Oz Clarke's World of Wine – wine, grapes, vineyards – Warning the Loire is dangerous not 'listless' or 'lazy summer'

Oz Clarke's World of Wine – wine, grapes, vineyards, 

Pavilion 320 pages £30 (UK), $40 (US), $45 (Canada)

After some brief introductory sections, this latest book from Oz Clarke profiles the vineyards of the world starting with France and ending with Asia – Vietnam is the last country to be included.

Inevitably in a book covering the whole world of wine the profiles are broad and general. 

Regrettably on page 92 Oz continues to characterise the River Loire as 'listless' 'ambling', 'caught in a reverie'  and with 'children paddle in the shallows'. 

Oz's introduction to the Loire section: 
'I sometimes wonder whether the Loire River is just too long for its own good. It starts brightly enough, cascading and splashing out of the Ardèche gorges only 50km (31 miles) west of the Rhône at Valence full of purpose and vivacity. But by the time the river gets to Pouilly and Sancerre, sites of its first world famous wines, the initial breezy seaward flow has slowed to a walk. As the river makes its great arc northwards to Orléans past the haunting Sologne marshes, and then loops wearily south and west, through Blois, Tours, Angers, Nantes and finally to the Atlantic at St-Nazaire, the walk slows to an amble, the motion of the water so listless that the valley seems caught in a reverie, completely unconcerned about reaching its destination on the turbulent shores of the Bay of Biscay. Great gravel banks push through the river's surface, children paddle in the shallows, parents picnic and gossip on the warm pebbles. It doesn't seem as though the lazy summer Loire has the character to be a wine river, home of some of the most thrilling and individual wines in France.'   

Although it is true that the Loire can appear lazy and benign, it can actually be very dangerous because of its current and constantly shifting sand banks. Because of these dangers swimming in the Loire is banned in a number of places including Amboise and Tours. I have great respect for Oz but this flight of fancy is dangerous nonsense. At the very least there should be a warning of the dangers the Loire can pose. 

Over the years the Loire has claimed many victims usually through drowning. The worst loss of life being on 18th July 1969 when 19 school kids were drowned in the Loire at Juigné-sur-Loire. 

There are frequent warnings in the local media about the danger of bathing in the Loire – see below:

Headline from Ouest-France:
À Juigné-sur-Loire, on n'a pas oublié les 19 enfants noyés
https://www.ouest-france.fr/juigne-sur-loire-na-pas-oublie-les-19-enfants-noyes-5210Baignade interdite : les dangers de la Loire - YouTube 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2psLiiYcU4

 2008

Les dangers de la Loire : 11 conseils qui peuvent vous sauver la vie

 1st July 2015

 2014

Baignade en Loire: attention danger - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLLv55uQmE0

•••

Unfortunately not only is Oz's description of the Loire inaccurate but because of the dangers the river poses it is dangerously inaccurate.   

Oz Clarke inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame

 Oz, Chris Stroud (marketing manager - 

Europe, New Zealand Winegrowers),  

Sir Alexander Lockwood Smith  

 Sir Alexander Lockwood Smith, 

NZ High Commissioner to UK 

This afternoon Oz Clarke, writer, actor and broadcaster, was inducted into the The New Zealand Hall of Fame at a brief ceremony at the top of New Zealand House. Sir Alexander Lockwood Smith, the New Zealand High Commissioner, made the presentation.

••     

Press release:

'Oz Clarke inducted in to New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame

Oz Clarke, the man who helped put New Zealand Wine on the map, will be inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame on International Sauvignon Blanc Day, Friday May 6.  

Oz is the first person in the UK to receive this honour, and only the second non-Kiwi (after Australian David Hohnen in 2006) to be recognised for having made major contributions to the development and enhancement of the domestic and export-based wine industry in New Zealand.

A passionate New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc enthusiast and advocate, Oz will be presented with his certificate of membership fittingly on International Sauvignon Blanc Day, at New Zealand House in London.

“There had never before been a wine that crackled and spat its flavours at you from the glass,” Oz said at the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, held in Marlborough earlier this year, where he captivated the audience as a keynote speaker with his first memories of tasting New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Oz first visited New Zealand in 1987 as a guest overseas judge at the inaugural Air New Zealand Wine Awards, the country’s premier national wine competition. He came again a few years later to judge, and has been a regular keynote speaker at the triennial Pinot Noir International events held in Wellington since 2001.

Commenting on Oz’s induction, the chairman of the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame Trust, Bob Campbell MW (who, incidentally judged on the same panel as Oz in 1987) said:

“Oz is special to Kiwi winemakers because, in 1984 he was among the first to recognise that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc had added a new style and flavour to the world of wine, and he never stopped saying it to anyone who would listen. Then, in 2001 he rated our best Pinot Noirs as being up there with the best of Burgundy – not better than but comparable with and complementary in style.” 

"On personal and regional levels, Oz has taken the time and trouble to get to know our wine people and their terroirs, and the synergies are such that we have come to regard him as an honorary Kiwi.”

 

 Chris Stroud

View from the top of New Zealand House

Breaking news: 2015 André Simon drink books shortlist

 Mimi Avery with other family members @

2013 André Simon Award announcement  

The shortlisted books for the 2015 prize in the drink category are:

Thirsty Dragon by Suzanne Mustacich (Henry Holt) 

Madeira by Richard Mayson (Infinite Ideas Ltd) 
Soda Politics by Marion Nestle (Oxford University Press) 
The History of Wine in 100 Bottles by Oz Clarke (Pavilion Books)

Mimi Avery assessed the Drink Books. The winner will be announced on 28th January 2016 at The Goring Hotel, Victoria. The Goring Hotel has now become the established venue for the awards ceremony.  

Many congratulations to those shortlisted.  

 

From the Press Release: 

 

Thirsty Dragon: China's Lust for Bordeaux and the Threat to the World's Best Wines by Suzanne Mustacich (Henry Holt)

An inside view of China's quest to become a global wine power and Bordeaux's attempt to master the thirsty dragon it helped create. The wine merchants of Bordeaux and the rising entrepreneurs of China would seem to have little in common—old world versus new, tradition versus disruption, loyalty versus efficiency. And yet these two communities have found their destinies intertwined in the conquest of new markets, as Suzanne Mustacich shows in this provocative account of how China is reshaping the French wine business and how Bordeaux is making its mark on China. 

Thirsty Dragon lays bare the untold story of how an influx of Chinese money rescued France's most venerable wine region from economic collapse, and how the result was a series of misunderstandings and crises that threatened the delicate infrastructure of Bordeaux's insular wine trade. The Bordelais and the Chinese do business according to different and often incompatible sets of rules, and Mustacich uncovers the competing agendas and little-known actors who are transforming the economics and culture of Bordeaux, even as its wines are finding new markets—and ever higher prices—in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, with Hong Kong and London traders playing a pivotal role. 

At once a tale of business skullduggery and fierce cultural clashes, adventure, and ambition, Thirsty Dragon offers a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges facing the world's most famous and prestigious wines.  

Madeira by Richard Mayson (Infinite Ideas Ltd)

Madeira wine is currently experiencing a renaissance. It is a wine that behaves like almost no other. Heat and air, the sworn enemies of most wines and winemakers, conspire to turn Madeira into one of the most enthralling of the world’s wines as well as the most resilient. Madeira wines from the nineteenth and even the eighteenth centuries still retain an ethereal, youthful gloss. Once the cork is removed, the wine comes to no harm, even if the bottle is left open and on ullage for months on end.
 

If ever there was a wine to take to a desert island, this is it. Although Madeira was only discovered in the fifteenth century, the island and the wine trade have a long and involved history. After a short historical introduction Madeira: The Islands and their Wines rounds on the present: the physical character of the archipelago, the state of the vines and vineyards and the way in which the wines are made. A guide to the current producers (shippers) follows along with a detailed appraisal of their range of wines. There is also a chapter for collectors of older wines, many from shippers that no longer exist but whose names live on in bottles of wine that are still found in cellars all over the world. Wines dating as far back as the eighteenth century are featured in the book, along with quality appraisals. Madeira is without doubt one of the most difficult wines to describe but it is certainly the most uplifting. There is a short section on the language of tasting Madeira as well as information on buying, keeping and serving the wines. The book concludes with a travel guide for anyone visiting the islands. This unique book on the islands and their wines explains what it is that makes Madeira so special.

Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning) by Marion Nestle (Oxford University Press)

Sodas are astonishing products. Little more than flavoured sugar-water, these drinks cost practically nothing to produce or buy, yet have turned their makers - principally Coca-Cola and PepsiCo - into multibillion dollar industries with global recognition, distribution, and political power. So how did something so cheap come to mean so much and to have such devastating health and food policy consequences?

Soda Politics is a story of the American food system at work, written by the incomparable NYU scholar and public health champion Marion Nestle. It is the first book to focus on the history, politics, nutrition, and health impact of soda,

asking how we created this system, what its problems are, and what we can do to change things. Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars a year on advertising and lobbying to prevent any measures to limit soda, a product billed as "refreshing," "tasty," "crisp," and "the real thing" that also happens to be a major cause of health problems, from obesity to Type II diabetes. They target minorities, poor people, and children, and are involved in land and water grabs

in underdeveloped countries, where they also have redoubled their efforts at building their market share.

In fact, the marketing practices of soda companies are eerily similar to that of cigarette companies - both try to sell as much as possible, regardless of the health consequences, in any way that they can. And the public is starting to

scrutinize sugary sodas in the same way that they do cigarettes. Soda consumption is falling, and Americans are only partially replacing soda with other sugary drinks. This did not happen accidentally: the fall in soda sales is a result of successful food advocacy. Soda Politics provides the overwhelming evidence to keep up pressure on all those involved in the production, marketing, sales, and subsidization of soda.

The History of Wine in 100 Bottles: From Bacchus to Bordeaux and Beyond by Oz Clarke (Pavilion Books)

Who better to take you on a journey of discovery about the history of wine, than Oz Clarke our best-loved wine writer. A journey that takes you from the buried clay urns of Georgia in 6000 BC, to the fraudsters who have rocked the world with their multi-million-dollar counterfeiting scams. Along the way, you’ll pass through the taverns of Pompeii, discover the oldest bottle of wine that has ever been drunk, meet an Englishman who might have invented champagne, and visit the highest and coldest vineyards in the world. This entertaining and informative book tells you all you need to know about the history of bottled poetry.

Margaret Rand and Oz Clarke: Grapes & Wines

Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand: Grapes & Wines

Continuing my mini-series of recently published wine books, here is the new edition of Margaret Rand and Oz Clarke's Grapes & Wines – a comprehensive guide to varieties & flavours. First published in 2001 this edition has been substantially revised.

Comparisons with Wine Grapes (Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, José Vouillmoz) are inevitable but probably misplaced. Wine Grapes is a dense, scholarly and brilliant book appealing to hardened wine nuts, while Grapes & Wines is likely to have wider appeal being much more accessible and with many photos, maps and charts. Their vital statistics gives a clue – Wine Grapes weighs in at just over 3 kilos – a Mike Tyson heavyweight, while Grapes & Wines tops the scales at a much more modest 1.33 kilos.

No reason, of course why you shouldn't decide to buy both. However, I suspect for most wine lovers Margaret and Oz's new edition provides them with enough information and they are likely to enjoy their popular approach.

After some introductory sections, grapes varieties are ordered alphabetically with widely varying space devoted to them. Leading varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Garnacha, Merlot, Riesling and Syrah/Shiraz get at least five double pages covering an introduction, geography and history, viticulture and vinification, the grape around the world and enjoying the variety plus recommended wines.  Others varieties get just a few lines.

It is interesting to note how views have changed since the first edition appeared in 2001. Then there was still a belief in the leading five or six international varieties. Planting Chardonnay in hot climate Sicily still seemed a good idea in preferenece to the local varieties. The intervening 14 years has taught us that there is a strong connection between local climate and the appropriate grape varieties to plant. It has also been a great revival of interest in local and other grape varieties.

A few small quibbles: Oz and Margaret have missed the recent revival of interest in Loire Grolleau as a juicy, easy drinking red wine to be drunk young amongst friends. The dreaded term 'dessert wine' makes an appearance in the section on Loire – I would have hoped that Margaret would have banned such nonsense!

Margaret Rand: the lady wears purple

Grapes & Wines is published by Pavilion, £25, 336 pages. Picture credits include: Jon Wyand, Doug Wregg, Cephas – Mick Rock, Kevin Judd and Andy Christodolo.

Oz Clarke: The History of Wine in 100 Bottles

Oz Clarke: The History of Wine in 100 Bottles, Pavilion, £20, 224 pages, hbk

I must confess that when, on a casual glance, I saw 100 bottles in the book’s title my heart sank. Not yet another book on 100 wines to drink before you die or head off to the supermarket, etc.

Of course, I should have known that Oz Clarke wouldn’t produce something so naff. No, The History of Wine in 100 Bottles is a genuinely innovative book, which also has popular appeal, not easy in a subject like wine, which has been so extensively mined. This is a fine episodic survey of wine’s history as Oz explains:

‘So I suppose it is a history of wine, but I unapologetically admit that it is my version of history – it’s the events and the people that I find interesting or amusing or both. There may be bottles missing that you would have included – I freely accept that. To be honest, I could probably have written the history of wine in 200 bottles, had my editor not had the wisdom to say enough’s enough; and even then, I might have missed a few gems. And it isn’t just the big moments in wine that I celebrate – it’s also the eccentric, the bombastic, the mundane.

Do you really think it is important to celebrate the first White Zinfandel, the first Liebfraumilch, or the first ‘bag-in-box’? Well, actually, yes I do. Such events are of massive importance in the spreading of our wine culture all around the world.’

Oz starts from where wine began (6000BC), which for the sake of the book he credits to Georgia because ‘it’s just that of all the potential, Georgia has preserved and cherished a wine culture more closely linked to its past than any of the other countries.’

The History ends in 2014 with Fraud and the conviction of Rudy Kurniawan for counterfeiting large quantities of fine wine. In between the two Oz includes a host of different historical highlights including Wine in Legend and Myth (c 2350 BC), Egypt (1480-1300 BC), Rome (300BC – 200 AD), Pompeii (79 AD), The Birth of Claret (1154-1453), Tokaji (1571), The New ‘English’ Glass Bottle (1632), Corkscrews (1681), Barolo (1843), Louis Pasteur (1860), Phylloxera (1863), Beaulieu Cabernet Sauvignon (1936), Mateus (1942), Grange Hermitage (1951), A Future without Glass (1963), Bag in Box (1965), Michael Broadbent at Christie’s (1966), Retsina (1970s), White Zinfandel (1975), Parker Points (1978), Varietal Labelling (1980s), Central Otago – Furthest South (1987) and Natural Wine (2000s). 

The History of Wine in 100 Bottles is Oz at his engaging best – a popularist in the best sense. 

24.4.15: CWW AGM @New Zealand House on Sauvignon Blanc Day

 A welcome glass of No1 at the end of formal business

Toasting the end of formal business

Yesterday The Circle of Wine Writers held their 55th AGM in the offices of the New Zealand Winegrowers. The AGM was followed by a tasting of 140 New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs at the top of New Zealand House, which has stunning views over London.  

The Circle's 55th AGM saw Rosemary George MW taking over as our President as Steven Spurrier is stepping down at the end of his term of office. Bob Campbell MW was elected as our first Vice-President based outside the UK. His fellow Vice-President is Oz Clarke, also elected yesterday. Seven committee members were elected: Kathy Burk, Michael Edwards (re-elected), Keith Grainger, Colin Hampden-White, Caroline Henry, Helena Nicklin and Liz Sagues. 

Following the formal business Rosemary George MW gave a presentation on the current state of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Bob Campbell MW was originally due to give this talk but around a month ago he injured his Achilles Tendon in the gym, so was unable to travel from New Zealand. Quite what ferocious exercise Bob was undertaking that caused this unfortunate injury is unclear. We are very grateful to Rosemary for taking over. Before Rosemary gave her presentation we were served a glass of No1 New Zealand sparkling wine.

Then we repaired to the top floor for the tasting of the 140 New Zealand Sauvignons going back to the 2007 vintage. Roger Jones, the very talented owner and chef at The Harrow, Little Bedwyn and CWW member, prepared delicious canapés to try matching with selected Sauvignon Blancs.

My thanks to NZ Winegrowers for allowing us to use their premises for our AGM. 

 Tasting of 140 NZ Sauvignon Blancs underway

 Roger Jones@work

 Views from the top of New Zealand House 

    

   

Portraits from around London wine trade today

 Nick Martin of Wine Owners (above and below)

Today started with a very useful meeting with Nick Martin of Wine Owners, an on-line that allows you to keep tabs on your cellar as well as providing a wine trading platform. Rather unexpectedly Nick and Wine Owners are finding that they are being contacted by people who have paid too much for their investment wines from companies like Vinance plc, European Fine Wine Ltd, Moncharm and Imperial Fine Wines Ltd. 

Entering details of wines in your portfolio on the Wine Owners allows you to see price movements since 2007 and gauge what your wines are worth. The Wine Owners site has many useful applications but may well be very useful for investors burnt by unscrupulous 'wine investment' companies both showing how badly you have been stung but also providing a means for selling the wines.

Haynes Hanson & Clark Burgundy 2013 en primeur tasting

 Thierry Brouin, Domaine des Lambrays 

This week and the end of last week is totally immersion in Burgundy for the UK wine trade – the opportunity to taste 2013 en primeur Burgundy from 6am rightly through to late in the evening ....!  

Quote of the week from one of the events referring to wine consumption at a tasting: "Gobsmacked by the amount journalists gobble through ....!"

Alex Gambal (Maison Alex Gambal)

Alexandre Brault (Maison Alex Gambal)

Oz Clarke 

Nigel Platts-Martin after Christmas in Florida –

leading London restaurateur:

The Square, Chez Bruce, The Ledbury, 

La Trompette and The Glasshouse

David Peppercorn MW

Adrian Webster

Julia Harding MW on learning that Jancis Robinson MW 

wants her to cover another 15 Burgundy tastings 

over the next couple of days....!

Nancy Gilchrist MW 

Anthony Hanson MW – one of the great Burgundy specialists  

 Fabien Moreau (Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils, Chablis )

 Daniel Dampt, Chablis

Goedhuis & Co Burgundy 2013 en primeur tasting

 The stylish and décontracté boss: Johnny Goedhuis

(above and below)

 

Michael Cox: joyous, moving memorial service@packed Southwark Cathedral

Michael Cox with President Michelle Bachelet of Chile in 2008

Southwark Cathedral

This afternoon saw Southwark Cathedral completely packed as the wine trade united to pay their tribute to the hugely popular Michael Cox, who died too young of cancer in February. I understand that the main section of the cathedral with the two transcepts accommodates 832 people. Since some people had to stand, there must have been 850 or more present – a truly remarkable turnout!  

The service was entirely fitting as a memorial to Michael serious, inspiring, reflective but also with its very funny moments.

There were a number of tributes with Eduardo Chadwick, Director of Wines of Chile and President of Viña Errazuriz first to tee off. He praised the way that Michael's "driving force" had transformed the image and prospects of Chilean wine in the UK and Europe. He spoke of his 'dedication' and 'unique talent for getting the best out of people' – 'a wonderful man' who had achieved 'monumental work'. 

Eduardo quoted Anita Jackson of Wines of Chile: 'couldn't have asked for a better team leader – we all worked as a team'. He also cited Michael as "the life of the party" and "how he owned the dance". 

Other tributes were paid by Sam Dow, Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Vintners and David Cox, Michael's twin but younger brother, plus a duet of 'Swing low, sweet chariot' by Charles Metcalfe and Oz Clarke. The address was given by the Reverend Canon Mark Oakley, chaplain to the Worshipful Company of Vintners, and Sam Jacobs, Michael's nephew, played the Horn Concerto, Second Movement by Franz Strauss brilliantly. No surprise that he has recently been appointed Principal horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Sam Dow: spoke how the high hopes they had of the 650th anniversary of the Worshipful Company of Vintners were more than fulfilled with some "hugely successful events'. He cited Michael's "kindness at a personal level and how he went out of his way to take an exceptional interest in all members of the Vintners' staff" as well as "his respect for tradition", how "he loved dressing up" for events and "Michael's sense of humour – one liners". Dow concluded: "The spirit of the man will always be remembered."

David Cox: "I shouldn't really be here as a few months ago I asked Michael if there was anything I could do? Michael looked at me and then said 'we have done almost everything together, the least you can do if come with me when I go!" 

David spoke of Michael's "dark, self-mocking jokes towards the end". "Humour was always with him." 

David also cited Michael's love of sport and of the great affection in which he was held by the Australians from his time of heading up Negociants UK – Yalumba's European arm. 

"We shared a room before we were born." "he gained the respect and love of all he came into contact with", "a rare man", "inspiration", "pillar", "life-force" and "his swashbuckling image". 

David recalled how there was only one place at their first school, so they would take it turn about going to school and how they developed their own twins' language. He also recalled, when he was working for the family firm Matthew Clark how, at the start of a first time meeting with the "redoubtable" Angela Mount, when she was the buyer for Somerfield, that she greeted him effusively and kissed him on both cheeks, then said "...but you're not Michael!" 

"I have lost my best friend – my other half," David concluded. 

(I now have the full version of David's tribute, which I will post tomorrow.)

Reverend Canon Mark Oakley: Michael and he were comparing notes – "what should be on their gravestones" – after they came out of hospital with Mark's illness far less serious than Michael's. Mark went for 'the only thing he ever finished' as an inscription. Michael didn't come up with an inscription saying that he wanted 'just something simple'. 

"I saw the true man over these last few months." "Kind beyond the call of duty", "attractive integrity and humanity." "Good at raising expectations." "The human spirit remarkably strong, generous and beautiful." 

Mark concluded: "Just something simple but very wonderful, too. The gift called Michael Cox."       

 

 Gathering outside the Cathedral in warm April sunshine 

The cathedral rapidly filled up    

 Charles Metcalfe and Oz Clarke duetting on 'Swing low, sweet chariot'

Oz leading the chorus

Sam Jacobs – Horn Concerto

A massed, slow exit from the Cathedral

Speeches in Vinopolis from David Cox and Lynne Cox:

The reception@Vinopolis: 

David Cox with Lynne Cox, Michael's wife, to the left

Lynne Cox recalled that it was at a party here in Vinopolis 

in 2002 that she first met Michael 

Vinopolis kindly made their Grand Halls available for the reception.