Wine - A Life Uncorked

June 14, 2007

I have just begun reading Wine : A Life Uncorked by Hugh Johnson.

I am only 40 pages in and already I am lost in and fascinated by this magical tale of a life immersed in the life of wine itself.

At 10pm last night - 20 pages in - I honestly considered running downstairs to open the finest bottle of wine I had, to enjoy while hanging onto every wonderful word & story that Johnson was sharing. That’s how romantic and wonderful this story of a love affair is.

From the outset I knew I was in good company - I would like to think my views and approach to wine is very similar to his. For me, wine is more about the history of, story behind and the people you share it with than the actual contents of the bottle.

The best thing I have picked up from the book and agree with 100% - is that you cannot describe wine in absolutes. In other words giving a wine an absolute rating of 91 for instance is not doing it justice - that number is absolute and ignores so many lovely things about wine.

The wine may be a 91 point wine now - but what will it be in five years, ten years or even twenty years? That number cannot explain where the bottle was bought, the reason, the significance, the occasion, the relative value, where it will or has been kept, the history of the farm and wine maker - and it certainly cannot define what effect time will have on the wine.

If you ever see me bring out a precious bottle of wine to share with friends and hear me announce that the wine was awarded 91 points and received 10 gold medals back in 19′voetsak - instead of telling the story, significance and meaning of the wine - shoot me.

There’s so much more to wine and for the most part, it’s everything that surrounds it that makes it appealing - the key is putting it into context.

Pick up the book and give it a read, you’ll see what I mean - it’s a wonderful story.

Cru Master

Posted in Books