by Malcolm Jolley
From left to right: LCBO Ontario Wines Product Manager Astrid Brummer, Dave Kranenburg Executive Director of Meal Exchange and Château des Charmes Director of Marketing Michèle Bosc
On February 9 Michèle Bosc, Director of Marketing for her family’s Niagara winery, Château des Charmes, announced she would present a cheque for $13,000 to Meal Exchange, a university student run organization that fights hunger with programming that ranges from organizing food drives to advocating for solutions to end poverty. Good Food Revolution caught up with Bosc on the phone this week to talk about the donation and Generation Seven wines. The donation came from funds raised throughout the sales of these new affordable VQA wines made from multiple varietals at Château des Charmes.
Bosc explained to GFR that the $13,000 check, derived from $1 per bottle sale in December, was just the beginning of Generation Seven’s commitment to Meal Exchange, which she characterised as a “long-term partner”. Bosc explained that she and her colleagues were attracted to Meal Exchage, which began at the University of Guelph, because it engaged and was run by young people. “There had to be a connection with family, food and health,” she said, adding, “I liked that Meal Exchange are grass roots and are helping people here today.”
As the marketing director for a small, family business, Bosc conceived of Generation Seven and the Meal Exchange project as both an exercise in social marketing and a statement of the Bosc family values. The name has a double meaning. There really have been seven generations of Boscs in the wine business; in Alsace, French Algeria and Ontario. Bosc explained they wanted the wine to reflect the family’s roots in wine culture and their belief that wine should be considered a “food” and part of the daily routine of enjoying life: “It’s about sitting down at the table and sharing family stories.”
The other meaning of Generation Seven wine is the idea that decisions made today should be made in consideration of their environmental impact for at least Seven Generations going forward, which is said to have originated among the Iroquois peoples. Bosc explained the wines are made without chemical herbicides and as much respect to the environment as possible.
Bosc is bullish on social media, particularly Twitter, where she tweets under the handle @mbosc and has organised live “Twitter party” where followers all opened a bottle of Generation Seven at once. She credits social media and its participants as having been instrumental in driving sales and raising money for Meal Exchange, but cautions that “while finding the right audience is is critical, you also need to have the right message.” Bosc will address the Sixth Annual Universities Fighting World Hunger Conference on February 26 as part of a panel discussing how the corporate sector can fight hunger.
Find out more about Generation Seven wines at chateaudescharmes.com/genseven.
Malcolm Jolley is the Managing Editor of Good Food Revolution and the Executive Director of Good Food Media, the not-for-profit company that publishes it. Follow him on Twitter at @malcolmjolley.
I have bought these wines and they were good value for the money and for a good cause as well. A good example of giving something back to society.
keep up the good work!