Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine

by Steven Spurrier

Overview

The moment he was handed a glass of Cockburn 1908 vintage port by his grandfather at 13 years old, Steven Spurrier knew he would make wine his career. He traveled Europe in his red sports car (fitted with a compact wine fridge in the boot), working the vintage in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, before his first extraordinary move was to set up shop and sell wine to the French. As an Englishman in the heart of Paris, this seemed a remarkably bold (if not foolish) project, but the plan worked.

Steven’s adventures in wine did not stop there. In 1976, he went on to mastermind the ‘Judgement of Paris’, the France v California blind tasting that changed the wine world forever.

This memoir looks back on Steven’s life charting the incidents, adventures, ideas and discoveries that formed his wine journey. With tributes from Hugh Johnson, Miguel Torres, Oz Clarke, Jancis Robinson MW, Warren Winiarski and many more...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913141073
Publisher:	Academie du Vin Library Ltd
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.95(d)

About the Author

"Few people have so profoundly informed, guided and inspired generations through their journeys in wine. Steven Spurrier is one of England’s great modern renaissance figures and a colossus in the world of fine wine." - Andrew Caillard MW.

Steven Spurrier was a legendary figure in the world of wine, known as an educator, innovator, consultant and communicator, he has inspired many newcomers to the trade and earned the respect of celebrated winemakers the world over. Steven is perhaps best known for masterminding the remarkable 1976 blind tasting of top Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines from Bordeaux and California that came to be known as the ‘Judgement of Paris’. A recreation of this event was held in 1986, then again in 2006 when the wines were tasted simultaneously in London and Napa. Steven wrote eight books on wine and in 2017 was named Decanter Man of the Year and Honorary President of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

Table of Contents

A Few Words About Steven 7

Preface 47

1 Early Days and Learning the Trade 49

2 Living the Trade 63

3 Swinging London 81

4 Var from the Madding Crowd 92

5 Bonjour Paris 98

6 Steven Spurrier, Marchand du Vin 107

7 The Judgement of Paris 117

8 Here, There and Everywhere 141

9 A New Decade 159

10 Between London and Paris 167

11 Au Revoir Paris 183

12 The Road Back 194

13 Life with Decanter 199

14 Free as a Bird 218

15 Poacher Turns Gamekeeper 232

16 Wine People, Wine Words, Wine and Art 263

Index 284

Editorial Reviews

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