 Jean-Baptiste Féret founded the publishing house La Librairie Féret in Bordeaux in 1812, which became Féret et fils in 1841.In 1846 Michel-Édouard Féret approached Charles Cocks, an English schoolmaster and wine enthusiast living in Bordeaux since 1840, to publish a directory of wine aimed at his compatriots.At 84 pages containing historical observations and assessment of Bordeaux wine, "Bordeaux, its Wines and the Claret Country" was published in London that year.