Bottoms up!

There are professional wine experts, amateur wine experts … those who would like to be one or the other … and then there is a vast rump of people who drink wine with varying degrees of enthusiasm (and/or need) largely without pretensions, or making a song and dance about it, or even sometimes without much ceremony.

One of my greatest pals, sadly no longer with us, was a barrister with whom I ran around a lot in my twenties. One day at Lord’s cricket ground, stationed in the Tavern Stand mid-afternoon on a beautiful summer’s day when not a little alcohol had been consumed at a Test match between England and Australia, a group of three Australian fans appeared on the horizon intent upon having some banter and making a bit of a spectacle of themselves. One of them was carrying what appeared to be a massive bottle of wine – possibly a Jeroboam, or possibly larger than that, it was a long time ago now and my memory is somewhat hazy – which he began brandishing at the England fans in our vicinity. This continued for a while, accompanied by some cheering and jeering, until there happened to be a lull.

It was at this point that my companion called out in his rich stentorian voice “Ah …. my favourite wine of all: red!” and metaphorically brought the house down, prompting a collapse into mirth of all parties and an acknowledging theatrical bow from our new Aussie friends.

My point today is that it doesn’t matter whether a wine drinker is a beginner, a long-term champion wine imbiber, or indeed whether they have any knowledge or expertise at all. Food and drink exists to be enjoyed and if you think you would find reward in learning out a bit more about the wonderful word of wine – its history, its grapes and varieties, the theory of wine-making and production and where the latest bargains and great-tasting examples are coming from – the quest will most probably enhance your enjoyment. Yes, the world is full of pompous wine bores and you can often meet a range of stereotypes at wine-tasting events, but even a little knowledge can be a thing of fun and intrigue … and, in my experience, the more knowledge you acquire, the more reward is to be had, despite the attendant sense of feeling that there is still yet so much more to discover.

Here’s a short piece by Kashmira Gander on the subject that might get some Rusters itching to get down to their local wine shop, as appears today on the website of – THE INDEPENDENT