Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine (unabridged)

Book excerpt: Steven Spurrier is one of the wine trade's most important figures. Over the years he took the role of wine merchant, buyer, wine educator and lecturer; he wrote books, wine courses and over 300 columns for Decanter magazine. He set up the breakthrough 'Judgement of Paris' in 1976 - a tasting in which outsider wines from California were pitched blind against Bordeaux' finest, and won - which still sends reverberations through the wine trade today. Steven's message from it remains clear: don't judge until you've tasted - quality in wine can be found where you'd least expect it. The moment he was handed a glass of Cockburn 1908 vintage port by his grandfather at 13 years old, Steven Spurrier knew there was no turning back. Family holidays to France and Italy, and a first job working for Christopher's - London's oldest wine merchant - only confirmed that no other career would do. So, after learning the ropes by travelling France in his red sports car (fitted with a compact wine fridge in the boot), working the vintage in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, Steven's 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, and he went on to set up the Académie du Vin and to teach them about it too... This audio edition is recorded by Richard Avery. Averys of Bristol have been wine merchants since 1793 and Richard is one of the fifth gemeration to be involved. Under the stage name of Alex he is also an actor and has combined these areas of interest to start producing audiobooks which have wine as a central topic.