value out of this article. If you did, please give it a like. And if you have some thoughts about it, I’d love to hear them! Just drop them in the comments.