Steven Spurrier
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The Last Goodbye
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When Winefullness Magazine had aspirations to be a grown up wine magazine the first person I wanted to interview was Steven Spurrier. He was also the second, third, fourth and fifth! He is a legend in the wine world and his contributions to the further knowledge about all things viticultural cannot be overstated. I recently met him at an event in London and asked him if he would mind me reprinting that article as part of the English addition. He has been kind enough to suggest that I send him a new set of question to answer. Of course I was delighted to do it
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Winefullness: Is there anything left for Steven Spurrier to achieve?
Steven Spurrier: The last words in my memoirs say that the game has never, ever, really stopped, and here I was referring to the revival of the Academie du Vin brand, the creation of L'Academie du Vin in Paris in 1973 being the single thing I am most proud of. This is indeed happening, but what has come out of this, due to discussions with Hugh Johnson, and later with Simon McMurtrie, is the Academie du Vin Library, a private publishing venture co-founded by Simon and myself. From a standing start we have published 4 books in this year.
- The Commonwealth Edition of Michael Broadbent's seminal Wine Tasting.
- 10 great Wine Families by Fiona Morrison-Thienpont MW
- Sherry, Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent by Ben Hawkins
- In Vino Veritas, the first of an annual illustrated compendium of the best writing on wine, art and people from the past and present, based on the much regretted Complete Imbiber, edited by Cyril ray from 1957 to the early 1970s.
We do not sell to bookstores and certainly not to Amazon, but to wine lovers all over the world via distributors in each country. The concept is one of a library, so that someone who comes across us in a year or so's time will find a selection of 12 to 15 books, all beautifully presented and all in print. The Academie du Vin Library will be a force for good in a wine world which had forgotten about the literature of wine, and it will give a lasting heritage to L'Academie du Vin.
Winefullness: Which viticultural areas have been exciting you of late?
Steven: In the old world, Italy is for me by far the most interesting, while in the new world it should be South Africa. However, my wife and I are going for a week to Uruguay after Christmas and I'm excited about this.
Winefullness: Is there anything that you missed out of your autobiography that you wished you had put in, or is there something you wrote that you wished you'd have edited out?
Steven: Quite a bit of personal stuff was edited out, perhaps just as well. The addition of 4000 is now sold out and I will add a short final chapter called the future, which will cover the Academie du Vin Library and Bride Valley Vineyard, and any other ideas I have had by then, and add an index and this will be put out in paperback around May.
Winefullness: Has Singapore Airlines ever challenged any of the wine choices you have made?
Steven Spurrier: There are always 3 consultants on the SIA panel, so our choices are always after a joint decision. When SIA disagreed with the choice it was because of price, not quality.
Winefullness: With big conglomerates buying vineyards, are we in danger of losing a lot of individuality that the smaller producers bring to wine?
Steven: The big conglomerates owned far, far less vineyard land than you might think. What they like owning are wine brands. Private ownership of vineyards is flourishing, from the families of Antinori, Torres, Zonin, Loosen, Boisset and so on with thousands of hectares to their names, down to the small producers not even in double figures. The individuality in wine has never been stronger.
Winefullness: What was the last book you enjoyed reading, and what made it so enjoyable?
Steven: I'm currently reading A Sort of Life by Graham Greene, which is mostly about his family and upbringing and his need for rebellion which turned him into one of the greatest novelists of the last century. It is beautifully written, discreet but direct.
Winefullness: You've certainly had a lot of ups and downs during your journey to the present. Was there ever a moment when you thought that you might not recover?
Steven: The realisation that the people who took over my wine business is in Paris for the proverbial 'franc symbolique' which I accepted the substantial debts while waiting for a much more substantial payout at the end of two years, were going to re-nege on this left me in 1990, 20 years after I had arrived in Paris with the idea of buying a wine shop deeply in debt.
The debts were not the main problem, but I have never been afraid of work and I'm not extravagant, but the loss of two decades of work in Paris was a great blow. The chapter following Au Revoir Paris was The Road Back, but it wasn't easy at all. The chapter was Life with Decanter and the one after that Free as a Bird, so it did turn out alright in the end.
Winefullness: You seem to be quite a family man. Is it difficult to find a good work life balance when the demands of work draw you all over the world?
Steven: The balance has always been that I am in London for a week and join my wife is Dorset at the weekends. The London weeks are now getting shorter and shorter, but the pattern of my being away has been established so travel was accepted. I make a point of never missing two weekends running.
Winefullness: What is the most overrated aspect of the world of wine for you?
Steven: The most tiresome aspect of the wine world are wine bores.
Winefullness: Can the Bordeaux En Primeur campaigns maintain their importance for the wine world, or is the consumer becoming a little savvier in their choices?
Steven: The Bordeaux En Premeur campaign is still big business but it is hardly in the interest of the consumer who, if they buy at opening prices, probably don't have a seller so have to pay annual storage costs. The only wines to make a profit on or the very expensive ones, out of most people's pocket and certainly out of mine.
Winefullness: What is the thing that keeps you awake at night?
Steven: Nothing. I worry about things during the day.
Winefullness: Do you think that the likeness of you that graces the walls of the California bar at Peter Michael's Vineyard Hotel is good, and have the French ever truly forgiven you for the Judgement of Paris?
Steven: That painting, which is a fine work of art, is about as unrealistic as it could be, but it's both good publicity for the Judgement of Paris, and for Michael, who figures in the left hand corner as an observer.
The French were only angry with me for a few months and the Paris Tasting was the best thing that ever happened to them, described by Aubert de Villaine of the DRC, one of the judges, as a much needed kick in the pants for French wine.
Winefullness: What wines did you try over Christmas and do you always have set bottles for the Christmas Day meal?
Steven: Christmas Day is generally Burgundy, preceded by vintage Champagne and terminating with Vintage Port.
Winefullness: Your views on the film Bottle Shock are famous. Have they softened or hardened with time and why?
Steven: My views have softened after my wife's questions, 'Who in the wine world has ever had a film made about them, and who had the good luck to be played by Alan Rickman?'
Winefullness: Which question do you wish I'd have asked you and how would you answer it?
Steven: You could perhaps have asked me for my 'mantra', which is The Three P's, the 1st is the Place, the second is the People and P1 plus P2 equals P3 which is the Product. Simple as that.
And there we have it. Steven Spurrier being as charmingly interesting, honest, observant and erudite about all things wine. Of course he's a hero of mine, and I owe him so much, especially my small involvement in wine journalism for one thing, but too often a meeting with your hero, or a comment from them can sometimes tarnish what you think. I'm so pleased to say that my admiration for this man is still there, and I look forward to buying yet another copy of his memoirs, trying yet another bottle of Bride Valley and joining the Academie du Vin Library.
The next time I see him, I will nervously approach him, shake his hand, and continue to tell him what a legend he is. He will, of course, be a little embarrassed, and then go in search of more great wines to tell us all about.
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Sadly this was never to be because he died shortly after our meeting, and every time I write about Californian wines I take a moment to pause and remember just how much he led the way. GOODBYE STEVEN AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
