© Acheron Press 2016

Published by Acheron Press

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission.

Typeset by Phoenix Photosetting, Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom

Foreword

Chi più conosce

più ama,

più amando

più gusta.*

—Santa Caterina da Siena

When you uncork a bottle of mature fine wine, what you are drinking is the product of a particular culture and tradition, a particular soil and exposure, a particular climate, the weather in that year, and the love and labour and life of people who may since have died.

The wine is still changing, still evolving, so much so that no two bottles can ever be quite the same. By now, the stuff has become incredibly complex, almost ethereal. Without seeking to blaspheme, it has become something like the smell and taste of God.

Do you drink it alone? Never. The better a bottle, the more you want to share it with those who might understand … and that is the other incredible thing about wine, that it brings people together, makes them share with one another, laugh with one another, fall in love with one another and the world around them.

For wine is a story that gives birth to stories, and man, a story-telling animal.

*Who knows more, loves more, and, loving more, tastes/enjoys more.

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to James Flewellen for his important contributions to the first edition, and wish him luck with his new venture, Speckle Technologies. I am also deeply indebted to Hanneke Wilson, the Oxford University blind tasting coach, for all her help throughout the years.

Preface

James Flewellen and I wrote the first edition of this book for varsity blind tasting, to pass down the theory of blind tasting to successive generations of students. In the event, the book found a much broader audience, and while the feedback was generally positive, it also pointed to potential improvements.

In brief, the text has been reorganized and the blind tasting guide greatly expanded, with, among others, a new section on blind tasting for exams and competitions. There is also more material on viticulture, winemaking, producers, and vintages, and I have taken the opportunity, where necessary, to refresh facts and figures. The text itself, while somewhat longer, is more concise, with clearer headings and shorter paragraphs.

Differences of opinion are inevitable in a work such as this, and a few errors and omissions may also have crept in. Do let me know if you spot any, and I will do my best to correct them.

Neel Burton

Email: neel@neelburton.com

Twitter: @blindtasters