leisure
HOW I GOT INTO WINE (PART 2)
Last month we published several wine enthusiasts’ recollections on how they first got into wine. We had a sommelier recount how as a little girl she used to enjoy serving wine at family get-togethers and later, working in a Michelin-star restaurant, she placed an £800 bottle of wine in a hot oven earning the respect of her fellow workers! Someone else got into wine because of her mother’s sherry. Another involved buying wine to impress girlfriends. This month we bring you more stories on 'How I Got Into Wine'.
BY ANDREW LICUDI DIPWSET D.L.
F
rom about my early teens we had wine with lunch at the weekend family table. Though agreeable enough, this did become as much a ritual as a particular pleasure. A bottle of Beaujolais (typically) was consumed over two days, so indulgence was sensibly restrained. A bit later, my father became interested enough to start to buy some minor clarets. These were a definite step up from the Beaujolais but of a uniform style that it was easy to take for granted. My father’s knowledge and tasting competence were exceeded by his ability to pontificate. He had 76
started to take an interest in German wines. My mother used to make elderflower wine which was quite good of its kind. Tired of my father’s tendency to belittle her efforts, she once gave him a glass of one of his fine German wines while pretending it was one of hers. After he dismissed it rather contemptuously as too sweet it was quite difficult for any of us to take seriously his opinions on wine. (No-one ever told him about the prank though.) Actually it was due to a family cousin, older than me but a lot younger than my parents, that my serious interest was piqued. He had the knowledge and enthusiasm to go round various merchants and spot well-priced grander wines.
I gradually realised that almost all the best bottles at family lunch were thanks to my older cousin. The first I specifically remember was a charming youthful Cantemerle 67. Also an intense Hugel Gewurtztraminer and a Chambertin. I generally deemed it politic not to wax too enthusiastic at table about these bottles lest this result in my father’s ration being increased and my own becoming depleted. A.D. I grew up in a household that didn't drink much. Some relatives were so anti-drink that my parents thought it sensible to hide the wine glasses if they were expected to visit. There might be a bottle of wine on foreign GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JULY 2020
